a second honeymoon... of sorts

Justin was thrilled upon arriving at the gate to Hostel in the Forest.

He had no idea what the place was, but was beginning to realize how stinking cool our weekend was going to be.

The road leading us through the forest was bumpy and narrow. We were on an adventure for sure! We felt like two kids exploring the woods for the first time. I had never been to this place, so it was a new experience for me as well.

After parking and walking down the dirt path to check in, we kept catching glimpses of wooden structures up in the trees... tree houses! Justin was like, "Woah! Are we going to stay in one of those?!" Yup. I replied, grinning. It was fun to see him so excited.

We walked up the path to arrive at the main building, to which we were greeted by a few volunteers and these lovely hearts made from leaves on the path...

(yes, that's Justin playing guitar on the porch)

Before we knew it, we were walking down slender boardwalk into the woods...

...and up a narrow flight of stairs to our honeymoon suite treehouse!

It was quite an experience. From there, we took a quick trip around the lake in a canoe...

Took a peek inside one of the two outdoor showers -- this one was called the "goddess bath." :D

Ate dinner with some new, interesting friends from all walks of life...

And continued enjoying leftovers from the community garden the next day with our new friend, Emily.

Justin was able to relax, play guitar and we worshipped for a bit on the porch one afternoon while a cold front was moving in.

We decided to leave early because of the cold (I was getting sick and it was going to be below 30 degrees that night) and go to St. Augustine. So we ended our fun surprise-for-Justin weekend with a historic stay in the countries oldest fort city.

We saw cannons fire at the Castillo San Marcos...

Made sure we were a good example for the younger guests...

Found some crazy head-ware...

Got diplomas from the oldest wooden school in America...

And enjoyed a free meal at Harry's New Orleans Style Seafood Restaurant because the hostess was so rude, the manager was kind and insisted allowing her to let the house take care of us.

We ended the weekend by driving down A1A (beachfront avenue!) along the Atlantic Ocean the next day. We stopped at Fort Matanzas, built in 1740 by the Spanish to protect St. Augustine from the French. Fun times. My history-teacher-buff-husband was enjoying the heck out of all the history.

We even stopped for a quick toes-in-the-sand opportunity and chance for me to try out my mad hand and headstand skills I've been working on in yoga...

It was a great weekend. Even though I coughed non-stop through all of it. I was determined not to ruin the weekend for Justin and he told me he was impressed with what a good mood I was in, despite my terrible cold. I take no credit. It was the Lord. And we were actually able to get good rest each night.

Justin said it was one of his most favorite weekends since we've been married. I was thankful for a fun weekend away with the hubs.

my list

inspired by bryn and emilie's previous posts to write a like or love list... i'm not timing myself and i don't care about word count, but here it goes:

i love my husband and the way he knows me so well.

i love unusually soft and cuddle-worthy blankets of all sizes.

i like to be on the floor, whether sitting, laying or working... often rather than on furniture.

i love great danes and other exceptionally precious animals that have unique, entertaining and inviting personalities. 

i love driving stick.

i love going to beautiful, relaxing places for absolutely no reason at all except to rest.

i love hawaii and most things involved in island living.

i love a good cup of coffee, about once a week.

i love pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and tempranillo, especially if they are from chile, oregon or napa valley.

i love nibbling dark chocolate with any of the afforementioned alcoholic options.

i like helping people learn, especially about wine, budgeting, outdoor gear, great danes, rock climbing and yoga.

i love reading children's books at barnes and noble while getting an oil change at goodyear.

i like multi-tasking.

i love florida sunsets.

i love sweating for 80 minutes of hot yoga in a 90-degree room with 40 other calm, focused, hard-working individuals.

i love cold weather.

i like visiting new places.

i like to organize and find new ways to arrange and expand space in all sorts of areas.

i love playing piano and realizing two hours have gone by, uninterrupted.

i like researching, planning and orchestrating events that excite or interest me.

i love to learn.

i love to play.

i like to have parameters or clear expectations when working on a project assigned by and benefiting someone else.

i love mountains in all seasons, but especially fall.

i like getting snail mail notes from friends far away.

i love the smell of pine, forest, christmas, wood-burning and anything else that reminds me of cozy, clean, winter or home.