Can't Come Up With a Witty Title For This One

I planned it for months: A weekend away with Herr. We hadn't been away on our own in over two years. We've been stressed, distracted and annoyed with all the little stuff that just shouldn't matter. The trip wasn't much--it was going to be a couple of days in the Catskills and a couple of days in Boston. I cashed in frequent flier miles to fly my Mother-in-law to PA to take care of the girls. The trip itself wasn't such a big deal--it was the fact that I was surprising Herr and I had managed to NOT spill the beans. That's really hard for me as I usually tell him everything.

My plan was to pick up my MIL at 2:00PM at the airport on Wednesday. I would have all day to pack beacuse I was taking the girls to daycare for the day at 7:00AM. I would get a pedicure. I would go sit in a Starbucks somewhere and drink coffee. I would do all the grocery shopping so I wouldn't need to do it when we got back on Sunday.Herr was coming home at 5:00PM. When he walked in the door, I was going to essentially kidnap him and drive to our first location.

Things were off to a good start on Wednesday morning. I started putting clothes aside for the two of us at around 6:00AM, the girls were up and dressed. I was just getting ready to go to the basement to get our suitcases when the phone rang.

"Hey. I've been in an accident. Um, the car is totalled."

Of course I start freaking out, asking him, "AreyouOK? Arethepolicethere? Whathappened? Whereareyou? Areyousureyouaren'thurt?" Corey calmly said he was fine and that the police had just shown up and he needed to talk to them.

After he hung up, I realized that he was an hour away from me in the pouring rain. He needed a ride home, so I called him and told him I would drop the girls off at daycare and get him. It turned out that he had just gotten off the interstate and was on a small road near his work. He saw a deer near the opposite side of the road and slowed down. A minivan coming toward him didn't slow down, saw the deer, and crossed the center line to avoid hitting the deer, thus hitting Herr. The police said it was a no-fault accident, but that clearly isn't the case since the guy crossed the center line.

I spent the drive to New Jersey, trying to figure out how I would NOT tell Herr about the surprise I had in store for him. I quickly realized that the idiot in the minivan RUINED my surprise with his irresponsible action of crossing the center line. Oh well, I figured I would have to tell Herr the surprise, but I wouldn't tell him WHERE we were going.

Two hours later, Herr was on the phone with the car rental agency to get a loaner. He happened to mention that he needed to get it before late afternoon. They in turn asked him WHERE he was going as this particular agency needed special permission to allow customers to take their cars in certain states. Imagine my annoyance when I had to tell him which states we were visiting. Stupid minivan driver. (*NOTE: In reading what I have just written, I realize how absurd this is all sounding. I am currently MUCH more upset about the fact that my husband is bruised and really sore andwe have to buy a new damn car than the fact that Corey learned about the surprise earlier than I wanted him to.)

Our time away turned out to be fantastic. We spent a couple of days in the Catskills and stayed at Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel, which is owned by Kate Pierson of the B-52s. I will write a review of the hotel later this week so that this post won't take 4 hours to read. We spent our time driving around, hiking around, eating and drinking. We got to spend time with our friends, Sarah and Ty and their two adorable children, who live in the area and have a gallery. Traditionally, we see them on Superbowl Weekend and Memorial Weekend, so it was nice seeing them at a different time of year.

On Ty's recommendation, we went hiking at Mohonk Mountain House. Oh.My.God. The views were AMAZING! The resort is positively beautiful, and I am hoping we will perhaps stay there sometime.

After our jaunt in the Catskills, we went to Boston. We stayed at Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, which was fantastic. We walked from one end of Boston to the other on Saturday. The most fun part of the trip, however, was meeting the famous Cape Buffalo and her wonderful family!

We met up with Cape near our hotel. When Herr and I walked up to her vehicle, she and her adorable daughter were patiently waiting for us. Cape said her husband went to go find a bathroom. After waiting a few minutes, I was convinced he was in the mall connected to our hotel, looking to purchase some mace in case his wife had involved him in a crazy situation with a couple of freaks. After awhile, Cape's husband appeared with bag in hand. Fortunately, it wasn't mace--he had actually stopped by the pet store and bought their daughter a beta fish and a mini aquarium, complete with all that the fish would need for a comfortable home. Cape's daughter promptly named the beta, "Violet" and decided that she was afraid of heights.

After dropping Cape's daughter off at Grandma's house (which happens to have a CRAZY cool view of Boston) we walked around the North End. Cape and her husband were fantastic hosts and guided us through a gastronomical journey of pizza joints and 24-hour bakeries. We watched some old-timers playing bocce and we talked a lot. For once, Herr was a better conversationalist than I. Typically, peoples' eyes glaze over when he is asked about the type of work he does. Cape and her husband actually understood what he was talking about, so he was really comfortable. Cape and her husband were so incredibly nice that I really didn't feel like the dullest knife in the drawer, even though I was.

Our trip back home was uneventful. We had a great time away from the stress of our lives, but we missed the girls. Now life is back to normal: Back to work, back to being parents, and back to dealing with a buying a car.