Back Into the Thick of It

I’d ask you all if you missed me these past few weeks, but in doing so, I’d then have to admit that although I always long for you guys when I am away, I didn’t necessarily “miss” blogging over the last ten days.

Having originally planned to take our much needed vacation last year for our anniversary, the honey and I ultimately had to postpone our long awaited getaway until the end of February (thanks to my hallucination-inducing weeklong migraines back in October, remember?).  But four months and no kids later, the honey and I hit the road to enjoy a full week of rest and relaxation in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Now I know what you are thinking, and while I cannot give you an exact figure or percentage of brown people who actually drive for hours just to find solace in mountainous Eastern Tennessee, it is worth pointing out that by the time we left Gatlinburg, we’d counted and/or exchanged brief pleasantries with close to 10 couples with a melanin surplus resembling our own.  Still, no matter how loud I sang along to Landslide while driving around town (the Dixie Chicks and the Fleetwood Mac version), the honey and I still received the most hilarious double-takes, stares and inquiring side-eyes (well, in all fairness, it was funny to me; the honey was a little cautious and unnerved by all the attention).

But for all of the awkwardness associated with being chocolate city-slickers in a lackadaisical country town, the majestic views, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, gorgeous landscapes, fresh mountain air, delicious food and the occasional head-nod from a local or two made our stay totally worth doing again in the future.  Too bad my return home was met with crying offspring, permission slips, mandatory business meetings, vendor follow-ups and other fires needing to be put out!

Aaah, back to reality.

 

Milestone Planning: I’m Counting on You!

So, in just over a month my honey and I will be celebrating a decade of love, marriage, camaraderie, child-rearing and in a few cases, the ultimate practice in patience.  Because of this milestone occasion, I was given specific directives to cash-in my vaca hours and submit to my boss my request for a week-long vacation and to make arrangements for us to get missing for the first 7 days in November.

Now as wonderful as all this sounds, I must also mention that my honey has instructed me to stay within a pre-approved budget for these festivities if I want to celebrate another ten years with him.  That being said, while we can still have a fantabulous time with these economic constraints, his fiscal responsibility has sort of forced me to limit my proclivity to indulge, just a smidge.

This is where you come in Pack Faithful.  Help me to decide what it is my honey and I should do and where we should go for our Aluminum-slash-Diamond Anniversary:

Picture Walk: The Mini Myrtle Vaca

As I shared in yesterday’s post, my family excursion to Myrtle Beach last weekend for The Beach Club Track and Field Challenge was a veritable headache and an indubitable “hustle” by the host team, but despite the South Carolinian shenanigans, we were still able to capture a few priceless moments on this trip and turn them into vacation worthy memories.

Upon arrival into town, similar to the way a frequent flier scopes out the exits on his aircraft, I was searching out all of the reasonable shopping sites within a 10-mile radius of my hotel.

We were fortunate enough to garner an amazing 7^th floor suite with an equally amazing oceanfront view.

While I was waiting in the lobby for my honey and nephew to finish toting all of our luggage up to the suite….

…the Irish twins were looking for some mischief to get into.

Later that evening, we headed out to satiate our palettes.  My Family was in TOTAL agreement, the highlight of the first day was Benjamin’s Original Calabash; surely you can see why!

Saturday began with a beautiful and bright sunrise

But the day proved to be so hot that the tents were up in full force!

  

The big boy preparing for greatness 

And he didn’t disappoint; placing in the top 5 

With the LONG afternoon on the field over, a trek to the beach was in order.

After wrapping up an eventful day, we sat on the balcony and watched a lightning storm.

Finally, before shipping out on Day 3, our final stop was to the resort’s Water Park for a little Sun and Fun before returning to reality.

                      

 *Note: The baby child stayed with the grands and did not make this trip; what with the hectic schedule of the weekend, and of course his propensity for buck-wild-ness when away from his creature comforts (re: unlimited supply of apple juice, carrot sticks and Nick Jr.).

 

…Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye!

Picture it if you will…you’re told by your spouse to request a few days off from work, clear your calendar for the remainder of the week and pack a bag. No explanation, no hint as to your destination, just get ready to go.

Yep (points thumb to chest), welcome to a day in the life. My honey told me earlier in the week that he needed me to cash in my vacation time (that I’ve been meticulously accruing for three years now), pack some clothes and be ready to leave Wednesday night.

Hey buddy, what the deuce? Witness Protection? Running from some Fatal Attraction Stalker? Planning a cross-country census tour of our own? I mean, I love surprises just like the next girl, but help me to help you. The more I know about a situation, the better off we BOTH will be, don’t you think?

Well, after twisting his arm and thoroughly ruining the moment, my honey revealed that he wanted to take me away on a belated birthday excursion, but threatened that if I asked another question of him, he’d cancel every single plan and instead treat me to Double Fillet Day at Long John Silvers! Needless to say, I’ve been as quite as a church mouse (outwardly) while the gears in my head have been squealing and smoking as I try to decipher what all the 30th Birthday Getaway entails.

With that said, I thought I’d give you, The Pack faithful the heads-up that I will be out of pocket for the next 4 days, gallivanting to only God (and my honey) knows where. I’d initially planned not to blog while on vaca, but I can already feel deep in my bones that these next few days are going to be chock-full of Pack worthy material. So, although some “secret” but much needed R&R is planned for me, I very well may be keeping you guys posted!

To Be Continued…