Ahhh, Relaxed and Refreshed

So our weekend away was just what the doctor ordered!

We watched "It's Complicated" on Friday night (hilarious movie BTW) and then got up Saturday morning, packed our bags and headed out.

We took a scenic route from our house to Asheville, NC.  We arrived at The Grove Park Inn and Resort in the early afternoon.  We hung out in the Great Hall and listened to a live band and had a few drinks and then headed to dinner.  After a delicious meal, we went to a piano bar where 2 pianists played requests on the pianos and patrons sang along.  We requested a few songs, had a few tasty beverages, laughed, and sang late into the night.

Sunday morning started early with a trip to breakfast.  Then we headed to the spa for a day of pampering.  We started the spa off with a delightful and relaxing couples massage and then spent the next few hours partaking in the Spa amenities.  We floated in the mineral pool (where there is music that plays under the water), took some deep breaths the eucalyptus infused steam room with chilled towels infused with mint oils on our faces, increased our circulation in the contrast pools, baked in the sauna, and hung out in the therapeutic waterfall hot tubs.   (I am sure Derek's sperm count is the lowest it has ever been after all that hot water activity!)

We went to our room, watched "Shutter Island", took a nap, and then got ready for dinner.  Dinner was served on the Sunset Terrace with marvelous view of the mountains.  After that, we headed to a bluegrass concert.  We met a delightful couple who was there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  After the concert, we met the band members.  Then we headed back to the Great Hall for a night cap.  We actually met a really cool couple at the bar who live in the Atlanta area and we talked to them for a long time before heading off to bed.

The next morning, after sleeping in, we had a nice breakfast.  We checked out of the hotel and headed over to the North Carolina Arboretum to walk around in the pouring rain, arm in arm under an umbrella.  We seemed to be driving out of the rain, so we worked our way over to the Blue Ridge Parkway to drive along the mountain tops, stopping for a short side hike and an ice cream along the way.  After that, we meandered through a couple more small towns before heading home.

Neither of us was ready to go back to work today.  Nor were we ready to be back home.  But we truly enjoyed our trip.  And it was just what we both needed to recharge our batteries.

I know I have mentioned that stopping TTC has been a wonderful thing for our marriage because it let us focus more on us as a couple.  But then we jumped into more remodelling (you know us, all or nothing!) and the stress was getting to us.  This trip was a wonderful reminder of just how much fun we can have together and I am so thankful to have had such a wonderful holiday weekend with my hubby - just the two of us.