Travel Feet: Romantic Mountain Getaway

While my wanderlust gene is dominant and Hubby's is recessive, as a couple, we still need to get away together. I've been able to convince Hubby we need to go on adventures together every now and again. We need to travel to new places. It was a difficult sell. Not only is he more of a homebody, he was worried about the exorbitant price tags associated with travel.

One of the best parts of a romantic couple
getaway is Hubby does most of the driving.

We have budgetary restrictions, due to most of our money being sucked away by the vortex that is being a parent. Whether you are paying for child care or college tuition, whether you are stocking closets or the fridge, your wallet was hijacked at the birth of your first child. I've heard rumors of parents regaining control of their own money when their youngest becomes gainfully employed, but I also know it is not wise to pin hopes on hearsay.

To ensure our bank account would not bleed to death, we put a 300-mile restriction on our romantic getaways. We can easily drive to many interesting destinations within 300 miles or less from home. It takes a mere half a tank of gas to get 300 miles away. And we live in the Southeast, so if we stay away from the major metro areas, which are not all that major compared to New York, LA, or Vegas, we can find relatively inexpensive overnight accommodations.

Sensing I had Hubby's attention with my argument, I took the initiative to plan our first getaway. Jonesborough, TN was barely within the 300 miles, but I kept to our limits and found a great little B&B.

Hubby did most of the driving, which was a nice change of pace for me. Typically, I'm the one going here or there, which means I'm behind the wheel. I rather enjoyed taking in the scenery as we made our way through the mountains toward Jonesborough.

Who needs a television when you have a
cozy fire, your hubby, and no interruptions?

The B&B was charming and cozy. You can read more about it in the April issue of Asheboro Magazine (pp. 27-30). The fact that we could hang out in our room without fear of a child knocking in search of car keys or a mother calling out in need of a fresh lightbulb on her side of the house made it luxurious. Quiet moments on the porch sipping wine and watching the clouds roll by as the horses and llama grazed in the field below were priceless. And our hosts never once called out to us, "What's for supper?" 

 Two sets of #TravelFeet are
always better than one.

On our trip, we discovered there are sushi restaurants as far inland as the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. We also made a pact to only eat sushi when we're within a few hundred miles of the coast. We had the opportunity to hear a real, live storyteller in the storytelling capital of the world. And, we consumed one of the best pizzas we've ever tasted after trusting the pizza maker to pick out our toppings.

The best part of the trip was simply spending time hanging out with each other. Some of our future getaways will be day trips. Some will be overnighters. The amount of time doesn't really matter as long as we continue planning adventures for two. 

And you never know. Wanderlust might be contagious. If it is, Hubby will eventually become just as infected as his gypsy wife.

Micki Bare, mother of three, wife, daughter & writer is the author of Thurston T. Turtle children's books. 

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