Weekending- Anniversary Trip

Back from a great long weekend! I hope you had a relaxing and fun weekend, if you live in the South and were affected but the terrible storms I pray that you are safe and did not have much damage!

Thursday Patrick and I loaded up and headed for The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. When we discussed taking a trip for our 5 year anniversary we went back and fourth on where to go. Originally planning to go somewhere tropical for a week, but ultimately after some discussion about a budget and other expenses we have going on we decided on somewhere smaller that we could drive to for a long weekend. I settled on The Homestead. Neither one of us had been there and I've heard good things about it. Fun fact, my parents spent their honeymoon there 44 years ago!

It was about a 5 hour drive for us. It really isn't a bad drive and we always enjoy time in the car when we don't have screaming kids in the backseat! I adore the mountains so I was excited to be up there. Once we got up the first part of the mountain we still had a ways to go. Our GPS took us through a tiny town and as we were winding our way through we kept making comments about how odd it was that we got off the highway. We got to this what could only be described as a one lane road but was not a one way road..We were unsure of it but GPS kept telling us to take it so we did. Y'all, this was singly handedly the scariest road I have ever been on. We are literally driving up the side of a mountain, with NO guard rail. On a road that allows cars to go in both directions. We came across two cars going in the opposite direction and thankfully we were going slow enough that Patrick could pull over far enough for them to scoot past. I was white knuckling the seat with sweaty palms and practically having a panic attack the entire time. If you follow me on instagram you probably saw my instastory about the whole thing. Once we got to the top it was quite comical, but during, I for sure was certain we would never make it out and my boys would never see their mama again. #dramaticmuch

We arrived at The Homestead about 3:00. The resort is beautiful. It is old, like built in the 1800s old. They have done an excellent job of preserving the historic nature of it. After checking in we went to explore the property some. They have the cutest little nooks to sit and chat, lots of fire places too! We happened to get there right as their afternoon tea time was starting. So we enjoyed a little snack and sat by the fire for a moment. We then found a sitting room that had table set up for checks and chess. Of course we sat down and played a game..I lost, twice!

We had dinner reservations at the Casino restaurant, which actually is not a casino at all. I'm guessing back in the day it was a real casino, but now it's just a pro shop and restaurant. It was a yummy meal. We both had different pizzas.

Friday morning we got up and went to the breakfast buffet. Y'all, this buffet was amazing!! They had anything you could ever want. The homemade donuts were my favorite, in fact I went on to eat one every morning we were there. After breakfast I headed to the spa while Patrick did a bit of work and relaxed. Of course when I booked my appointment a few weeks ago I wasn't think that it was the morning of the inauguration. Of course I wanted to watch this so as soon as my massage ended at 11:50 I booked it up to find Patrick. I was listening to the swearing in on my phone as I was racing through the hotel, which is not a small place! I made it to the Jefferson Lounge where they were showing the whole thing on about 5 different TVs. Everyone was watching and I even heard a few cheers and claps. Regardless of what side you stand on, it was a big moment and one that I was excited to watch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, playing games, and walking the grounds. We took a early evening hay ride around the property which ended with s'mores. We then headed to a light dinner of apps in the Jefferson Lounge.

Saturday we enjoyed that buffet again for breakfast. They offer a historical tour of the resort every morning at 10 so we decided to be nerdy and take part!  After that we went to the spa where we took advantage of the heated pools, hot tub, and hot spring. I wasn't able to get a good picture of the octagon hot spring because there were people in it, but Thomas Jefferson used to soak in that very pool. It is naturally heated by the ground at 103 degrees. It was really cool!

 we were obviously born to be models...

 That dark pool in the background is the hot spring that Thomas Jefferson once soaked in

Saturday night we had an early dinner. It was really good! You can order a s'mores kit to take down to the fire pit that is outside and we waited until Saturday to take advantage of this. It's the cutest kit. They give you everything you need! After this, we played a few more rounds of Skip Bo and then headed to bed.

Sunday morning we indulged one last time at the breakfast buffet and then hit the road. It was a wonderful weekend and super relaxing. It was so nice to get away with just Patrick but we missed the boys and were excited to get home to them!

We saw this sign as we were passing the scary road I said we WOULD NOT be taking down the mountain..would have been helpful if we had seen this before we came up it! 

Over all the resort was wonderful! There is not a lack of things to do. I had hoped that there would be snow on the group and we could have gone skiing but unfortunately it was warm and there was no snow. They have an ice skating rink which would have been fun, but again, too warm this trip! The only downside to the resort is most things are an additional charge. I knew this going into it, but my money conscious hubby cringed every time we had to charge something to the room! If we were to ever go back I would like to go in the spring/summer when Patrick could golf and the many outdoor pools would be open.

The boys had an amazing weekend with my inlaws and I am sure did not miss us one bit. I am thankful that we can leave them and not worry about them at all! It was a wonderful way to celebrate being married for 5 years! I can't wait to see what the next 5 hold for us!

the boys with their cousin, grandaddy and great grandmama! 

*Linking up with Biana