10 Year Anniversary Getaway

Last weekend Brett and I had a chance to getaway for our 10-year anniversary. I can hardly believe we've been married 10 years! And so much has happened in that time! We didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on traveling far away, so we picked a place close by where we could spend more time & money actually doing things. Brett had asked around some of our local friends where they recommended and gave me a few options. So together we chose Lake George, NY. It's actually only about an hour drive from home, and we've been there before to do some shopping. And we didn't realize it but Lake George is a pretty big tourist spot. There's a lot there that we didn't even know about! So we left the kids with some friends (including baby Jacob, who did great taking bottles for 3 days in a row!).

We chose to stay at a little cottage on the lake (not Lake George, but a smaller one nearby-- less touristy). It wasn't really too fancy, but we had our own separate little cottage (you can see it in the background of this picture) with a living area & kitchen, and a little screened-in porch, so we were able to cook our own breakfast and eat on the porch. It was private, but still had the feel of a bed and breakfast because the owners of the place were super friendly and helpful.

Thursday night we went out to Red Lobster, and enjoyed good food that we didn't have to prepare and we didn't have to get up 100 times to serve to children!

Friday morning we went out and did some shopping, since we were near to so many stores. We got lunch and took it back to eat on our porch at our cottage.

The cottage provided some canoes and rowboats for guests to use, so we took advantage of that and went out on the lake. Of course, neither of us really knew how to row a rowboat, but we figured it out and had a really good time. And we didn't flip the boat.

Friday night we went out to eat again, and then went to play Mini Golf. I read about this course that is supposedly one of the top 10 mini golf courses in the country. When we got there, it seemed like it was in such an odd location and not too crowded, but we quickly found out why it was so praised. Each hole was designed to represent a different country of the world. So we went on a trip around the world without even leaving home! There were some really cool holes, and really challenging.

This one was shaped like a guitar (although I can't remember what country it was!).

This one was in Paris, France. :)

We didn't realize it before we left, but the weekend we chose was the same weekend as Americade, a giant "Bike Week" they hold every year. So there were motorcyclists everywhere! And the golf course was on the "main strip" where they hung out every night so we were surrounded! Thankfully, they were not wild or crazy, there were just a lot of them!

After mini golf we walked along the lake (not at all peaceful because of the amount of people, but still pretty) and had ice cream.

Saturday, we actually went whitewater rafting, although there is not a single picture to show for it! It was a wet, rainy and cold day, but we were determined to go. And we loved it! We went on a short one-hour trip in a river with Class 2 & 3 Rapids that are made my a dam release so they are guaranteed. We were in a raft with 3 other people who knew each other, and a guide, plus there were 2 other rafts on our trip with a big group of kids. They slow down halfway for swimming and a water fight (buckets & giant water guns). Our guide made the trip really fun and got us going really fast when we hit the rapids. It wasn't at all scary, just a little wet & cold. We didn't want to take a camera or phone along because it would have gotten wet, and the photos they took were far too expensive, so we have no photos, but it really did happen! And we're so glad we had that experience together to remember. I can't wait for 50 more years of experiences together with this guy!