Bed, Breakfast & Dinosaurs (aka Anniversary Celebration)

On Thursday am, the grandparents (& my favorite in-laws) showed up to man Fort Turner as Jen and I headed north for a 32 hour reprieve. We did a lot in a short time, but never felt rushed. Here's the blow-by-blow.

We started with a trip to the GAP Outlet in Hebron, KY. This is one of our favorite places to shop since it is a true outlet. In about an hour and a half we spent $84 and came home with: 4 sweaters, 2 pairs of pants, 4 t-shirts, 2 shirts, 6 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of lounge pants. Can't beat it.

From there we headed to our accommodations at Willis Graves Bed and Breakfast in Burlington, KY (about 10 mins away). Although I like B&B's, it always feels like we're taking a chance by staying at one. The pics on the web never tell the whole story. This time, we chose wisely. The Willis Graves was everything we could hope for: intimate, private, romantic, comfortable, charming, etc.

We stayed in the William Rouse Suite, which is in a log cabin that has been relocated to the property. The rustic charm combined with the new bathroom (steam shower & jacuzzi tub with waterfall spigot) was perfect. That's right, the water to fill the tub actually comes from the ceiling.

After checking in, we headed to Mi Salon & Spa for a couple's massage. This was my first massage by someone other than Jen. Very relaxing. We'll definitely do this again.

Later we grabbed dinner at the Grandview Tavern & Grille about 15 mins away. This independent restaurant is family owned and operated. The best part of the dinner was eating sans little ones at a slow and leisurely pace and being able to focus on each other. The baked brie and juicy, marinated flank steak weren't bad either. The next morning we snuck into breakfast at the B & B at the last possible moment. After some fresh fruit (I'd forgotten how much I like blackberries!) Jen had french toast stuffed with creme brulee and I had an omelet.

After checking out, we drove another 10 mins to the Creation Museum. When I first heard about the museum I was skeptical, but after a couple of positive reviews from folks whose opinions I value, I thought it might be worth seeing. It definitely was. The entire museum is well done, embraces science (and dinosaurs) and does a great job painting a picture of the history of Creation from a biblical perspective. The planetarium show (which explains our current understandings of outer space) and some compelling evidence for a young earth were personal highlights. Our visit lasted about 3 hours and we didn't drag our feet. We found ourselves glad that we didn't have our kids (3 yrs & 7mos) with us. It would have been over their heads.

After a meal in the museum cafe (tasty & cheap!) we headed for home. Once in Lexington, we stopped off to visit Jason and Kristy Eaton and their newest addition: GreenLee Noel. GreenLee arrived a week ago, but we hadn't seen her since our family has been passing a cold around. Baby girl was beautiful, and mom and dad looked tired but happy.

A half an hour later, we were home again. Although the time away was relaxing, it felt good to hug the kids again.

10 years down. 40 more to go.