One thing I learned this past weekend…it would seem that, post-motherhood, I am no longer very adept at relaxing. As we lounged (or attempted to) I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should be multi-tasking. If we’d stayed home instead, while still sending the little man to his grandparents, I would have had serious guilt…stemming from the certainty that I really could have been doing a thousand and one things other than relaxing. But we were 271 miles away from home. And that was a good thing. Upon arrival at the Arbor House we found we’d received a complimentary upgrade to the John Nolen room. The room with a two person whirlpool and radiant flooring. Score! And the husband didn’t have to endure breakfast with strangers. It was a quiet weekend at the inn, so we were served breakfast in our room. It was all about food really. The husband’s big plan for his birthday was, simply, to eat. Two evenings in a row we dined at a wonderful little Laotian restaurant called Lao Laan-Xang. The birthday day itself was cold and gloomy so we ventured over to the Botanical Gardens to warm up for a bit, before eating lunch and taking in a matinee. And that was about it, really. Aside from excessive use of the whirlpool. While in it I think my brain melted a little, and I managed, temporarily, to not obsess over the To Do list that burns bright in my brain. But I was happy to return home (as an aside, we did not partake of the abundance of roadside fireworks, cheese and porn available on the drive back). Not so much to return to reality and all of its accompanying troubles, but to see the little man. I was missing him like crazy. Tonight, the husband’s bold plan continues. We’re meeting friends and family for dinner at Udupi Cafe. Followed by cake, of his making. That might seem sad, making the guy make his own birthday cake, but it was his idea, honest. And it’s better this way.
Bonus: All garlic, all the time.
Plus: There are more trip pix here.
