My Boyfriend Surprise Weekend
Well, this weekend. This weekend was the best one that I've had in a very, very long time. All because of Brian.
Last week, as of Monday, we had no plans for the weekend. On Tuesday, Bri emailed me a note saying "I want to go on an adventure. Are you in?" I told him Yes, that I was extremely excited. He said he would make the plans and it would be a surprise. Friday night I hung out with Kate Thurmer, came home and fell asleep.
Saturday morning I woke up very early, around 6 a.m. I had to do a load of laundry before we left and, once that was done, couldn't quite get myself back to sleep. I was too excited. Brian woke up a short while later and I heard him moving around in his bedroom. I started chucking stuffed animals over the wall into his bedroom (we have a loft space, no walls hit the ceiling) and pretending to fall back asleep. We both got up and laughed about how our stuffed sheep Eunice had collected a bunch of dust by hitting one of the rafters. We got ready (showering, packing, etc). Finally, around 10, we took off.
Now I'm terrible with directions and don't know Jersey very well, so I had no idea where we were going. We were both excited about the Adventure, listening to Mozella and singing a bit and talking happily. The weather was lovely on Saturday morning, and I put the window down and hung my arm outside the window. Brian drove through Lambertville and we talked about different places we could buy a house. He said that, just from the short browsing he had done of the housing market, he was beginning to identify houses in different towns by sight. We drove past the Lambertville Flea Market and, though I thought we'd stop in Lambertville or New Hope, Brian kept driving. Brian asked if I knew where we were going, and I answered that I did not. He repeated it a short while later, and he had pulled up outside the Rosemont Cafe. The Rosemont is a small, cute cafe with amazing natural foods and interesting natural combinations. I was quite happy to be there; it's a wonderful place. We sat down and considered our food options-- I ordered tea, which is becoming a fast favorite of mine while on Atkins. Bri was considering food options and I told him that he really should choose the more adventurous choice, as we were, after all, on an Adventure. Brian selected a mango/ papaya/ brie omelet and I chose an avocado/ bacon/ feta omelet. Neither of us might have chosen those options on a normal day, but we both enjoyed them, especially as we thought ourselves quite adventurous. We bought some awesome diet Root Beers for the road.
After Rosemont, we hopped back in the car all sated and Brian drove into Frenchtown, a tiny art town. There wasn't too much there, but we got out and walked ourselves, checking into a little candy store with tons of truffles. We got back in the car and drove on, arriving next in Clinton. It's a beautiful town and we have been there once previously to have a drink at a cafe on the river. We parked and Brian took me to the Hunterdon Museum of Art. It's a place he's noticed and walked by, but never visited. I was happy to visit the bathroom (after tea, water, and root beer) and then we elevatored to the top of the Museum. The top floor was children's art selected by their art teachers. It was interesting to see all the different kinds of art projects-- they had create-your-own-dragon art, paper mache masks, native american art, Picassoesque self portraits, etc. I thought about how weird it must be to have so many constraints placed on your art. These kids were told what art to immitate, what materials to use, what process to use. When I was back in school, I would often let my creativity go and follow my feelings and would often get poor grades for it. Even the teachers who saw that I was trying to make my own art would still try to rein me back (as I suppose they had to follow the curriculum, too). Still, there were lots of interesting pieces. The second floor was political art about 9/11, the war in Iraq, the current Administration. None of the pieces really stood out to me except for a tiny baby doll hand in a glass box full of bullets. In the background, a list of Iraqi children and their ages were listed. Looking at this long, long list of children killed in battle was painful. It was hard to look away. On the first floor, a New Jersey artist working in Mexican (?) sculpture were exhibited. Brian commented on how smooth all of his artwork was; it was almost as if they were made by machine, rather than man. He had lots of introspective art that was easily translateable. My favorite was a pencil drawing of a man yelling out, with the words "Open Your Mouth". Brian's favorite was a very simple line drawing of a tiny man with a long, long line across the bottom of the page, as if he was on a journey himself. I could definitely see why this would appeal to Bri. He is very much a man about the journey.
In the museum gift shop, I purchased Brian some small presents (a magnetic Sodoku and a staple-less stapler) and I tried out a toy I very much love, the Buddha Board. It's a thin board about the size of a sheet of paper held horizontal. You use water to paint a design with a fine wooden brush; in a few minutes, the water dries up and you are left with a blank slate again. I told Brian I wanted it and he told me to wait for my birthday :P It was $35, so I figured maybe I would find it online for cheaper. We walked around Clinton, a beautiful little town where I'd like to live. They had a great bridge with a huge working waterwheel. The place is the definition of adorable.
We stopped at the local library, as we had some time to kill. We read graphic novels in big chairs and hung out for a bit. Around 4ish, we left and went to our next destination. Brian was driving through Clinton and made a very fast left-- into the Holiday Inn. But it wasn't just a Holiday Inn, he advised me: it was a Holiday Inn Select! Turns out it's a very fancy hotel-- chandaliers, fancy buffet, nice bedrooms, pool, danceclub, restaurant, etc. Brian checked in (yes, only one bed!) and we went to our room on the top floor of the hotel (very chic). We opened the door and I discovered a box of Godiva chocolates, a romantic Godiva CD, and a huge shower accompanying a comfy king-size bed. It was wonderful and we snuggled together and popped open the Godivas. I had the most amazing piece of hazelnut praline candy. It was a mouth orgasm. (They were only 5 carbs each, so I wasn't being too bad). We lounged for a bit, then Brian convinced me to get a bit naughty. We did some naked stuff, of which I was extremely hesitant but later got into. I've got body issues but Brian made me feel really at ease. It is just sex, after all. After showering, we went downstairs to the lobby and acquired some birdseed. We took a short walk and fed a ton of ducks in an icy pond. Just like me, they were a bit afraid at first, but later went duck-crazy. It was fun to watch them walk, as their little feet would go sliding across the ice. They really seemed to enjoy the seeds. Our shoes got completely, completely slimed with mud and we ended up tracking mud-trails back into the hotel (oops). We went to the gym and waited until the sauna was empty to hop in for a bit. We chatted and relaxed and let the water bubble up around us. Back in the room, we showered and got all purty and then went to dinner at The Clinton House, a bustling place with famous steaks. I got a mouth-watering filet mignon with blue cheese. Brian chose a pasta dish with broccoli, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes which he also enjoyed. That evening Brian had heard on tv about the Lunar Eclipse. We stood outside our hotel for half an hour, watching this incredible celestial occurance as people walked by, blithely ignoring what was going on in the sky. It was bizarre and beautiful and mind-blowing, realizing that our planet was obscuring the light from the sun. We kept checking the moon that night.
In our hotel we fell quickly asleep. Brian was quite snuggly all weekend, which I couldn't get enough of. Brian did wake me up at about 4am in the morning though-- his neck was sore. It had happened a few days before and went away. He thinks it seizes up when it gets drafty. I tried to massage him (unsuccessfully) and he tried to stretch it himself. I called Wal-Mart to find out what time they opened (to get Ben-gay) and was surprised that someone answers the Wal-Mart phone at 5 in the morning. After watching some horrific MTV television (nothing is worse than "Next") we fell back asleep. Brian woke me and asked me what time I thought it was. I suggested 7 or 7:30. Turns out we had slept until 9:30am, which is basically the same as sleeping until noon for most people. It felt wonderfully luxurious.
We put some clothes on and went downstairs for our complementary buffet. I got meat and eggs, Brian made a strawberry/whipped cream hand-made waffle. As we sat at the table, we noticed that it had started to snow. The day before it was warm enough that we drove with the windows down; on Sunday, it was snowing. We dressed and went to Wal-Mart and as we stepped outside, it was snowing like crazypants! The snow was everywhere, blowing hard and we laughed happily. Total magic. At Wal-Mart we bought IcyHot strips and Brian bought me one of those cheesy Dachshund-head stickers for the side of your car. We went home and fell back into bed happily. We cuddled and snuggled and snoozed. Even the irritating maid staff and stupid front desk clerk bugging us about checking out wasn't enough to bring us down, though Bri did give them a piece of his mind on the way out.
We popped by some local shopping outlets. Brian kicked shopping ass with his purchases of a garlic cooker, wooden spoons, new undies, slippers, and socks for under $50. I purchased a new frying pan and a sturdy dog-toy for Obie. The day was getting colder and I was happy to get back in the car.
Brian surprised me by driving into the tiny town of Glen Gardner. He indicated a nearby restaurant where we would be eating dinner, but first we had to hop back into our formal clothes. We changed on the side of the road and in the car, parked behind a day-care center, and then went back to the restaurant. It was completely vacant except for us, a barman, and one of the owners. The place was incredibly beautiful. It was dimly-lit with tons of tealights in crystal glasses. I've never been a huge crystal fan, but it looked so lovely. It was magical to be there with no one else in the entire place. We dined on tapas of steak and lamb (for me) and leek lasagna and roasted veggies (for Bri). I got a few drinks in me and became a bit buzzed, but it was all good and I didn't act too loopy, I believe.
We climbed back into the car after our wonderful meal and Brian drove us the hour home. Our house was freezing (and I was still a bit drunk) so I climbed into bed with Brian and got all snuggly and warm. After a while I went to my bed and he went to his, and we slumbered off separately.
The word for the weekend was magical. The snow, the eclipse, the emptiness of the restaurant, the taste of the Godiva, the sex, the romance, the sweetness. There is no way that our weekend could have gone more perfectly. It was truly the best weekend that I can recall. Thanks to Brian, my one true love, for helping me re-discover romance and love. I love him more now than I did a few days ago. That's how good this weekend was.