The Love Shack

I know, it's a "scandalous" blog title for what I usually write about, but you'll understand in a minute. I told Darrell for our 11th wedding anniversary I wanted an ENTIRE weekend away to somewhere we've never been. My hotel-addicted husband went uncharacteristic on me and rented a "rustic" cabin off of Lake Erie. Rustic means electricity (which meant lights, a mini-refrigerator, and microwave) but no heat and no plumbing!

Above is a picture of our cabin. The minute I saw it, the song "Love Shack" went running through my mind and I couldn't get it out of my head the entire weekend!
Here's a better perspective....yep, not much bigger than the minivan, but I loved it! It was so quiet (which is key to getting away from the chaos of having a young family) and secluded.
Yes, it's true! That's Darrell coming out of the bathroom/shower shack. He was such a trooper! At least the water was warm!
The first morning we took our bikes to Presque Isle. We biked 12 miles around the lake and the view was stunning. Above is a picture from the bike trail....that's Erie, PA across the lake. Below is Perry Monument. The Perry Monument on Crystal Point was built in 1926 to commemorate a significant battle during the War of 1812.

As we biked around the lake, we even saw a wedding on the beach....very cool since it was our anniversary day!
Saturday afternoon found us touring wineries in the area. We felt like we were back in Italy because there were grapevines as far as the eye could see! Above is one of the wineries, concord grapes are so common there they even covered the entrance.We ate at a restaurant called "Smuggler's Wharf" in Erie, PA Saturday night. We highly recommend it! The fish was amazing.

And we got to experience the second best sunset in the nation (second only to Hawaii) after dinner. It was stunning!Sunday morning we spent kayaking....no pictures taken as we've had bad luck with the camera and water. Three hours of kayaking on Lake Erie was wonderful....I'll have to say I'm a little sore today though!

A special thanks to my sister-in-law, Maura, and her family who kept the kids all weekend! You're wonderful Maura! And another special thank-you to my husband, who created such a wonderful get-away. You knew exactly what this frazzled mom needed! I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with a thoughtful and caring husband. Here's to many more anniversaries and adventures!