I think sometimes things just work out right. We have a new CIO at work, who’s coming to Nashville next week for his first visit, which has things a little busy there getting ready. The Franklin Classic is this coming Monday (Labor Day) and planning for that has been exhausting. So even though it’s been planned for a while, without any knowledge of just how badly it would be needed, our “Babymoon” couldn’t have come at a better time.
Angie scheduled it as an opportunity for us to get away for a weekend, without the kids, and to relax before the new addition comes along. We haven’t actually gotten away for more than a quick overnight stay since Mallory came. The chosen location? Evins Mill in Smithville, TN. It’s about an hour east of here and is a bed and breakfast on steroids. Different from other B&B’s that I’ve either heard about or stayed at, this was really more of an “Inn”. It was made up of 40 acres of land, with a winding stream, an old mill, and a 50foot waterfall… There was a main house where we ate, which was very well thought out. They had a computer room (which we did not enter), there were always drinks and snacks out, and a dining room. Separate from the mainhouse were 3 “quadplexes” each with room for 4 couples… the first night we were there… well, I’m getting ahead of myself… let’s back up.
Angie’s stepmom, Kat, came into town on Thursday to watch Mallory for us. Part of the thought was that it would allow Mallory to get comfortable before we left, though it was quickly apparent that “separation anxiety” would not be a problem here. We both went to work on Friday, and left around lunch to head out on our journey. It was a nice drive… uneventful. We found the place after only missing one turn. Pulling up, it was obvious this would be a relaxing stay “close to nature.” Jason greeted us at the door… he’s the chef and was already working in the kitchen preparing dinner. Jason showed us around the main house and then to our room. He was very pleasant and we later found he was also a very good chef. ALL of the food was fantastic.
Angie thought ahead and order sandwiches from Honey Baked Ham. She packed them in a picnic basket and our first journey after unloading the car was to find a place to eat lunch. There was a bridge down from the house that was across the dam where the mill used to run. We crossed it and found a little spot down by the water next to the water wheel. It was a great start to the weekend… relaxing… just us… perfect weather. We had a bottle of wine opened, and just enjoyed each others company and the peaceful surroundings. Afterwards we headed up to the room and took a nap… naps are good.
Jason had indicated that there were only a few couples that night, so it was indeed very quiet. We headed up to the main lodge at 6:00 for dinner and were greeted by Chris… our server. Chris was a fun guy who was one of those “closet extrorverts” as Angie puts it. He couldn’t be serious if he had to be, but it made all of our main meals fun. Our first night we had 2 other couples there, but I have to admit we didn’t spend much effort to speak with them… we were just fine by ourselves. After dinner we were off to our room, where our cell phones didn’t worrk and the TV didn’t pick up a signal.
The next day we wanted to see the falls, so after breakfast, we cut out ont he “North Trail”. This was supposed to give us a view of the falls from the top. It was actually a pretty tough hike, so I have to give Angie a lot of credit . . . she didn’t complain once. The falls were beautiful, but I don’t think we truly realized what we were standing on. We didn’t stay long, but instead headed back and got ready to take the “South Trail”. Jason made us us some bag lunches and we took them with us down toward the falls. The “South Trail’ was pretty flat except for the last bit which drops down to the bottom of the falls. We stopped just before that and had out lunch… though both of us were still full from breakfast. We ate some of the food and then hung up our bags on a tree so that we could pick them up on the way back.
Angie again impressed with her descent and the view from down at the bottom of the falls was fantastic. It was there that we noticed that where we were up top, was actaully a ledge. We saw what I believe to have been a cottonmouth snake swimming through the water… which pretty much finalized our plan to NOT swim. Instead we just relaxed, took some pictures and ate a pack of cookies. Before we left, some kids came down the trail… which seemed odd since it was private property and no kids were supposed to be there that weekend.
We treked back up the hill, but when we got to our bags we found one of them on the ground. Our first thought was that the kids had gotten into our food, but at first glance we didn’t see anything missing. Then as we continued walking Angie realized, “Those kids ate our other pack of cookies!” Sure enough, the cookies were gone… not the banana and apple mind you. The water bottle was gone too, which thinking back we remember seeing one of the kids with a bottle of water. No wonder they didn’t want to look us in the eye when we passed…
No big loss, and not worth the trip back down the hill, so we headed back for a much needed nap.
Dinner was again fantastic, as was the quiet room again and the opportunity to sleep late. Sunday morning they prepare brunch, so you can come up whenever you want. We made it up around 10 and ate outside on the deck. Brunch was rediculous… the amount of food was amazing, and much of the vegetables were grown by Jason personally. We said our goodbyes and headed out, much refreshed and well rested. We agreed that we need to make it a point to get away, even if it’s just for a weekend, at least once a year. We’ll add that to our MIP… our Marriage Investment Plan.
Angie has uploaded some pictures of the trip for those interested. She’s also added some more to Mallory 2 Years, and maybe other albums as well. Hopefully the new SmugMug albums are working out for everyone.