15 Years & Counting!

I know this is August 1st, but some things just can't go without mentioning. On June 26th, Brian and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. It isn't everyday that you reach that kind of milestone, especially in the days we live in. Brian is always one to have a plan up his sleeve and he really likes to keep me in the dark. This time was no exception as he planned a little getaway for the two of us. He arranged babysitting and everything!! He told me the night before, so I could have fair warning to pack and make sure that things would be in place for Emily (food, diaper supply, etc), and that wasn't because she was coming with us. She stayed home too. The first night we went to Ravenswood Castle which is a Bed and Breakfast that was built to look like a castle (duh).
















The Garden Area which can be seen from the Sun Porch.
















The Sun Porch, where we ate breakfast.


















So, I didn't take a picture of our room because I forgot until the next morning and then it looked all messy. So, here's a picture of one of the other rooms that we want to stay in when we go back someday.










It is in an area called Hocking Hills, which is a few hours from our home. The Hocking Hills area is very beautiful and is famous for its Caves, hollows, waterfalls, and nature trails.
























This area here is called Ash Cave. (Side Note: There was a very annoying couple ahead of us on the trail and I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for them to GET OUT OF MY WAY, but they never did. Finally, I gave up and took it with them in the way, obviously, that's them in MY picture!) Anyway, The horseshoe-shaped cave is massive; measuring 700 feet from end to end, 100 feet deep from the rear cave wall to its front edge with the rim rising 90 feet high. A small tributary of the East Fork of Queer Creek cascades over the rim into a small plunge pool below. Why do they call it Ash Cave? Good question. Ash Cave is named after the huge pile of ashes found under the shelter by early settlers. The largest pile was recorded as being 100 feet long, 30 feet wide and 3 feet deep. The source of the ashes is unknown but is believed to be from Indian campfires built up over hundreds of years. One other belief is that the Indians were smelting silver or lead from the rocks. Still another theory claims that saltpeter was made in the cave. No matter the source, several thousand bushels of ashes were found. A test excavation of the ashes in 1877 revealed sticks, arrows, stalks of coarse grasses, animal bones in great variety, bits of pottery, flints and corn cobs. So, all that to say, we hiked around and saw a lot of very pretty scenery. It was nice just to be together with nothing in particular to do. We certainly don't operate like that at home!!

This picture of the toadstool shows how retarded I am. Why? Because I went away for two glorious days with my husband and of all the 100's (and I do mean, 100's) of pictures I took, my favorite one is of this toadstool! If you really want to see it the way I love it most then you have to click on it and look at the full size image. ahh, I love it!





Next, we went back to Cincinnati to the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel. It was so gorgeous and I felt so out of place! Not really, but that place is really for a bunch of people in a much higher income bracket!
















The Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel opened in 1931 and is a National Historic Landmark and charter member of Historic Hotels of America. The hotel features breathtaking French Art Deco that has been restored to its 1930's grandeur. With rare Brazilian rosewood paneling, indirect German silver-nickel light fixtures and soaring ceiling murals, the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel is one of the world's finest examples of French Art Deco, or so they say in their brochure. :)
Our room was on the 26th floor and we could see the Ohio river and downtown Cincinnati. We even had a very cool Jacuzzi tub in the room! Here's an odd thing about that though...It was made to fit THREE people! Okay, that just seems weird to me... A tub for one person, understandable. A tub for 2 people, again, understandable and that's all I'll say about that. BUT a 3 person tub?! What third person would you invite? It was obviously NOT a hotel room for children so that's out and all other possibilities would maybe cause me to get banned from blogger. Anyway, it was just toooo weird. It also had a very cool light thingy that made a sort of laser show in the water...there was no music with it, just water. I guess I could've sung a song or something. k, well, I've talked about the tub enough.
After we'd settled into our room and scoped out the $ 4.50 bottles of water that were for sale, Brian told me that we were going out to dinner and that I had about 45 minutes to get ready. Great! I can do that with no children around to divert my attention. However, about 15 minutes into my 45 he tells me that actually things have changed and now I have 10 minutes and we need to be downstairs!! Talk about a change in plans for me. I knew nothing about where we were going or how we were getting there, I'm so trusting... (sigh). After I presto chango-ed we headed downstairs and were met by an elevator full of pink garbed, funky, crazy hat wearing sorority members. The hotel was hosting the international convention for the Phi Beta Gamma Sorority and there was pink females everywhere! Old, young, big, small, short and tall! They were all over the place in their wacky attire! We escaped unscathed from the elevator and headed towards the door. As we were walking out, I noticed someone lurking beside a plant and lo, and behold it was a friend who was actually waiting for us! She and her husband were picking us up and we were going to dinner together. We went to the most scrumptious Italian restaurant! They serve everything family style and it was soo yummy. The decor is quite interesting, but its a very fun atmosphere. It was a fun time together.
After we left the restaurant we went and got coffee and sat outside the cafe and talked. It was a very fun and relaxing evening. Even though at a later point in the night we got warned by the police to get out of a park that was closed. ha! That, was funny! We arrived back at the hotel without any police involvement and then walked to a center square park that had a fountain and some sort of late night music thing going on.
It was a wonderfully relaxing evening. It also felt so strange to be able to think less. I mean, when you have 5 children there are so many things that you have to think about...who's doing what, who's not doing what they're supposed to, what I am supposed to be doing, what was I doing before I got interrupted for the 40th time?? ETC, ETC... So, I really was thinking but I was only thinking about what I need to for me. A very foreign thing, at least for now. I thrive on chaos. Chaos is normal, its nice and if you're a mommy of many you can totally identify.
So, that's our trip and the highlights that are blogworthy. Hope you weren't too bored. :)