Perfect

In just a few days, Jared and I will celebrate 16 years of marriage. Last year we felt like 15 was a pretty big milestone, but for reasons I don't now recall, we didn't really have an opportunity to get away or do anything special. So this year we celebrated the first anniversary of our 15 year anniversary and made it quite special indeed. :-D Jared surprised me by making all of the arrangements and wouldn't even give me a HINT as to where we were going until the day before we left when he told me what to pack (which was actually more confusing than helpful). BUT I must say. . . .


It was *perfect*. Exactly perfect. Somehow it combined all of our favorite things, which is a pretty random and not very cohesive list, so I'm still not sure how he pulled it all together, but WHAT FUN!!!


Before we even checked in to our hotel, we stopped at our favorite general store in the whole wide world--Zeb's. This place is 2 stories of all things wonderfully New England and fabulous, and they even have a year-round (not tiny) Christmas section. It is an altogether delightful experience.

We stayed in a cheesetastically awesome theme hotel in the "Cave Room," which was designed to look like. . .  well. . . the inside of a cave. And it totally did. Very cool.

There was a hot tub INSIDE the room (facing a flat screen TV which made for a super chill movie night one night) AND the bathroom was basically just one big WATERFALL shower. Crazy. So relaxing.

(Hard to see the water, but it fell in just one big sheet right from the ceiling. Awesome.)

On our first full day there, we drove around a bit to see some scenery. Echo Lake is nearby, and the entire town is right in the heart of the White Mountains, so there was no lack of gorgeousness to take in, but our favorite adventure was Diana's Baths waterfalls. Oh my. I want this whole thing in my back yard. There are no words, and the pictures don't do it any justice (but of course I tried). This must be experienced. Go to it.

(Not sure why my head looks so lumpy. . . we'll blame it on the wind and my hair. :-D)

And as if the waterfall wasn't enough, there were butterflies EVERYWHERE! So sweet and fun!

After exploring for awhile, we found a hammock with a view and decided to chill and read for a little while. I KNOW, RIGHT?!? Prior to this, I couldn't remember the last time I sat in a hammock with a book. It was decadent, let me tell ya!

The next day, we enjoyed a scenic train ride, which was sweet and fun.

And we discovered a great spot for a seafood dinner with a view. Yes, please! I'll have that!

Followed by watching the sunset with wine and chocolate here:

Stunning.

So let's see. . .  a few of our favorite things. . .

. . . general stores

. . . unique hotels

. . . hot tubs

. . . waterfalls

. . . mountains

. . . hiking

. . . movies

. . . reading

. . . relaxing

. . . hammocks (especially with a view)

. . . seafood

. . . wine and chocolate

. . . staying up late

. . . having no schedule and NO alarm clock

Yep. I think we covered all of that. But our most favorite thing is just simply. . .

. . . together time. Whenever and wherever that might be.

Thank you, Lord, for my Jared. I am so blessed to be his wife.