It had definitely been one of those weeks, although I had squeezed in a painful but fabulous hot yoga date with Lily, and Seth had killed a couple deer, a rare "double" with a crossbow. Our long weekend plans to drive to Ohio to see the Laneys and meet the new baby fell through at the last minute when the littlest Laney got sick. I wanted to go snowboarding, as hasty plan which also went south when we realized there was no snow within driving distance in any direction. So Seth won the toss, and we headed to the Eastern Shore to shoot waterfowl. We've got the compromise thing figured out by now: we stayed at the stupendous Hyatt Regency Chesapeake, a beautiful resort with pools and bars and an indoor/outdoor hot tub and a huge gym that sparkles.
Saturday morning found us shivering in a duck blind with a couple of other wounded warriors and a hilarious rich guy who owns grocery stores and a chunk of hunting land adjacent to a wildlife refuge. Duck hunting is way less boring than deer hunting, at least partly because you can talk and have coffee and snacks. I had a new 12 gauge too, which Seth had spent all Friday shopping for, settling on a child-sized, camo-patterned Mossberg, and surprising me with it before dinner Friday. I couldn't wait to shoot it (and really wanted to kill a Canada goose, my running nemesis.)
Unfortunately, it was windy- and at times snowy- which should've brought the ducks in droves, but for some reason they weren't taking the bait. We got a couple- almost impossible to tell who shot what, I found- but mostly played with the goofy duck dog, ate sugar cookies, and tried to stay warm. I had a blast. Seth wasn't shushing me the whole time, and the new gun was a blast. I could definitely get used to this kind of hunting.
Still, 5 hours is pretty much my limit, and I bailed at lunch for amazing fajitas and Coronas at Don Chuy's, followed by a run along the bay and a dip in the hot tub with sunset views across the water. Seth went back to the woods to stalk deer. To each his own and all, but I definitely felt like I came out ahead. We had wood-fired pizzas for dinner downtown, with live music and good beer, and slept in late enough the next morning that we barely had time for a morning hot tub soak before checkout and brunch. (Cambridge, MD turns out to be a super cool town, with a historic waterfront and a ton of amazing restaurants. Even if the "no mimosas before noon on Sundays" rule chafed a little.)
It was a great getaway, and having escaped town on Friday made it feel like a long weekend, even without Monday. Which felt like a total free day, and found us staying in bed until an obscenely late hour and then just enjoying being home. I went for a long run with Steph and Bex, who was in town, and it felt like old times on a beautifully warm and sunny day. I came home to a messy kitchen and the smell of venison chili, and took the opportunity to chop vegetables while Seth tried to figure out how to get tomato sauce on all four walls and the ceiling. I love being in the kitchen with him enough that it's worth the cleanup, which is saying a lot.Monday night we had one of our "every so often" trips into the city to remind ourselves why we don't do it more often. It was restaurant week, and we had a terrific meal at Oyamel, a Mexican cucina, with friends. Still, it was crazy expensive and the parking was a nightmare and the crowd was very, very hip.
We were happy to retreat to Bethesda, and find that we much prefer our Sunday night "football and mimosas" tradition. Yes, Seth participates. Here's the evidence. Like duck hunting/ spa weekends, it's a pretty killer compromise that keeps us both happy. Even if it sounds a little weird.
Photo of the week has to be the one I took of Seth's venison chili. Unsurprisingly, it appears to consist almost entirely of meat.
Oh, and we took this one at dinner. The Charlottesville Fam, minus Ryan. It was great to catch up with the old crew.
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