Great Get-Away

I am feeling so refreshed right now! Amy came by yesterday and picked me up, and we drove down to Cincinnati for a moms' get-away! First we stopped by Hobby Lobby, a wonderful store that is not close to us here or back in VA. I got a few stickers, plus some new toys to replenish my stash of gifts for kids who have birthday parties.

After wandering around in there for awhile (and how nice was it to not feel hurried, like you had to get back and take care of someone?!), we decided it was time to look for something to eat. We looked at choices on Amy's GPS, but nothing really inspired us. We were by a mall, but we were expecting more "nice" restaurants, along the lines of a Cheesecake Factory or something. There really wasn't too much--in fact, there were a LOT of empty shops and buildings. You could definitely tell the economy was down.

So we drove around a little but still didn't find anything, so we decided to drive to the hotel and check in. At the counter, we asked the girl checking us in (who was a very nice, but very ditsy girl), if the hotel had a list of local restaurants we could have.

"Local, as in just in Fairfield?" the girl asked. Umm, no, just restaurants around here! We don't care if they are chains or not! So she proceeded to haul this huge binder out onto the counter and start flipping through it. It had pages of mapquest directions to various attractions, like Kings Island, but evidently there was no list of restaurants. I ask about Mexican restaurants, since Amy and I had agreed that might be nice, and she brightened immediately. "Oh yes, Acapulcos is right around the corner, and they have margaritas the size of fish bowls!" Amy commented later that anything would probably taste fine after that much margarita, LOL. So the girl said she would print out mapquest directions for us. After much confusion, struggle, and help from the other check-in lady, the girl presented us proudly with a paper of directions. Amy and I took it and walked to the elevator. There we noticed that the address said "Lawrenceburg, IN". ??? And the total mileage was 34 miles away! LOL! Good thing we didn't just blindly start out following the directions!

We went out to the car and put it in Amy's GPS. The restaurant was literally across the street at the next light! We had a delicious meal--chimichangas for me, and enchiladas for Amy. By this time we were starved!

We went back to the hotel and scrapbooked for awhile. We had decided to go swimming later on, after we lost the natural light. Amy got up to stretch and happened to look out the window. A huge tour bus was pulling up, loaded to the gills with teenagers and luggage! We made the wise decision to swim immediately, before the hordes descended on the pool, LOL. We had a lovely time, finishing up with a few minutes in the hot tub. As soon as we sat down in there, the door flung open, and tons of teenagers came swarming in! The atmosphere was no longer so peaceful and quiet, LOL. As an aside, we were amazed at how many girls had skimpy bikinis on. Really?! On an overnight trip in a hotel with lots of boys?! Where are the fathers for these girls?! Good grief!

Then we scrapbooked, talked, and snacked for awhile more. We never run out of stuff to talk about! One point of conversation was the positive pregnancy test I had taken that morning! Yes, #8 is on the way, probably due around the beginning of April! Another reason for no huge margaritas or long hot tub soaks! We wrapped it up and went to bed around 12:00 and then talked until 1:00. We both slept well--I was surprised at how comfortable the mattress and pillows were! It was a Holiday Inn Express, but they were really nice!

We got up, ate breakfast, scrapped a little more, then headed home. Mom had her group of international wives over this afternoon, and I didn't want to miss visiting with those lovely ladies! So it was such a fun time away, and of course it went way too fast! I am so thankful for a husband who thinks it is important for me to get away without kids to recharge!