Brandon & I had the nicest time on our getaway.
Last weekend my super sweet hubby did something so kind. He whisked me away on an overnight to Adams County, Ohio. I knew we were going away together but I had no idea where we were going. He tried to throw me off for about a week and it worked. I had no idea where we were headed. I did guess we would probably go north since we have explored pretty much everywhere south within a couple of hours of us. Last August we went on a trip together to Natural Bridge which was wonderful.
As we were driving I was absolutely convinced Brandon was lost. We had no GPS and he kept glancing at the directions but wouldn’t let me help navigate at all. 🙂 He told me we were pulling over for gas and we ended up in the middle of nowhere which was really quite nice. I’ll never forget when Brandon looked at me and said, “Amanda you can’t laugh but I need you to look for a road called Coon Hill.”
Of course I laughed my head off but I was thrilled! We pulled up to the Rooster’s Nest Bed & Breakfast and butterflies started to form in my stomach. I had never stayed in a bed & breakfast even though I have always wanted to. All of a sudden I started to think of the Gilmore Girls episode when Rory and her mother go to a bed & breakfast. Thankfully our stay wasn’t anything like that at all. It was great!
The owners were wonderful and we just happened to be the only couple staying there so it was even better. Everything was so relaxing. There was a nice lake and plenty of hiking trails right on the property. Perfect for Brandon and I. The next morning we were served a fancy 4 course breakfast overlooking the lake. Pure bliss? I think so. 🙂
Our bed & breakfast was also situated in the middle of an Amish community much to my surprise. Around 100 Amish families live in Adams County. I had been to Amish Country up in Ohio as a young girl but in many ways Adams County seemed so different. It wasn’t near as touristy as the other community I visited 15 years before. I felt like we were able to interact more with the Amish community and even visited 3 businesses: a bakery, a furniture store, and my favorite a fabric store.
That’s right. My sweet hubby took me to an Amish fabric store. If that doesn’t say I love you I don’t know what does. The majority of the fabric was high quality solids but I did find a cute red print to take home with me. Now what should I do with it? I picked it up as kind of souvenir of our trip. It was also interesting to see a bunch of ready-made baby & toddler clothes. One of the biggest differences between the Amish fabric store and the stores that I usually shop at is the fact that they sold no patterns. Not a single one in the entire store. I forgot to ask the owner about it but I imagine that they just sew the same patterns that they have sewn for generations.
We enjoyed one of the best pretzels ever at Miller’s Bakery. They put even my Auntie Anne knock off pretzels to shame. 😉 One of my favorite parts of our trip was just hanging out with Brandon and getting lost on the back roads. I”m really glad we did since we got to see an Amish schoolhouse and an Amish baseball game.
Our get-a-way was wonderful and made me even more thankful to have such a wonderful man in my life to call my husband. Brandon planned every bit of our overnight and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with how it turned out. It was just wonderful to spend some time together and focus on one another. I would encourage any of my married friends to make an overnight/getaways a part of your budget. Even if you feel like you are barely making it just put aside $10 or $20 a month and before long you will have enough to get away. It is so important for your marriage and for your children!
Emerson Family 
Wow! Sounds like you guys had a great weekend! I would love to go on a quick getaway with Tyson, but I won’t be able to do that until Milo is weaned. Did you ever leave Eli overnight before he could talk? I think I would personally feel more comfortable leaving Milo overnight if I could communicate what we were doing. Or do you think it’s fine either way?
I think you will know when the time is right to leave Milo. For some families they are ready when their baby is just a few months old while other families wait years. I personally can’t imagine leaving a baby to go on a trip. I think emotionally it would be very difficult to be separated and honestly it would be a little bit of a hassle with pumping and such depending on how old your baby is. (When Brandon broke his arm I spent the night away from Eli (he was about 4 months old) while I was in the ER and it was very unpleasant for me (I had to pump and dump it out) although Eli slept through the entire thing at a friend’s house.) What is important is that you do what is best for you and your family. We waited to leave Eli overnight for quite a while. I think Eli was 20 months old the first time we went on an overnight without him. I just wasn’t ready to leave him at an earlier age to be honest and I think that is fine. I really appreciate Brandon waiting until I was ready. Remember overnights aren’t the only way to keep your marriage strong and have fun together. We didn’t go on many dates without Eli until he was almost two. I don’t think our marriage suffered due to a lack of dates because we were intentional about spending time with one another. I guess you could say we had lots of at home dates while Eli was sleeping and spent a lot of time talking. I’m sure Heather that when the time is right you will know it. Milo is still just a baby.