Sweetest Day Ideas

   

HOW SWEET IT WAS

Submitted by: Pat in MN 

Living in Minnesota, we are particularly fond of the beautiful autumn period when the leaves change colors and the weather is so delightful.

This has been a particularly busy and stressful summer for my wife, and I know with another harsh Minnesota winter around the corner I really needed to reconnect and give her an emotional boost.  I'm usually a pretty spontaneous guy, but I knew this needed to be special so I spent about three weeks planning what I hoped would be the wonderful getaway.

So last Friday, I took the day off of work (my wife doesn't work Fridays) and arranged for us to take a nice leisurely drive to see the fall foliage. While my wife was really excited to have the day together without worrying about work or anything else, she was in for a few surprises.

As we started out, I popped in one of three CD's that I had burned filled with a mix of her favorite songs, and songs that had special meaning to us from different times in our 20+ years together.  I was surprised when she broke down a couple of times as we listened to the music, reminisced about some of our best times together, and looked at the fantastic scenery.  She kept telling me she couldn't believe what a wonderful day I had planned for her.  Again, it was just beginning.

We stopped at a very scenic overlook point and I pulled out a picnic basket. We had a wonderful lunch overlooking the Mississippi river and the incredible fall foliage.  After lunch, we stopped in a little town known for it's antiques shops and spent a couple of hours "antiquing", one of her favorite things to do.

As evening closed in she asked me if we shouldn't get started back home.  Well again, she was in for a surprise.  I told her we needed to stop at one more place.  She couldn't believe it when I pulled up in front of the old Victorian B&B.  I pulled our bags from the trunk and went inside.

Our room was incredible with a large whirlpool, fireplace, four poster bed and assorted antique furnishings.  I had made arrangements with the owners to have a dozen red roses in a vase on the table with a bottle of chilled sparkling cider (we don't drink alcohol).

We settled in to the loveseat in front of the fireplace to rest our feet a bit.  She couldn't believe that I had managed to get this all planned without her figuring any of it out.  As we sat chatting there was a knock at the door.  As previously arranged, the owners had ordered a lovely meal a fine local restaurant that they delivered to us with fine china and linens. 

Again, she couldn't believe that I could be so thorough in my planning.  After we enjoyed a delicious meal, I pulled out one a DVD with one of her favorite "chick flicks" and we watched the movie from the bed.  It was awesome!

We slept late, and after a wonderful breakfast, we walked along the riverfront and watched the wildlife.  We checked out of the B&B and the owners sent us on our way with a really nice picnic lunch in my basket.  At the B&B owners' recommendation, we drove to a state park known for it's beautiful foliage.  When we got there, we followed a path through the trees to a little waterfall.  We set-up our picnic lunch on the grass right at the side of the stream.  I was amazed that very few others came by during our lunch.  One poor guy got a pretty good elbow from his date wanting to know why he hadn't planned a picnic for her!

After lunch, we got in the car and drove home.  I was so pleased when we got home that our kids had come through for "the old man" by having the house all cleaned so my wife wouldn't have anything to worry about.

My wife hasn't stopped thanking me for arranging the "perfect escape" for her.  I'm actually a bit afraid that I may have set the bar so high that I'll never measure up again.  Oh well, I guess that's where this web-site comes in!

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