I admit it. 2010 wasn't the best year for me and my husband. Let's just say that the year started bad but ended well and I'll spare you 354 days of detail. (Oh, I can feel myself getting all tense just thinking about it.... hold on, I'm going to get a cup of soothing, mellowing organic herbal tea... ahhhh.... that's better.)
So, let's just jump ahead. I wanted this year, my year of turning 40, to start well and end weller, start up and go upper, start fresh and get fresher. With a little hi-ya! pow! karate kick to the head at that. First up, getting hubby and I a jump start on the fast-track to oooh-la-la and va-va-voom! Time to kick it back up a notch.
Thankfully, my mom and dad came to the rescue on Christmas Day when their present to us included a romantic weekend away for two plus babysitting plus a tin of roasted almonds plus a bottle of Baileys. Woohoo, we were set!
10-4 means "OK," "understood," and "affirmative;" 10-40 means "this is the year we have our 10 year wedding anniversary AND my 40th birthday and we are going to accept this present, drink our Baileys and have the best damn weekend we have had in over a year and nothing better screw it up!"
Affirmative.
We packed our mini van. We hit the store for too much cheese, dark chocolate, not-so-winter-ripe strawberries, a loaf of french bread and a pack of Canadian bacon (no, bacon is not an aphrodisiac but follow this... "Oooh, I la-la-love the idea of heading out for breakfast, but how about we heat up some ham and keep the sizzle in the sheets?") We drove up island and checked in January 14 for some storm watching.
We stayed at Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino, which I must admit was a perfect choice. First, the name Middle seemed an appropriate sign as I was officially wobbling on the brink of middle age. (There are various definitions for middle age, but having recently done my research I now see The Oxford English Dictionary states middle age is "... the period between early adulthood and old age, usually considered as the years from about 45 to 65". So there, I feel like I just added 5 years to my life. 10-4, indeed! If I had known that before we booked Tofino I would have picked the Long Beach Lodge as I now have a loooong way to go!)
The other reason Middle Beach Lodge was a perfect choice (besides their kick-ass bathtub inside cabin #49 and the en plein air bathtub on the deck) is their lodge. I must admit, I've never understood the whole appeal in the lodge vacation concept of sitting quietly in a large room with a bunch of other people sitting quietly. Why not just retreat to your private room and read Nathaniel Hawthorne there? But now, after having sat for hours in the room a writer and frequent visitor commented with "Ralph Lauren would be happy here," I completely understand the appeal of doing nothing in a room with a bunch of other lazy-ass people doing nothing with you. Add to that an expansive view of the rugged west coast shoreline, a spellbinding log fire, hot chocolate and warm cookies and hmmmmmm.......bliss.
You know you have hit middle age when you are just as happy sitting beside your husband in a room full of sleepy strangers as you are checking to see if any bacon bits were left between the sheets, if you get my drift, wink, wink.
There you have it. The start of the year of Turning 40. Minus a few details between Friday night check-in and Sunday afternoon check-out, of course (think rubber boots and crashing surf).
So, would spending a romantic weekend with my husband have made it to my list of 10 things to do within my fortieth year if I had made that list anyhow? 10-4.
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