A Staycation and Labor Day Recap

Oh, what a week last week was. A really great, really relaxing week and I’ve been waiting to tell you all about it. Mitch and I both took some time off of work and granted ourselves a Staycation (I feel like I am really late to the party in using this term… whatever) before work life gets crazy again. Last week, we indulged in whatever our little hearts desired.

We had grand plans of day trips and adventures, but when it came down to it… all we wanted to do was pretty much nothing. Our life is constantly on-the-go, so it was a vacation in and of itself to just stop. Eat. Take a walk. Go for a drive. Shop a little. Change our minds and just watch MasterChef on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and ice cream. 🙂

Even though Mitch had off the whole week, I worked on Monday, so our Staycation (it doesn’t really roll off my tongue yet, I gotta tell ya) officially began on Tuesday. We woke up and left the house around 9:00am for a day in Lancaster. One of our favorite eateries is Shady Maple, so we started with breakfast at their famous smorgasbord.

After all the waffles we could stomach, we did a little shopping in the Shady Maple grocery store and stocked up on some spices, drink mixes, and baking supplies. We were told they are way cheaper there than at our local grocery stores. Spoiler Alert: They are!

And then we took a little drive… to go play mini golf! The Village Green mini golf course was always a family favorite growing up and boasts two beautiful courses. We did the longer one- the one where the holes are built into hills and streams and waterfalls. And SHADE. Being that it was a million degrees out (we could not have picked a hotter week for this adventure), we welcomed being under the shade of the trees for most of the course.

Here’s the thing about Mitch and I… we are very competitive. As in, games are not very much fun when it’s just the two of us. The last time we played Trouble, I threw what can only be described as a temper tantrum at the end. And before you judge me, let me just say… I had ALL BUT ONE of my pieces in Home and Mitch had ALL BUT ONE of his pieces still in Start. In the final three minutes, he kicked my guy off the board and got all of his pieces home.You would have reacted the same way. #dontlie

Anyway, we were certain that mini golfing was going to be a nightmare and had made all sorts of pacts to still be friends afterward. And guess what? It was so stinkin’ fun! Minimal competition (I won’t even tell you who won… it was a three point difference), much laughter, and no fits of rage. 🙂

After golfing, we realized that the outlets were only a few minutes up the road, so we did a little bit of window shopping before heading home. The original plan was to go to Hershey Park for the evening, but because school was back in session, the park was closing earlier so we wouldn’t have gotten as much bang for our buck. Plus, it was hot as Hades and apparently the heat takes it out of you because we were exhausted by the time we started toward home! It was definitely a good move to opt out of the theme park. On the ride home, we stopped at one of the many produce stands and bought a basket of peaches to make into peach pie later in the week. Yum!

Wednesday was a day of relaxing- we slept in and spent the day just enjoying being home. Mitch played guitar, I blogged, and we watched a lot of Netflix. 🙂 That evening, adventure came calling and we took a trip into Philly to go to the Art Museum (it was “name your own price” night!) and enjoyed walking around there for a bit before meeting up with my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at one of their favorite local haunts.

Thursday rolled around and again, our grand plans evolved into taking it easy and rolling with whatever we felt like. Going into the week, we thought it might be fun to go camping somewhere local for the night… aaaand promptly nixed that idea when we realized that all it really took was 15 minutes outside for the sweat to start pouring. So we edited the plan to just a morning of shopping out in the Lehigh Valley area and an afternoon of hiking around Jim Thorpe (a place we’ve been wanting to go and visit).

Surprise, surprise, Thursday came and we got a later start than we anticipated (something about sleeping in on vacation just always wins out) which means we made it out to the stores later than we thought. I have been dying to go to Hobby Lobby for a looooong time now because I’ve heard such good things about it and we don’t have one anywhere close to us! There is one in the Lehigh Valley, though, so I spent almost two hours there while Mitch holed up in the local Guitar Center. IT. WAS. HEAVEN. I have an entire post coming your way about what I bought, so stay tuned.

