Getaway, Exploded

My husband and I usually have a Getaway each autumn, often the first week of October.  We don't go far, but we must get far enough away that he can relax, which means we need to leave the valley.  We have found a resort only about 45 minutes away, and I have noticed a dramatic change in his tension levels, as soon as we emerge from the canyon and approach the town where the resort is located.  We have dinner, play a round of golf, watch a ballgame, go scuba diving, or whatever.  My goal is to help him to relax and refocus his mind:  I take books, walking shoes, and some knitting so I can read to him or entertain myself while he sleeps.  It is a refreshing and sweet experience for us both.

In anticipation of this, I put a gift certificate for a stay at this resort in his stocking last Christmas.  October approached and I made a reservation for one of the cottage suites.  We had plans to leave early on Friday and spend the day together before our resort stay in the evening.  But nothing worked according to plan.

Our youngest son gets out of school at one on Fridays, but nobody else would arrive until after three.  My husband picked up our son and brought him home, where they had lunch and watched some interesting shows on television.  With all the preparations and waiting, we weren't able to leave until after four.

We stopped at one of our favorite restaurants on the way, but they were not yet open for dinner.  Walking around for a half hour gave us time to visit and enjoy the mountainside, the fall colors, and the groups of people who were likewise taking advantage of the weather and scenery.  A cup of cocoa cut the chill of the air.  We were seated next to a fireplace and enjoyed some of our favorite autumn specials, but by the time we left it was too late for golf and it was beginning to rain.  We headed up the canyon to check into our room.

The parking lots at our hotel were full of unusual cars, many of which were restorations from the thirties and forties.  As we drove around in search of our room, we admired them and picked out our favorite colors and styles.  It was like going to a car show!

When we finally found the building where our room was to have been (at the back edge of the hotel complex) a party was in full swing and we could not locate our room.  It turned out that the party was being held on our front porch!  Dozens of people from the auto club were gathered there for their last night together.  Drinking probably made them a little deaf, for they had little volume control on their voices.  Our room was beautiful, the view of the sunset over the nearby golf course was stunning, but the experience was anything but private or relaxing.

We decided to make the best of things:  we drew all the drapes and began to pull the couch from the middle of the room over to the fireplace, so we could huddle together and hear one another read.  Somehow, the couch didn't want to move. My husband took one end and I lifted on the other, so we could pick it up and take it over; but his side was stuck. 

On the third try, he gave a firm lifting tug -- and the sparks flew!  The lights went out.  Without a word, we looked at each other and replaced the couch, then we telephoned the front desk to report our mishap.

Electrical outlets had been installed once in the floor, so lamps could fit on either side of a smaller couch and one of them was now shattered.  Live wires extending for several inches from under the couch made it unsafe for us to stay in our room.  There were no other rooms available.  We shook our heads, gathered our things, and accepted a rain check, intending to return home for the night.

Up the road was a bed and breakfast.  When we walked in, they tried to seat us for dinner.  It smelled heavenly, but we had already eaten.  Did they have a room?  No, said the host, but then the answer was amended -- they just had one, but someone had checked into it a few minutes before and then had decided against it, since it was on the ground level.  We took it -- and enjoyed reading Kipling and Frost by yet another fireplace.

We spent the morning watching General Conference and having a delicious breakfast, then we headed home.  On a downhill stretch of one-lane highway, we were pushed by a speeding car -- and both vehicles were ticketed!  It was an expensive trip.

We talked about the fun people we had met along the way and just laughed!  Though nothing worked as intended, everything worked fine and we came back relaxed and happy.  Our getaway exploded, but it was okay -- and we got another getaway as part of the deal:  like fireworks, it had exploded into something bigger and better.

They say life is what happens while you are making other plans.  One way or another, life is beautiful if you enjoy the journey together.

Alecsandro Andrade de Melo

Photos from sxc.hu.  Images by Alexcandro Andrade de Melo, Vanessa Dean, Krztsztof Kozerski, and Rajmund Barnas.

Alecsandro Andrade de Melo