Weekend for Lovers

I was going to have a review post for The Girl in the Steel Corset because my copy got fubar'd somehow and I wasn't able to finish it since it got stuck on page 110, but the publishers (who are totally awesome) uploaded a new file so I am going to review it, after I read all of it. Wohoo! Thanks to HarlequinTeen for responding to my email.

Instead I thought I would share my incredibly awesome weekend I just had with Saint. (yes, get the tissues) He is driving back to his home as I write this and I, alas, stay here because that is the kind of relationship we have currently. He lives over there and I live here. We live for our weekends together and were lucky enough to have a whole week together when we went to visit (and meet) his family in Louisiana last month.

He showed up on Friday where I was at the moment stuck in the office at work with my boss and co-assistant manager having a meeting. It was hard because I could hear the clock ticking away waiting to be excused so my weekend could start. But I recognize this meeting for the importance of my boss teaching us both how to "think" like store managers. I finally blew out of there and pulled up to my man in the driveway. His rental sitting in the driveway always makes me wonder what my neighbors must think when a new car is present ever couple of weeks. (snicker)

We kissed and embraced a million times til we conceded that we were both hungry. I had already planned to take him to a place I found this past couple weeks where the food was good and healthy. As we wandered in the restaurant I realized it was the first Friday of the month which meant the Art Walk was going on. Double bonus! We had dinner by the window (my favorite place to be) and watched all the people walk by. There was one couple outside sitting, eating with two dogs. The way people stopped, talked and stared, I'd have thought this was their first encounter with a dog. I mean, come on, they are eating. Or maybe that is just me?

We then wandered around downtown checking out some cool stores and grabbing a beer in a nice spot that had music coming from all sides. A bit much for the both of us, but especially Saint who had been at work that morning at 2am. I spotted the Crepes place I have been dying to try was FINALLY OPEN. So we wandered in, checked their hours and we headed home. Actually, I screamed OHHH! and then practically knocked him over trying to turn and see it.

We climbed in bed and read. This is one of my favorite things to do, though lately I fall asleep way earlier than Saint. I feel like reading together is so romantic!

In the morning Saint roused me out of bed and we ate breakfast before setting off on a small car ride to the lava caves. It is a set of caves that was made by lava flowing under ground. It is complete darkness and light must be taken to explore them. For someone as afraid of the dark as me, I was surprised when I was not only excited, but I suggested we go do this. Granted, I had no idea really what I was getting in to. (Pictures on Wordless Wednesday this week - tune in to see) We rolled down the windows and enjoyed the beautiful air and the gorgeous weather pulling up to the area after pointing out multiple places we would like to camp in the future. The caves are literally a hole in the ground. There are hundreds of large to small rocks piled up in the entrance that we had to climb down to get in. The entrance is dark and foreboding, but exhilarating as well.

We climbed right in and started hiking our way in the dark cavernous area. We had a flashlight each, though they recommend three per person, we figured out later (much later, three is probably for when one of us drops one, batteries goes dead, someone falls and dies, etc). It stays a steady 37degrees in the cave so it was cold. I made us don gloves, hats and jackets much to Saint's dismay at first (though he was glad later, lol).

I could not get over how dark it was. Clearly a place for scary things to be happening, but the reality was it was peaceful. At one point Saint, stops and asked me to turn off my flashlight - I asked, ARE YOU CRAZY? But then when I did, I was glad because it was so surreal. It was so quiet, except for our breathing, foot moving and the occasional conversation there was just nothing but silence and in a world of chaos, people and sound - we really enjoyed these moments of peace. We stopped at certain points to roll our flashlights over the walls and floors to see the reds, oranges, blues and whites that were somehow etched in. The floor was completely lava rock, some hard and flat, some platelets and others like mud. We ran in to a couple of places that had ice on the floor and water dripping through the ceiling. There were more than a few places where the ceiling was so low we had to crouch and crawl to get through. We passed one family on the way in and a handful of people on the way out.

It was beautiful and scary and completely awe inspiring.

Mental note, Saint recommended should there ever be a nuclear war that is where we will head.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, we crawled out of there with our stomachs growling only to go get . . . crepes!! I got one with bananas, chocolate and strawberries topped with walnuts and Saint got one with apples, cinnamon and chocolate. I was missing my mother greatly during crepes because this place is so quaint that I picture my mom and I there every time I walk by it. We went straight from the crepes place to a burger joint and shared a burger and fries.

We then wandered through town with our full bellies enjoying the people and the amazing weather. It is about 30degrees hotter where Saint lives (and where I used to live). This is brilliant weather.

Afterward, we got home and took a nap, though not before reading a few pages.

Saint then got a crazy idea to go buy a bbq and make some steak. Me? I just wanted to drink a beer, read and eat. I thought it was a good idea. He then threw a tantrum when while putting the bbq together one of the lug nuts fell through the slats of the patio floor. I went in and did the dishes. That is how upset I was for him!

We then settled in for the night in front of the tv to watch some episodes of True Blood season 2 which Saint had bought and brought along with him. I have read all the Sookie Stackhouse books, even the latest (check out my review) and we like the show, but neither of us has HBO anymore.

We then woke up Sunday morning to wander through the farmers market, make some lunch and we pulled down my Christmas lights (yes, I did just say that, though my dad remarked they could be July 4th lights - lol) and power sprayed the back of the house with soap and water to get rid of the cobwebs. Afterward, we drove into town to catch a mansion tour.

We then came back for one more nap and off he headed home.

It is such a blessing to have a relationship like ours. I know first hand how hard it is to be so far away from a loved one, but we are building our lives and hopefully soon we will meet in the middle somewhere and begin residing together on a daily basis. In the meantime, we both agree that we do a fantastic job of making every moment together count.

How was your weekend?