Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A Mommy/Daddy Getaway

I'm warning you right off the bat that there are no pictures of Charlotte in this post. Matthew and I decided that since we are fast approaching our third anniversary (May 27th) and desperately needed some time for just us, we took a weekend trip to Augusta, MO and left Charlotte with my parents. Grandma and Grandpa Charlotte spoiled her quite nicely and she left their house with some new toys and a baby pen (thank you! thank you! thank you!). She even went to bed nicely for them. I am also proud to report that we (and by we, I mean "I") only called three times. My mother told me to stop calling, so I did.

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast called the Lindenhoff and had some sinfully delicious breakfasts. I will leave you with the words "white chocolate cheesecake french toast with strawberries" and you might have an idea of what amazing treats we had. The B&B was close to the Katy trail, so we packed our bikes. The first day we biked to Blumenhof Winery, about 15 miles round trip. It was a beautiful morning- a little chilly, but perfect for the ride.

Starting out at the Augusta "station"

Matthew checking out the formations along the trail



Me not believing that this is the trail to the winery

Me being wrong


We also stopped at two other local wineries, Augusta Winery and Mount Pleasant Winery. Two very different wineries, but both wonderful. Augusta Winery was small and quaint and the people were super nice. Mount Pleasant was definitely more corporate, but the view from the property was AMAZING. We sat outside and listened to a pretty decent band. Wonderful. We then headed out for our fancy dinner at Cafe Bella. The food was really good and for future dinner guests, you may be seeing a Gorgonzola with cinnamon honey appetizer gracing the table. Phenomenal. We went back to the B&B, lit the outside fireplace, and just sat and talked for a couple of hours, a luxury I had almost forgotten about. It was great to get to know my husband again as my husband, not just the father of my daughter.

Relaxing on the patio before headed out to the other wineries



The views at Mount Pleasant



Dolled up for our night out

Sunday we hit the trail again and biked to Sugar Creek winery, about 12 miles round trip. All I can say is that thank goodness the trail was beautiful because the winery was AWFUL. The property was pretty, but we got there about 15 minutes before they opened and even though there were a ton of employees there and everything was set up, we were promptly informed that they did not open the terrace until 12. So we sat on a bench outside the winery and waited until 12. Then they searched our bags. Seriously. They advertise as being right off the trail and we welcome bikes and hikers, but then we were told that they don't allow outside beverages, including bottles of water. Are you kidding? We just biked 6 miles. Of course we have water! It left a really bad taste in my mouth, so we left. I was mad. At least they had nice bathrooms.

Thumbs down for Sugar Creek Winery

The trail goes right along the river here. It was beautiful!






Once back in Augusta, we packed up our bikes and hit the road back home, but not before stopping at Montelle Winery for lunch. Oh my gosh, it was wonderful. The view was breath taking, the food was amazing and the employees were super nice. Totally worth the trip and a great way to forget about Sugar Creek. Then we made our way back to my parents house. I was so excited to see our little girl! As much as I enjoyed our weekend away, the best part of the trip was seeing the huge smile on Charlotte's face when we walked into the living room. I missed her so much! I'm glad we went away so we could come back relaxed and ready to be better parents than we were when we left.


The view at Montelle



2 comments:

Meredith said...

Wow! How fun for you guys! Isn't it great falling in love again??? Our trip to Belize was WAY belated!

Jana said...

That looks like so much fun!! And WOW beautiful!!!!!!!!