Peanut Butter and Pickled Ginger: June 2010

Alright. Anyone out there who thinks that she has the best husband in the world is completely and totally wrong. This is not up for debate. Because that honor totally belongs to my comic-book-reading, Russian-literature-studying, bookcase-building Matt.

Our anniversary is June 4, and five years was coming up this year. Last year, we took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN and played putt-putt and went to Dollywood and shopped at the J. Crew outlet and did all the normal touristy things. It was fun, but not exactly relaxing. This year, we have both been really tired--me because I just finished a year of school and have the three kids (one of whom is 9 months old), and him because he has a pretty demanding job, and well, the three kids. To be honest, I didn't even feel like planning a trip. I figured we might send the kids up to his mother's house for an evening and maybe go out to dinner, but that that would be it. I thought if we were feeling particularly spry, we might go to a play at our local theater.

Then Matt told me that he was planning a trip, and that it would be a surprise. I was not to do anything, just be ready to leave on the 4th and have a bathing suit packed. I went out and bought a bathing suit. I asked all kinds of questions, but he wouldn't tell me anything. A few days ahead of time, I found a flyer laying in the bedroom about a comic book convention in Charlotte, NC for that weekend. I figured that is what we were doing--we would go down there, and he would go to the convention, and I would veg out. I wasn't exactly over the moon about it, but I was still pretty excited.

On the morning of the 4th, I got up and got packed. My mother in law came over and packed up the kids. I was nervous about leaving Alice, since it would be our first night away from each other, but my husband assured me that we would be within a 3-4 hour drive, so it would be ok--we could get there quickly if needed. Matt and I got in the car and made our way out. We stopped to get some gas, and while he was paying and getting us some drinks, I saw the Mapquest directions sticking up. Of course, since I am the kind of kid who always peeked in the closet looking for Christmas presents, I looked. Sure enough, it was directions to the official hotel of the comic book convention. Ha ha, I thought, proud of my sleuthing.

So we started driving, and we stopped at Cracker Barrel. This is a bit of a tradition with our family--any time we go on any type of trip, we stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Matt told me that he would tell me where we were going if I wanted to know. I said ok, feeling that it would be a moot point. He told me that we were going to Asheville, NC. I was definitely surprised!

So we make the drive. We stopped at the mall to grab a couple of things at Victoria's Secret and at a great lingerie boutique downtown called Va Va Voom. We went to a chocolate store and ate sea salt caramels. We bought Alice a fitted diaper that was produced in Asheville from North Carolina grown cotton. Then Matt told me that he would take me to where we were staying. I was thinking that maybe we would be going to the Grove Park Inn, or something similar. Instead, I found myself going down a deserted dirt road. I was pretty sure that Matt was lost. He wasn't saying much, but seemed to be smiling. Why would he be smiling if he was lost? We passed by a farmhouse with a huge tractor. I started thinking he was taking me out someplace to kill me. Had I married an ax murderer?

Then we turned the corner, and I was looking at a beautiful cottage. It was truly out in the middle of nowhere--the only access was a dirt road, and there was no sound of any traffic. No sound of anything really.

*This picture is a horrible of one me, but it is the only one I have that shows the outside of the cabin, however small.

So we spent the next three days doing a whole lot of nothing. We prepared all our own meals on the cottage's grill, aside from going out for gyros our first night there. I spent the bulk of the time wearing my bikini (!!!) and a spa robe. We shared bottles of wine in the hot tub, and toasted our good fortune. I ate goat cheese and crackers while watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians while my husband read. We slept late. I ate gelato in bed. We enjoyed the heated bathroom floors. We plugged our Ipods in to the bed and listened to music and laughed (Matt got a kick out of playing Hot For Teacher for me). We cooked together and bought superflous groceries that we would never buy in our life with three kids. Our only outing was to see an Asheville Tourists game, because as I've said before, watching minor league baseball is about the most fun you can have standing up.

But mostly, we reconnected with each other and relaxed. It was wonderful just to have some time to have a conversation. We actually spent time doing absolutely nothing other than sipping wine and smiling at one another. It was truly, truly amazing.

And the cabin was very luxurious and awesome. Here are some pictures: