Sunday, August 18, 2013

What's better than planned adventures? Surprise ones!

I'm not one to blog about a lot of things outside of what God is doing in my life/fitness, but this one must be written about!

My sweet, spontaneous boyfriend decided to take me on a surprise adventure last weekend. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is that my parents had given the plan a thumbs up and that my inner OCD/control freak was having a hay day!

Friday after work I knew I needed to come home, get my bags and load up in his car...and off we went! This trip was broken up into legs. The first leg was a 4 hour drive of me not knowing where we were going. We ended up in his parent's driveway! I always enjoy visiting his parents. Talk about two incredible people! They own a bed and breakfast and I love being there and seeing how things work. These two have an amazing way of speaking life into people. There hasn't been one time where I've walked out of that house not feeling like I could take on the world!

When we arrived at the inn, we brought our stuff inside and found out his parents were out to dinner. So we unloaded our stuff in our rooms and took a walk down main street. This little town is adorable! Imagine the town in the movie, "The Notebook." Before we stopped to eat, we crossed the street and my boyfriend showed me a walkway with bricks. These bricks had military men and women's names on them, honoring them for their service. After looking around for a few minutes, I spotted his name. It was a proud moment for me! We stopped in a great restaurant in town. I would have to say it's by far the best restaurant I've ever been to! After our delicious meal we headed back to the inn. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks...the Eastern North Carolina allergies. It is one of the worst feelings! However, his dad came to the rescue with some benadryl and I slept like a baby that night!

The next morning I woke up and went downstairs to have breakfast with his family. His mother is an AMAZING cook! Maple bacon cupcakes...need I say more? I hope her cooking skills will rub off on me some day! After breakfast it was time to load up the car and head to the next location.



After driving about three hours in the car, we take the Quantico exit in Northern Virginia. After reading a few signs on the road, I figured out he was taking me to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. This was a really neat experience since this was such a huge part of his past. Going through the museum was a really neat experience for me. I've always been a huge supporter of the troops, so this was a neat way to learn more about what exactly they have to go through.


Don't I look like I would make a good marine? Yeah, I didn't think so either...




Standing in front of the National Museum of the Marine Corps!



After our second stop of the trip, we got back in the car and headed to one of my boyfriend's family friend's home. They were kind enough to let us stay the night! We dropped off our bags inside and I found out what the third surprise was...tickets to a Nationals baseball game! I was excited about this one since we were going to be able to go into DC. I had never been to DC before, so I knew it would be a neat experience! After about 45 minutes worth of metro rides, we arrive in the city and walk towards the stadium. Then we discovered the awesome food trucks that cook brisket. YUM.
Waiting on our delicious brisket from the food truck

Then we headed to the stadium. The Nationals didn't start out so hot, but they pulled out a win in the end!

We had incredible seats!





After the game, we went back to Virginia and got a good night's sleep. The next morning we got up and visited then got into the car to go to another surprise location. My boyfriend kept building it up, saying that this was going to be my favorite part of the trip...


and right he was! I love to bake! If I wasn't a fitness professional, I would bake for a living. DC Cupcakes has been one of my favorite shows for quite some time. I couldn't believe he remembered and brought me here before we headed home! This was definitely the most thoughtful stop of the entire trip. A man deserves some major brownie points for waiting in a ridiculously long line for cupcakes...but my goodness it was so worth it!



 This was the line to get in. You may see the cupcake shop at the very end of the building. The line was even longer when we got out!
I was SO excited!!



This was just the display case...there were tons of cupcakes in that shop! I can't believe they sell that many everyday!
I couldn't choose just one...so I bought seven. Yes, seven. Do not judge me! :D One for the road and six to enjoy with family when I got back home!

We walked around Georgetown for a little while. It was a really neat place! I enjoyed going into all of the shops and may or may not have purchased a new shirt and Lulu Lemon. ;)

But...you can't end a perfectly good surprise adventure without one of these:

My boyfriend's mom is awesome for packing these in our surprise trip bag. The only way I got a Lunchable when I was a kid was when I did good on a report card. Needless to say, I was really excited about this!


As I sit here re-living all that happened on my surprise trip, I just can't get over the fact that someone would love me enough to go through all of that trouble to plan. Ladies, never ever settle for less than the best. Yes, sometimes we do have our standards a little high and have to re-think our expectations (a lot of us can be way unrealistic with our expectations sometimes), but there really are men out there who will treat you like you're a princess. Sometimes it's hard to wait around while all of your friends are dating, but it's worth it. I didn't have my first date/boyfriend until I was 19 years old and in college! I'm so grateful for a wonderful boyfriend who loves the Lord and loves surprising me with fun things. It doesn't have to be a big trip for it to mean a lot. I'm just grateful that he opens my car door, works out with me and compliments my cooking. Look for that man who goes over and beyond to show you he cares. 


No comments: