Our Romantic Getaway: Alternately Bragworthy and Laughable

Doug and I are perfecting our romantic getaways. We've learned that two nights away are better than one (duh!), but we really think couples shortchange themselves when they only go away for a day. That means that you're thinking about going back almost the entire time. If you know you'll be gone for two days, you actually feel like you're on vacation. So if anyone is planning a getaway (and can find someone saintly enough to watch your children--Thank you, Shauna!!!!!!), I recommend the two-nights away relaxation program. I do not recommend camping at Bear Lake during a thunderstorm in a flimsy little tent that rocks violently and flaps loudly in the wind all night long.

Doug and I agreed that it would be fun to go camping for our 6-year anniversary--we've never gone camping together before, and Doug bought a 4-person tent and an electric pump for our air mattress with his discretionary money. Then he enticed me by saying we could camp on the "beach" at Bear Lake. I love me a beach, and I love Bear Lake, as the closest pretend beach we have in the area.

We started the trip off right by heading to Maddox. Absolutely heavenly rolls with raspberry butter, mediocre entrees, and $10 of raspberries later, we were at Bear Lake. There were some clouds in the sky, but we looked forward to finding a place to camp and hanging out in the sun. Unfortunately, it was Raspberry Days, which meant every person on earth in the mood to come to Bear Lake was there, and had already reserved campsites. So we went from campsite to campsite, and there was "no room at the inn." Finally, on the other side of the lake from the milkshake shop of my dreams, we found a poe-dunk, gravelly, rocky strip of a campsite and found a decent looking spot in the sand. We pitched our tent, slathered sunscreen, and got to play in the water and read books on our own private beach. Then the clouds got a bit thicker and closer together...and we went out for food.

Of course, the thunderstorm came with a vengeance while we were looking for food, and when we got back to our campsite, our tent was in shambles. The stuff inside was dry, but some of the sticks had collapsed, and we had to haul everything back to the car in the middle of an almost-hale storm. The rain stung.

Doug wanted to cut our losses and go to a hotel. I wanted to stay because we'd paid $10 to camp there, and we were trying to limit ourselves to a $100 budget for our trip (gas excluded). We quickly realized that the people who had situated their tents by trees, and surrounded by cars, were smarter than we were, as their tents hadn't collapsed. Doug mustered up his courage, and we found a kind of high clump of bushes half a mile from our original site, and pitched our tent yet again.

I think it is significant to note that, while the white-capped WAVES were slamming against the shore 30 feet from our tent, we could rarely hear them. The wind smacking against our tent was really that bad. We stayed up most of the night, thankful that we were dry and comfortable, but laughing because it just really wasn't possible to sleep as our tent was spiked by Mother Nature. At 5:30 am, I let Doug know I was fine with moving on. He hoped we'd get a little more sleep and we finally left before 9. Then we got to go to our cabin in Island Park, and we have NEVER loved and appreciated it more.

We already appreciated that it was private and had indoor plumbing. But we marveled at the sturdy walls, and the wind that never blew our house in. It was glorious.

The highlights: Doug, swimming in Bear Lake, the Maddox rolls, running with Doug in Island Park
The low lights: setting the tent up twice in three hours, and not being able to sleep the first night

We love adventures, and we'll remember this anniversary forever. On Saturday night (the second night of our trip) I lay in bed and listened to Doug's breathing. I thanked Heavenly Father for my precious, glorious husband, for our best-friendship, and for the life I have had with him. "God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."