anniversary #6 - fredericksburg

Alrighty, here we are! The blog details about our anniversary trip to Fredericksburg!

Chris and I love Fredericksburg -- throughout the 10 years we've been together, we try to go at least twice a year. This is where we got married, and it holds a special place in our hearts. It feels like a second home to us both. Driving into town, we always let out an, "ahhhhh"...so good to be back!

We took a half day off work on Friday, and made the 2.5 hour drive...it was good, except for the speeding ticket we got :( Such is life. We made it safely to our hotel and checked in...then headed out to have a nice, relaxing day! We started off at the Brewery and had a delicious meal there, as always. I got my cobb salad (best ever!) and Chris got the flautas. We shared a big bowl of the cheesy beer soup and the fried pickles. We left there happy! From there, we browsed up and down the street of shops, but most things were closing down for the evening. We stopped in at Lincoln Street and had some wine and listened to the live music there. We had heard about this place from our friend/coworker John, who used to live there...it was a neat, cozy place and we'll certainly be going back!

On Saturday, we woke up early and decided to work out...we ran for about 10 minutes and had planned to walk for about 10 minutes...but we got lost! Our entire workout ended up being about 45 minutes...oops! We were quite hot and tired when we got back to the hotel and had some breakfast. After cleaning up, we went and looked through all the shops and bought a few little things. Then we had lunch at another new place. It was quaint and my chicken salad on homemade bread was quite yummy. Chris had nachos and gave them the thumbs up! Our next stop was to one of our favorite places on Earth!!! Grape Creek winery.

We always enjoy our time there...we typically share a bottle of wine on their patio and then move on. They now have an incredible new "members only pavilion", where you have to be a member of their wine club to even sit there. It was shaded and breezy and relaxing and incredible. We really enjoyed our time there, talking and laughing and drinking wine. Before we knew it, we'd been there for almost five hours! It was much needed relaxation for us both. I really loved our time together, just hanging out. While there, we also enjoyed a crepe from the Crepe Nation food truck. Oh it was yummy! A crepe with strawberries and Nutella. Just delicious!

After a quick shower, we then headed to our anniversary dinner at August E's...oh we were excited about this! John, mentioned above, had told us about this place. We had never heard about it or seen it, in all the years we've been going. It was a pretty fancy restaurant, but most importantly -- they have sushi!!!!!!! We haven't had sushi since we were in St. Louis for Thanksgiving, so we were very ready to get our hands on some. And August E's did not disappoint. We started with swordfish sashimi, and then shared two rolls -- one california roll and one called the dragon roll which had eel on top! We were pleased with all of it, so so yummy. We even had a side of mac and cheese...couldn't resist that! Topped it off with a lemon drop martini for me and some chardonnay wine for Chris, and chocolate cake for dessert with a Happy Anniversary message written in syrup...just a perfect meal altogether!! We were stuffed and happy. Oh so happy! I have an amazing story to share from our meal here, too...I am going to finish up the trip post today and dedicate an entire post to that tomorrow...

After dinner, we stopped at Hondo's for a little dancing (oh how I love to dance with my man!) and then we called it a night...perfect day.

Sunday, the wineries and stores don't open until noon...so we decided to sleep in and just have breakfast and relax until then. Oh it was a treat!!! My husband does not EVER relax. In all the years I have known him, I can only recall a handful of times that he has snuggled and relaxed with me for hours. It was lovely! We had breakfast and then returned to the room to and lounged in the bed and snuggled while watching tv. I just smiled the whole time, I loved it. And he did so good...he seemed to even enjoy it for most of the morning!! I could tell he was getting a little antsy when it started to be time to get ready to leave, but until then, he was so sweet to give me this little gift. It was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend :)

Once we got out and about, we tried out a new winery -- Pedernales Cellars. It was out in the middle of nowhere and was very serene. We had a tasting there and really enjoyed the atmosphere...then relaxed out on the deck for a bit. That was all good until I tipped over Chris' glass of amazing Merlot :( What a waste!!!

We stopped at two stores on the way out of town, to get the anniversary gifts we had decided on getting together...two big new pots for the ones on our front porch that are broken, and two metal cactus plants to put in our flower pots by the garage. That area gets intense, solid sun and nothing we plant there will ever live. So we thought this would be cute, and it is indeed! I'll try to post a photo, I love it. Might just have to tear out all the plants and put these everywhere!!! :)

Our drive home was uneventful and we were happy to see our family and pups when we got home...it was a very wonderful weekend and I am so happy to have just celebrated #6 with my man!!! I love you Chris!!!

Selfie on the first day, in front of some shops

My sweet hubby, waiting at the Brewery to be seated

The picnic tables in the back of the Brewery, where you sit and wait for a table, are full of grafiti...we added our own!

A glance of our drinks at Lincoln Street, with the singer in the background...it was HOT but so relaxing!

Chris by the Grape Creek Tower...he really loves it here...

The new "Member Pavilion" where we relaxed for about 5 hours!

Enjoying some Muscat...trying to stay cool

Chris giving everyone outside the member pavilion the smug "we're members and you aren't" face!

The awesome Crepe Nation food truck...

Our sushi rolls - california roll on the left and dragon roll on the right...yummm!

Me at August E's, smiling at my man!

Our awesome waitress was kind enough to take this anniversary photo of us...love it!

Chris with his Merlot at Pedernales Cellars -- we liked this cute door!

The view from the deck at Pedernales...very serene there, like it was the only place on Earth!

Can't wait for our next trip to our favorite town!!! Be sure to check back tomorrow to read about our unusual experience!!!! :)