Mom's 29 Hours Out

Yes, yes. It's been a few days since I returned from my brief stay in the outside world, so this is far from timely, but I took pictures that I really feel must be shared.

Try to contain your excitement.

Okay!

I left the house at 9:10 a.m. on Friday morning, driving off down our dirt road with nothing but a large cup of coffee for company. The coffee was necessary because Poppy woke up before 4 a.m. and I had to drive 90 miles.

Brutal.

Unfortunately, the radio doesn't work at all in the Honda, so I had lots of time to think and talk to myself. It's a pretty straightforward drive, though, and thankfully I didn't encounter any of the snow that was moving around that part of the state.

I had some time before check-in when I arrived in the city, so I went to get my hair cut. It had been, um, six months since my last haircut, so it was very overdue.

That little chore taken care of, I got lost trying to find my way to the historic plaza but did eventually make it to the hotel.

It was a very, very nice hotel. It's an old one, built in the 1800s. Its age means that the proportions of the building are old-fashioned and, thus, very pleasing.

I usually feel claustrophobic in hotels, but it's kind of hard to feel claustrophobic when the hallways are this big.

Maybe a bit of a "Shining" vibe, but pretty!

I was most pleased with my room:

Check out the height of those ceilings. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

There were bookcases full of books all over the hotel, including in my room:

I definitely approve, though I bet housekeeping hates dusting this.

The towels were even folded into decorative flowers.

So was the toilet paper, but I didn't get a picture of that.

All the photos I took were in the hotel, which is appropriate, since I basically didn't leave the hotel the whole time. The only exception was a short exploration of the plaza, during which I went across the street to a real bookstore and got a book for each child.

Otherwise, I stayed in the hotel. I read. I watched movies. I ate dinner in the bar downstairs. I took a bath. I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. (PAAAAARTY!!!) and slept in until 5:30 a.m.*

Yeah, I pretty much did nothing. It was glorious.

By the time I checked out around 10 a.m. the next morning, I felt somewhat prepared to take on the wretched Walmart in this city and then head home to re-enter the maelstrom of my household.

It was exactly what I wanted to do. Happy birthday to me.

* I habitually get up at 4:30 a.m., so yes, this is sleeping in.