In the daily grind of this thing called life, and in the process of taking care of children, dogs, parents, siblings, we often forget to stop and smell the roses. To take some “me” or “us” time.

Sometimes it’s necessary to make a plan, to be spontaneous or just take time and get away from the humdrum of life and just go someplace new. I don’t think Nick and I have gotten away together since June of 2009. We were living in Alabama and came to Chicago for a weekend wedding adventure. We were able to get away this past weekend to another wedding hoorah in Saugatuk, Michigan.  

We had my sister-in-law dog sit with our babies and left on Saturday morning. We were so excited – like two kids on a road trip getting away from the fam and just going out on the open road. Nick (the drummer, who used to play some with Journey and fill in for other groups such as Phil Collins) was listening to some of his jazz favorites along the way and was using our dashboard for bongos and was just having the time of his life. He was so excited about seeing some of his high school buddies and just hanging out! But we were also ecstatic for just some much needed alone time.

We arrived in Saugatuk shortly after noon and had a few hours before we needed to get checked into the hotel and get ready for the wedding so we took time to explore historic downtown on foot and take in all the shops (buying wedding gifts, fine cigars, and just taking it all in). If you’ve never been, I highly recommend this beautiful oasis along Lake Michigan.

One of the things I’ve always loved about my husband is the fact that we are very much alike. We like the same kinds of foods, similar taste in art and music, he doesn’t mind shopping, and he’s very spontaneous. I’ve often said to him, “Hon, one of the things I love about you is that you are just like me.” Not meaning of course that I love myself so much I would consider cloning, but I do love the fact that we have so much in common. Similarities can be a good thing as opposed to the old adage that opposites attract. I’ve been down that road and it was a little like this http://travelerfolio.com/tf2/photos/2010/03/dangerous-winding-road.jpg

We went on to get checked into the room and get ready for the wedding and then headed over to the Country Club. We were dressed to the “T”. I don’t get to see my husband dressed in a suit very often so I was hanging on his arm as if I was the belle of the ball. We felt like “William and Kate” walking in that room. Nick leaned over and whispered to me, “How does it feel to be the most beautiful girl here?”…..I just smiled.

We had a blast seeing all our friends, making new ones, and dancing….at one point we were on the dance floor when Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” came on and Nick immediately pulled up the bottoms of his pants and started moonwalking. It was hysterical.

We got up early Sunday morning, checked out of the hotel and made a plan to go to The Elbo Room Bistro where we had an awesome breakfast on the waterfront (the pictures do not do it justice, and we didn’t see any crazy-haired ducks either). We then headed back into town for more shopping and exploring.

It was getting kind of late so we decided to head back home. We had a little more crazy chit-chat, giggles, and a some hand-holding action. A nice, quiet ride home. As we pulled into our neighborhood it hit me,”Shoot! Now I’ve got to go back to reality” (back to grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning house and work) – and thought, “Reality really does bite!”

Nevertheless, we keep our noggin tops on for the adventure that awaits us this coming week and some day soon, we’ll take another excursion.