Our Babymoon Getaway

 

Just recently my husband and I decided to plan a weekend getaway. We usually take a "babymoon" near the end of my pregnancy and leave the kids with my wonderful parents. We decided a weekend close by was in the budget and the agenda would be to "do nothing". Now this sorta goes against the grain for us movers and shakers, but these days I'm feeling like a little sitting around is just what I need. I searched around the internet and found the Overlook Inn on top of Fort Mountain in the North Georgia Mountains. We have been to Fort Mountain State Park way back when we were dating and liked the area. I figured it might be a little cooler and boy was I right. It was cool enough to enjoy being outside in the evening.

The Overlook is a bed and breakfast that also rents out cabins. We picked the BandB so I wouldn't have to cook or clean. While we were there, we checked out the cabins, they are down a really long gravel road, so pretty remote and very cute inside. The Inn was surprisingly right off the main road, but the traffic died down at night so it didn't bother us. Our room was the Moon Eye and it was quaint, comfortable and very clean. The bed was divine (and I'm like the princess and the pea when it comes to beds and sheets)! There were plenty of pillows to create my "pregnancy nest". The bathroom had wonderful soft towels and organic toiletries that smelled great. The BEST part of the room however, was the screened in private porch with rocking chairs and a hot tub! This is one of the main reasons I chose the Inn. The tub was way too hot for me to go in when it's set on their normal temp, but Neil, one of the staff members,  was so kind and helped us change the temperature so we could enjoy it for our weekend. It was heavenly to soak weightless in the tub with the katydids chirping around us in the evening.

 

One of the other main reasons we picked the Inn was due to their write up in a 2008 Southern Living issue which they advertised on their website. I was also excited about the descriptions of the elegant, gourmet 3-course southern breakfast, afternoon tea service, wine and cheese hour and candlelight dessert. I know - it's all about the food for me!! I have to say this is one area where I was disappointed. The breakfast the first morning was a muffin and granola for the first course, a broiled half peach for the second course, and a dry frittata, overcooked frozen sausage patty and huge croissant for the third course. The next morning was worse with the same first course, broiled grapefruit for the second, and pancakes that obviously had too much baking powder in them (only one guest actually ate them). Good ideas that fell flat when executed. Why not make use of the local fresh peaches and showcase their freshness? Why serve so many breads when one would do and spend the money on a little garnish for the plates like uh.... jam and butter. None was served with the croissant. Why not offerr creamy, softly scrambled eggs and dazzle us with a homemade coffee cake? Unfortunately the afternoon tea continued the pattern of lack of attention to detail.

There was a lovely tea pot set up with hot water and coffee for the non tea drinkers. Sadly the only kind of tea bags they offered was green tea - no black, no herbal. The only time I like hot green tea is when I'm eating sushi. So I settled for the bottled water they provided and partook of the only snack served at this "tea"...cookies. I figured the wine and cheese would be yummy. Wonderful Heather, who was very kind and helpful like the rest of the staff, offered to break out the sparkling cider in my current preggo condition.  I told her it wasn't necessary, but it was sure nice that she offered.  (As a side note: she's a talented writer with a gift for wit and you can pick up her books at the property's gift shop.) The wine and cheese turned out to be precut chunks of cheddar, colby jack and the like.  Nothing like what I expected. Even a wheel of brie would have been better than the Kraft package products that were used.

That evening there was an optional Fondue Night package that we did not try, so it might have been delicious. But I had splurged and gone to Whole Foods where I picked up some artisanal cheeses, sausage, crackers, huge greek olives, a loaf of fresh bread, gourmet chocolate and grapes. It was the perfect dinner as we sat on our porch and enjoyed our meal. A relaxing and quiet way to end our weekend together. The Inn was great for solitude and romance.

All and all we had a special time together which is exactly what we wanted. We got to talk and laugh and remember why we like each other so much.  Sometimes it's easy to remember you love each other, but the liking part is a little harder in the chaos of everyday living. To this day, I'm am so grateful to have found my husband and thankful that he chose me. He is my foundation and support and I dearly love him.