Lake Life in the Fall

If you've been reading, you know that over the summer I fell in love with the lake. Sal and I would go there every chance we got, which would usually be once a week, sometimes two if we cleared our schedules. I became obsessed with the breathtaking views of nature, the colors of summer, the bright blue sky and sun reflecting on the lake, and the sound of a fishing pole being casted and Sal's excitement when he caught a big one! So when the fall season came around, that didn't mean we stopped going to the lake, even though it was starting to get chillier and chillier near the water. Instead, we found ourselves sitting on the porch, sipping on wine and enjoying the changing colors of the leaves on the trees. I didn't think it was possible, but the lake seemed to be more beautiful with the reds, browns, and yellows.

I understood then why so many people leave the bustlin' city, and head to the countryside... why so many authors rent a cabin in the woods to write out their long novels. It's a truly relaxing place that cannot be copied, a place that cannot exist anywhere else ... not in someone's backyard with full views of the neighbors, not in someone's' room with the loud television and computer screen, and not even on a train with tons of people surrounding you. Those can be sanctuaries to some, but it does not compare to being by the lake, in the country, with few neighbors, with few other sounds that the water, the trees moving, and the fish jumping. 

The usual happened... Sal fished, while I read my book. We were together, but doing the things we loved separately, and that just made it perfect. Sometimes he'll stop me from reading to bug me to take a picture, but I secretly love it and am super proud of him when he catches a big fish, even the little fish make me proud... I tend to like the smaller ones better because they're just so cute! He usually always throws them back, unless it's a fish that his buddy can fry up and eat. 

More often than not, we'll leave the lake with our stomach's growling. Sometimes we wait for his friend to come home so we can all have dinner together, sometimes we'll head home and eat when we get back home, and more recently we've taken several trips to a delicious restaurant right down the road called Smokey's, which has proved to have such great food time and time again. Before we know it, we'll be regulars there, and the waiters and waitresses will know our names! 

Without these little getaways, away from the reality of our day to day chores and work, I think I would have lost my sanity a long time ago. Thankfully, the lake is just a short drive away. 

If nothing else...

When Sal & I go on mini getaways, we, or should I say he, usually plans them extremely well. He asks around for good towns to go to in other states, he checks hotel websites and reviews, and always looks for things for us to do around the town. I have to admit, I'm a very lucky girl. It's not that I don't like looking for new places to go, but I must admit usually everything I plan turns out pretty bad - like buying amazing seats to see the Jets (well really Brett Favre at the time) and it DOWNPOURING, and I mean  down pouring like I've never seen. Now after spending all that money, we weren't about to leave the game, so we battled through. So since then, I'm not the planner of any getaways.

A few weeks ago, I had a longer weekend off from work, so Sal and I figured we'd go away for a few days. He suggested a few places we had already been to, but I like going to new places. So after talking we decided to go someplace close (2-3 hours away), and eventually ended up choosing Connecticut. He found a town near a wine trail and we thought we were set. We had planned to spend some time outside hiking at state parks, and enjoying wine at the different wineries. We are suckers for wine trails. Well it turned out that wineries are not open this time of year, apparently it's not the right 'season.' I get that it was early spring, but come on. We couldn't understand it, and after I groveled for a few minutes, sal was able to cheer me up. We were together, away, and that's what I needed to focus on. 

He looked online and found a state park nearby, with a waterfall, of course, so we decided to go on a hike. We wandered through the woods, forgetting our water bottles in the car, trying to figure out the trail map (we didn't, we just kept walking). We chatted and explored as if we were the only two on the earth. If nothing else, we found several water falls, and Sal got to use his GoPro to document it.

Once we found our way back to the car, making a complete circle, not forcing ourselves to go back through the same set of woods, we were starving and probably dehydrated. We decided to head back to the inn, and grab lunch at a local deli, which ended up having the best wraps, served with a piece of their homemade cake on the side! I had never seen a cuter lunch, and it was delicious - I don't know if it was because we were starving, or because they really were so delicious. We went back to the room to relax until dinner at a local Mediterranean spot, deciding to try it because we had never had that type of food before. It was interesting to say the least. We made sure to bring a bottle of wine with us.

We headed home and ended the night like every night should end - in each other's arms. 

The next morning we grabbed breakfast, and I headed to the hotel gym, while Sal hung out in the room and read. I love working out in hotels, especially when you're the only person. They have everything you need and I could look up ((Tone It Up)) workouts on my phone. We quickly got ready afterwards, and headed out to the store. We picked up salads for lunch, and found a scattergories card game, which made the afternoon fly by.

At the store we thought, "If we couldn't go to a winery, we were going to make our own, in our room." I can't take the credit for this - it was all Sal. We bought three different wines to 'taste' and picked up prosciutto, cheese, crackers, and fresh bread. We got all dressed up - i wasn't  about to let a nice outfit sit in my suitcase! Sal set up our table - made a reserved sign, put together out plate settings, and even found a tablecloth (okay, it was a towel, but you couldn't even tell)! We ordered room service, and put music on. That awkward moment came when the room service came and the guy walked in and basically told us that we were in a town that no one comes to visit... ever. If nothing else, we had our own wine tasting.

The night slipped away, and before we knew it the morning came, as did the snow. It was beautiful to the point of wearing short sleeves the day we arrived, and now on the day we were leaving, less than 48 hours later, it was snowing! It had snowed while we were sleeping, but we were still determined to get one more hike in before we left. We drove a bit, but found an incredible place to hike, well really climb the stairs right against the waterfall that seemed to be never ending. It was so icy near the waterfall, and the snow covered the ground, but we kept at it until we made it to the top. If nothing else, we built a snowman (we may have referenced Frozen).

I always get upset after vacations and mini getaways. Sal and I spend such little time together when we're home since we don't live together, and so during vacations I treasure the time so much, that I don't want it to end, but I guess that's with anything you love - you never want it to end.

If nothing else, we visited a new state. 

If nothing else, we were together.