So, since our 10th anniversary was SO lame, we decided that this year we would definitely do something to mark the occasion. Anything, as long as we spent the day together... eventually it was decided that we would go on a hike, see a movie, relax by the pool, and eat out somewhere. My parents offered to play us for the day, God love them, and we sent them out in the morning with directions to the kids' sports events and embarked on our day without responsibilities.
The hike was amazing, exhilerating, and breathtaking. The Billy Goat trail through the Maryland side of Great Falls, definitely one to revisit. As we walked the mile from the parking lot to the trail, we saw warning signs of how risky this hike is, with some people needing a helicopter rescue! Yikes! Allow 4 hours for this hike, one of the most strenuous on the east... But we didn't see anyone coming out of the trail that looked much different than us so we thought we were qualified enough to handle it. And, we had all day if we needed it.
We stopped several times to enjoy the view, watch some rock climbers and kayakers, take pictures, and snack. Photos do not do justice to this beautiful part of our world. Who knew we could be so close to the city, but also right beside this. It was rock scramble after rock scramble with the occasional dirt path thrown in, and of course the intimidating rock wall we had to scale. I was just glad we weren't going the other direction when we arrived at the rocky ledge. Going down it might have been more stressful than going up! Every so often the delicious smell of honeysuckle or gardenias flowed out of nowhere, but we couldn't see any flowers, and butterflies as big as my fist were fluttering everywhere. A perfect day.
We soon found ourselves sitting in an outdoor patio for lunch, right beside a family with 2 whining obnoxious kids. Normally that wouldn't bother us, because we bring our own whining obnoxious kids with us to balance it out... but Tim looked annoyed and wanted to move inside the restaurant instead. They had just gotten their salads, who knows how long they would be there with those kids pouting and fussing. The parents weren't even trying to quiet them down. Just as Tim was reminding me that the whole point of today was to get away from that kind of noise, a huge gust of wind came and blew their table's umbrella up out of it's stand and crashed it down on the table, knocking their plates around. Ahhh, the hand of God. They decided to pack up everything and move inside and suddenly we were there alone to enjoy our meal. A perfect day.
Our next adventure found us poolside with our ipods and books. I haven't enjoyed a few hours of peaceful solitude at the pool like that in a long time. Of course I love playing and splashing around at the pool with the kids, but this was a totally different experience! Eventually we realized we were ready for dinner so we went to Maggie Moos and had a huge ice cream sundae for dinner before catching a late movie. A very full day, but also very relaxing. A perfect day.
The kids got some awesome grandparent bonding time, they went to the movies and out to dinner after their soccer games. By the time we got home that night, they were snuggled up having a sleepover with Gma and Gpa. It was a perfect day for them too.
2 comments:
Sounds like an awesome day! Happy be-lated anniversary! :)
Wow...what a full day! That sounds great. I don't even know what we'd do if we had the entire day to ourselves...
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