Super-secret surprise date

 

Wednesday night, after my crazy fill-the-freezer cooking spree, Scott sprung some good news on me: he had planned a secret date for us this weekend. If you read my belated birthday-post, you know that Scott is really great about doing nice things for me, and he's especially good at surprise dates. I was tired, I was stressed, and when he said he'd planned a date I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. I think we both needed a break from work/school/football, and this was it.

So, Super-Secret Surprise date day arrived (Saturday) and Scott told me to pack a bag just in case we didn't make it home until Sunday. I gladly packed up, and we hopped in the car and headed North. I was only slightly concerned when Scott got off the freeway on Plank Road, but as it turns out we were headed farther north to St. Francisville.

For those that haven't been here, the word to describe St. Francisville is most likely "quaint." There are antique shops and crafty stores, small restaurants, friendly people, and a lot of B&B's. The photo above is the St. Francisville Inn, where Scott had booked us a room for the night so we could explore the town and its shops without having to rush back to Baton Rouge that night. 



The inn was built in the late 1800's, and it was long on charm, complete with rocking chairs and porch swings, and a "secret" cutout in the fence that gave a glimpse of the awesome pool and courtyard in the back of the house. And, as you might imagine in South Louisiana, lots of oak trees with Spanish moss hanging down in bundles. It was beautiful.

Although I didn't think to pack a swimsuit, I did manage to get in a little time pool-side with a glass of wine (or two) and my feet dangling in the water.

Since they didn't have an alarm system, the inn keepers invested in a state-of-the-art guard dog, who shall now be known as "Jaws." I don't really know what his name is, but he was a very cute little Chi-Weenie puppy mix, and he kept all the guests entertained with his clumsy puppy-walking and nearly laughable bark. He was a great little companion during the awesome breakfast Sunday morning. (During which, I might add, I think I accidentally ate shrimp in the form of a stuffed crepe. I'm not sure, because I didn't taste any shrimp-i-ness, but Scott seems to believe that I ate shrimp. Funny that he didn't tell me I was eating shrimp until after I'd already done it and gone on and on about how good the crepes were, but perhaps he was more engrossed in his breakfast and not paying attention to what I was eating. Or maybe he really just wanted me to eat shrimp and realize that I like it. Which I don't. Blech!)

A few other highlights of our trip included our journey to the Magnolia Cafe for dinner Saturday night, and also to watch a little bit of the Saints game on Sunday. After Scott was so nice, planned a wonderful date, and even went to a million antique stores with me without a single complaint, I felt like he had more than earned some time to watch the game. 

By the time we got in the car to  head back to Baton Rouge, I felt like I had been on vacation for days, and things didn't seem nearly as overwhelming. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend, and a great reminder of the fact that I'm incredibly lucky to have Scott in my life.