Getaway weekend

I now have appreciation for the newly coined word "staycation". Thanks to the generous wedding gift (only took two years to use it) from C and M, T and I got to stay in a lovely bed and breakfast a scant 45 minutes away from home. It was just far enough to serve as a getaway: We made it out of our own area code. Truly the nicest little place, owned by a retired couple who do all the repairs and cooking. She's a former English teacher, so we talked shop, plus she makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies and cooks a mean breakfast. He redoes all the rooms and repairs himself. Roses in the room compliments of DH, plenty of videos and board games, and part of the package included a gift certificate to the Red Osier restaurant, which does not mess around with its prime rib, let me tell you. Plus T knew the owner through work, so the latter sat us down at the bar afterward for a final on-the-house drink and chat.

The inn used to be an old mill, so they have a lot of original beams and wheels and things. We walked around the property, T taught me how to play Parcheesi (I had never learned!) and I actually won once, we slept in.... Just a great birthday weekend for me. Plus the B&B is down the road from the Genesee Country Village and Museum, a "living history museum" where the people dress in period costume and you get to go into all the old houses and stores. Neither of us had been there since our respective third grade field trips, so we wandered around a bit, even though it wasn't quite open season. Unfortunately for those who work there, the 38-degree day doesn't do much when you're in a house only heated by the fireplace/oven; the one poor girl had her shawl wrapped around her so tightly I almost offered her my coat.

our room!

view from the bed (it was a pretty cozy little room-perfect)

After dinner

The whole experience was just what we needed, and we definitely want to stay there again. It reminded me that we do have so many little places to explore within a 100-mile radius. We've got museums, nature trails, historical destinations, wineries, white water rafting, Niagara Falls.... If I got a travel brochure that tourists to this area pick up, I think I'd realize my area has a lot more to offer than I realize. It's something we want to explore more in this economy and time in our lives. Do you even know half of what you can do in your town and its surroundings? See what you can find. :-) I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.