Two Tickets To Paradise

Y'all. Ohmygoodness. Last weekend was one of my favorites of all time. Ever.

Although my hub and I are big advocates of spending time away from our kids a few times each year (it's good for all parties involved!), the overwhelming majority of the time we are gone we are with other couples. Well, this last weekend, we snuck away, just the TWO of us, for the first time since I don't know when! And let me tell you...it was GLORIOUS. 

We had the entire weekend to focus on each other, to enjoy each other's company, to relax, to reminisce, to laugh, to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, in my new favorite little town: Lake Lure, North Carolina. 

This served as a delayed 10-year anniversary celebration since Harrison was born just one month before our actual anniversary. When we were deciding where to go a couple months ago, I had two requests: a mountain view and an outdoor hot tub. We searched all over North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, and finally found the exact cabin I had envisioned (and bonus...just 90 minutes from our house!):

The cabin was very secluded, which we loved. You could hear a pin drop when standing on the porch, and several times we simply halted our conversation to listen to the.....silence. It's rare in our home these days! 

We arrived Friday and settled in before snacking on some apps and sipping wine while my hub made a delicious steak dinner with rosemary potatoes and fresh green beans. Divine! We spent the rest of the evening enjoying more wine, lounging in the hot tub, playing each other in pool and darts, and watching the end of a movie. Perfection.

We "slept in" until a little after 7:00 am (heavenly!), which was just in time to watch the beautiful sunrise. My hub spoiled me again with a delicious breakfast of egg whites topped with fresh salsa accompanied by sausage and fresh fruit. It was so nice to eat a leisurely breakfast on the porch while sipping hot coffee and watching the colors change as the sun continued to rise. I also loved that we started out the day with no set plans, with the exception of knowing we had a dinner reservation that evening. 

We soon decided we were in the mood for some hiking, wining, and dining. We first drove to Chimney Rock, a short 10-minute trip from our cabin, where we hiked to "Exclamation Point" and took in the gorgeous views. 

After working up an appetite, we headed back down the mountain to a riverside grille, where we enjoyed a yummy lunch that included fried pickles and my hub's favorite beer. We then decided to walk around the quaint little town of Lake Lure, where we wandered in and out of shops and landed in a coffee cafe. I ordered a delicious pumpkin spice latte (what else?!), and my hub suggested we play checkers at the little wooden table available for patrons. It was one of my favorite memories from the whole trip--sipping coffee and playing checkers at the bottom of the mountain with the man that I love. Amazing.

Our view at lunch. See that teeny tiny speck on the upper left on top of that "rock"? That's the American flag we were standing next to in the photo above!

Next, we ventured to a gorgeous yet quaint and welcoming vineyard, which boasted beautiful mountain views as well as a garden of wild flowers. We sat and chatted with the vineyard owner, as well as a few other friendly guests, as we sipped various wines and took in the beautiful views. My hub and I ended our wine tasting visit by sitting atop a porch overlooking the vineyard and enjoying a glass of fresh sangria. 

We capped off our afternoon by heading back to our cabin where we watched a little Clemson football, napped, and got ready for our dinner date. And what a dinner date it was! We had one of the best meals of my entire life at The Lodge at Lake Lure's Tree Tops, an inviting and warm restaurant tucked away into the hidden lodge that housed the most incredible lake and mountain views. Our mouth-watering cuisine included salmon cakes, shrimp and grits (best I've ever had!), scallops (again, best I've ever had!), beef ribs, mud pie, and pumpkin cheesecake, which was topped off with some extremely tasty wine. Oh.So.Good. 

This was the view from our table. Breath-taking! 

We ended our evening back at the cabin with college football playing in the background while we hit the outdoor hot tub again before concluding the evening with a little board game action...Clue! If you know me, you know I love me some board games; so, this was an absolute blast. :) 

After one more morning of sleeping in, one more sunrise, and one more hub-prepared breakfast, we were back in the car for the quick trip home to see our littles and thank our amazing parents for always taking such good care of our babies when we're away. 

In sum, I highly recommend a trip to Lake Lure! In fact, my hub and I are already planning to return, this time with a couple of couples, and we can't wait! You should visit, too. I promise you--it will not disappoint.