Date Night

 

  

 

Since Grandma DJ was going to be in town (and could babysit), My Sweets planned a night away for us on the motorcycle. It was longer than a dinner and shorter than a getaway, so it fit perfectly into our busy August schedule. Many thanks to Grandma for holding down the fort. As you all know, I kind of suck at leaving the kids for more than a few hours. I tend to worry, especially about the littlest (who is still a toddler, takes enormous risks, and misses me when I'm out of sight). 

Still, it's awesome to have uninterrupted alone time with my best guy, so I'm grateful for the chance. Our night started with an hour-long scenic drive up the mountains to a lovely old stone restaurant. We've just been once before (seven years ago!), but the food is absolutely fantastic and we always meant to return. Honest. We ordered corn chowder, caprese salad, warm bread, homegrown salads, pineapple martinis, Beef Wellington, buttermilk fried chicken. It was amazing. All of it. 

From there we drove about an hour to a campsite in another town known for roaming black bears. At the tail end of dusk, we set up the itty bitty one-man motorcycle tent and then strolled a short distance for hot hazelnut coffee and some dessert. Back at the site we started a fire, I read more of this library book, and we snuggled in the shadow of the embers with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. It's colder in the mountains! The next morning we walked to breakfast at a sweet little cafe famous for their outrageously fluffy pancakes. We were lucky to get a seat, I guess, because on our way out there was a line of hungry people around the building and down the block. All wanting our table.

After that we perused a few local shops and (to my delight!) walked over a heart-shaped crack in the concrete. I wanted to bring home a little something for each of the kids, so we snagged an Animal Tracks guide for Buby, a Bugs and Slugs guide for Bleu (with a big section on butterflies), and a stuffed black bear for Ollie Bear. Then we packed up the site and headed home to our babies.