Wednesday, November 11, 2015

He Still Surprises Me


Last week my husband surprised me with a spur of the moment vacation to one of my favorite places on earth... Eureka Springs Arkansas. We've been several times but the last time was 12+ years.  This time we took the Talamena Drive which was spectacular with Fall being in full  color. I'll be candid, I was a little nervous. We will celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary in December. Even though we've had an empty nest for a couple of years, we haven't taken a road trip in a long time. After 34 years, I've heard all of his stories and he has heard all of my stories (he is way more interesting than me), and I was afraid we wouldn't have anything to talk about. I'm happy to report, we had lots to talk about and it was a pleasure to get away from the daily grind, away from the house,  with just the two of us.  Because it was a spur of the moment trip, we didn't have reservations for a hotel. We lucked out and spent the first couple of nights at The Basin, which is in the heart of downtown (and which is very Jackie-ish). The last night we had to scramble for a place to stay due to the "Diversity Festival" they were having. We've always wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast, but we also thought it might be awkward. We found a beautiful one and decided we would try something new. We
could see the Christ of the Ozarks from our balcony. The next morning, we packed our things and loaded the car when I noticed the breakfast table elegantly set. Mike looked at me and said... "I don't really want to stay for breakfast" I looked at him, then looked at the beautiful setting and said.... "It might be a little rude if we don't" He agreed (such a wise man) plus we were trying to do new things.  We wondered into the kitchen and said good morning to our hosts. A few minutes later, two other couples arrived and we took our seats at the table. Now for the record, my guy is a meat and potatoes man. Although he was willing to get out of his comfort zone to some extent, when they brought the first course around I was a wee bit afraid his adventurous enthusiasm would bolt for the door. The hostess set a bowl of mixed fruit topped with a cream sauce and granola. I gave him "the look" as she set it in front of him, but his eyes were fixated on the bowl..... "Oh well" I thought... "He's close enough so I can kick him under the table if needed" He pretended to eat his bowl of fruit by carefully picking around the cream, granola, kiwi, and strawberries, and ate the oranges. As soon as I finished my bowl, I reached over and plucked the offending bowl of fruit, minus the oranges and polished it off.  It was my duty not to offend our host by leaving their delicious offerings half eaten. I wasn't as lucky with the next course. They served a scrumptious and beautifully presented plate of French toast with cream cheese filling and topped with apricot sauce. He did his best to cut it up and move it around so it would like like it had been eaten., but he didn't fool the hostess. When she gathered the dishes she remarked that he hadn't liked it. He assured her that it wasn't that, but rather he just wasn't much of a breakfast eater.... Leaving out the exception of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. As far as eating with two couples who were complete strangers.... It wasn't awkward at all. Both couples were very friendly and the conversation flowed easily between the six of us.  After saying our goodbyes, we congratulated ourselves on new accomplishment and was glad we faced our fear of the unfamiliar with exceptional results. Our spur of the moment vacation was a great success.  Even after 34 years, we still got it going on. 

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