Weekend Getaway and a Gift.

The photo above is one of the magnificent waterfalls that can be viewed if you hike Rickett's Glen. Many months ago, Mike and I decided that we could really use a weekend away. A weekend away together. A weekend away together but without the boys. To some people that may sound terrible. Really, though, I think it is good for your marriage to get away. Mike and I love to camp and hike. We don't mind terribly if the weather isn't the best. Our boys like camping and hiking ok. It's not their favorite thing in the world. So Mike and I decided it would be nice to spend a weekend together, doing something we love and allowing the boys a weekend with my parents. 


As I said earlier, the above photo is one of the waterfalls from Rickett's Glen. It wasn't, however, a photo from this weekend. That picture was snapped last year when Mike and the boys went to the Glen. This weekend was so cold and rainy I didn't want to take th camera out on our hike for fear of ruining it. Turns out the rain tapered off about 30 minutes into our hike so I could have taken some photos. Oh well. Those falls aren't going anywhere.


Despite the cold and the persistent rain, Mike and I had a lovely time. So much of it was spent in silence. We spoke when the mood hit and talked about many different subjects but we also spent a lot of time in companionable silence. One of the things that has kept our marriage strong is that we don't feel the need to always be doing or thinking about the same things. We have many activities that we both enjoy doing, and I think that is important. We also have our differences. In most things (like music and books) we overlap in the middle but also have our extremes. We're like a Venn diagram often. Personally, I think that's healthy. We respect those items that one loves and the other does not (for me, Frank Zappa falls in that category). We tease each other about our obsessions that are not shared but for the most part we have much in common and enjoy our time together.


One thing that we enjoyed about this weekend was what we called our gourmet campfire fare. Friday night we had Salmon and Asparagus on the coals and Saturday night's feast was a beef and veggie coal fry. Delicious. Again.....not something the boys would have been very thrilled about. They had pizza with grandma and grandpa. They were happy, we were happy.


Of course, we were glad to set off for home this morning. It was raining and damp. We packed up as soon as we left the sleeping bags. We were home by lunch and happily unpacked and cleaned up (ok, except for the soggy tent. That'll have to wait for a sunnier day) by the time the boys walked through the door. We were happy to be a reunited family. 


That's when I got my gift. Last week on Mother's Day the boys informed me that my present was late in arriving. Apparently it arrived on Friday after Mike and I left. Guess what? They presented me with an iPod Touch!!! They boys purchased my case and Mike the toy. Wow! What a surprise! I'd been using Nolan's for a while and was really enjoying it. With all the driving I've been doing I loved having my music all in one place. So now I'm getting ready to personalize that gift! App store, here I come.


All in all, it was a fabulous weekend.