Anyway, after shopping, it was late afternoon and the hiking would have been another 45 minute drive away from the direction of home. It just got to the point where we said, “You know what, forget it. Forget the plans. We’re doing what we feel like right in this moment.” And what felt right was a late lunch/early dinner at Applebee’s before heading home. Bam, decision made. You know those decisions that you’re completely okay with and excited about as soon as they’re made? Our week was full of those types of decisions. Not at all what we set out to do, but totally what we ended up wanting. And needing, I think.

Friday was an interesting day. Great and super productive, but interesting. In short, our house decided that no vacation is complete without a little drama and threw us a curveball. One that we’ll be dealing with all this week… I’ll keep you posted with the story and progress, but here’s an action shot to tide you over.

Hint hint… there is plumbing and mold and demo and brand spankin’ new “toys” involved. Can’t wait to tell ya all about it!

Apart from our house drama, we spent Friday picking up, cleaning, and getting some projects (also coming soon!) that had been looming on the to-do list finished up before we shipped off to the bay for the weekend. Before we made our getaway to the Chesapeake, though, we clocked some time representing the Youth Ministry that I work for at our local First Friday! It was a beautiful night of cool air (finally), live music, and hanging out in town.

Right after clean up, we jumped in the already-packed car and headed to the bay!

The weekend was amazing. Lots of fun, lots of play, lots of family, and lots of laughing. I’d use that same description for the bay house in general, actually, so it’s no surprise that we had a great time. We arrived late Friday night and slept in on Saturday morning. After a bit of breakfast, it was time to head to the beach! When I say beach, most of you are thinking the kind with a strip of sand as far as you can see littered with a rainbow of umbrellas and a crashing surf under a bright shining sun. We do have all of those things (well, except for the waves), but it looks a little different.

There is sand, but there is also grass to spread out blankets and chairs on. We have water, but because it is technically a river, there are no waves except those created by the ships that pass by. And the sun definitely shines brightly, but we like to nestle ourselves under one of the large trees and enjoy some shade on those hot summer days. Usually it’s breezy down by the water. Relaxing. A peaceful mix of quiet moments and the sounds of families chatting over a drink on the shore or kids pushing each other off the docks out in the water. This is the bay I grew up with and I love that our kids will someday have the same.

HOWEVER, there’s been a new addition to our fun at the bay… I told you last week that my parents bought a boat! We’re a huge boating family, but we’ve always done sailboats so this is a first. We took that baby out every single day we were there and it was SO.MUCH.FUN.

Mitch even took a turn at the wheel for a bit!

I used to be kind of a wimp about tubing (my brothers can attest to that)… I have this thing about the rope getting wrapped around body parts by accident and also a fear of falling off and smacking the water at super speed. Something about the “rag doll” feeling just doesn’t sit well with me.

BUT, I don’t know what it was about this weekend… but I went full force into the tubing life. We all took turns and did everything from smooth and easy “joy riding” to fast and furious “I think I’m going to die” rides. And it was a blast. Granted, by day 3, we could barely move from being so sore, let alone hold onto the tube for very long. I’m still feeling it and it’s been almost a week!

Here’s a shot of Mitch and my Uncle Scott, mid-jump…

Mitch and my brother, Beau being silly before their ride.

Annnnd a little bit of girl power! That’s me, Summer (Beau’s wife) and my cousin, Megan.

We all had fun… even little Sophie, my parents’ dog (although, it took her awhile to get used to her “sea legs”).

Apart from boating and hanging out on the beach, we enjoyed family time back at the house, great food, and general merriment and relaxing the whole weekend. Oh, and I even baked that pie (finally!) with the peaches Mitch and I had bought earlier that week.

Our weekend ended on Monday afternoon (after we had gotten back from one final boat ride) with a classic picnic on the beach, complete with hot dogs and brownies for dessert!

After that, we all packed our cars, tidied up the house, and parted ways back home. It was seriously a great weekend and a really fun Staycation. PS. I still don’t know if I really like that word. 🙂 Whatever it was, we were glad for the time of rest… a breather before the crazy whirlwind of our real lives starts up again. Both of our programming seasons ramp up for the school year starting this Sunday. Pray for us. 🙂

So tell me! How did you spend your weekend? Picnic with your family? One last trip to the beach? Anyone still sore from aquatic activities? #ifeelyourpain