Hubby (AKA cute boy) and I went away for the evening to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. I know it is a month late, but late is better than never! He had won the getaway at the live auction/fundraiser for Tommy's school, Magnuson Christian School.
We both took Friday off from work. We stayed around until Tommy was done with Vacation Bible School then we handed Tommy off with Amy/Josh and off we went. A young couple on an adventure. It always seems to take alot of planning for us to be away. We have to make sure Tommy, Grandpa and rest of those living with us are all situated in our absense. But we sure savor our moments away. It is always very relaxing!
We started out heading towards, Hastings, MN. I wanted to stop at Schaar's Bluff in Dakota County. I have been there before for work meetings but never had time to explore. The view of the river was spectacular. I had the bright idea to do a little geo caching while we were there. Bearing in mind that we are on a bluff 150 feet above the Mississippi river, the first thing that should have made me think twice was that the cache was named "Leap of Faith". Yikes!! Hubby and I got within 23 feet of the cache before simultaneously deciding that no cache was worth getting that close to the sheer cliff drop-off to the Mississippi River. We will leave that one for someone else!
The view from Schaar's Bluff - at Spring Lake Park Reserve
My favorite flowers - Daisies!
More Wild Flowers (and one very uncooperative Monarch butterfly) at Schaar's Bluff - Hastings MN
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On to Red Wing, Mn. We made it there just in time to check in at the Candlelight Inn in Red Wing MN. The Inn is located near downtown so we were able to park the van for the evening and enjoy strolling around the neighborhood and to the historic St James Hotel for dinner.
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The Heritage Room - Candlelight Inn, Red Wing
Jen finding time to relax and read a bit.
Supper: The Port - St James Hotel
Remind me to read the details of the menu a bit closer. I wish we would have taken pictures of my food, but it didn't seem appropriate.
The Port Caesar - was interesting...Baby Red and Green Romaine Lettuce, Roasted Garlic Caesar Dressing, Crispy Braised Pork Belly, Soft Poached Egg, Parmesan Reggiano. The poached egg was a bit of asurprise to me. Hubby decided not to share my salad for some reason.
Jen's Meal - Seared Sea Scallops - White Beans, Ham Hock, Pea Puree, Pea Tendrils
Paul's Meal - Grilled Dry Aged Kansas City Strip Steak - Rösti Potato, Sherry-Dressed Sunflower Sprouts, Roasted Wild Mushrooms,Caramelized Shallot-Cabernet Reduction.
I wish I could say we were more impressed with our dinner than we were, but perhaps our uneducated palettes failed us. The waitress asked if we'd like some coffee when we first sat down, but we both responded that we really didn't like coffee and water would be just fine for the both of us for now. The scallops seemed to have crunchy bits (aka, sand ) in them and the steak was not exactly prepared to hubby's liking, (as he'd simply ordered it "medium" but instead got a steak ranging from well-done on one edge all the way to practically rare at the other edge.) For dessert, we wanted to share my absolute favorite, Creme Brulee! When she brought it, (see initial coffee response above), we found that the entire brulee had been covered with a generous 2-inch thick dollop of some sort of whipped coffee. (Scrape, scrape, scrape...then eat) But at least we had our $80-dollar gift certificate to assist with the cost of the meal, so we were only out an additional $25 for the most expensive dinner we ever bought but didn't exactly love!
We spent the rest of the evening wandering around historic Red Wing taking in the charm and architecture of the area. Of course I took pictures....
The front of the Red Wing YMCA established in 1808.
I think this picture will need to find it's way to my Reading In WBL blog.
Charming Details around downtown Red Wing.
Near Levee Park....
Walking Tour - there are 3 walking tours of Red Wing to learn about the different architecture. On the historical residential home tour, I fell in love the TB Sheldon House, constructed in 1875. It just happened
to be for sale as well! WOW! I don't think hubby wanted to buy it for me. But it did have 4 apartments in it in addition to the owner's living quarters. Steve and Grandpa could have their own places!
T. B. Sheldon House -so grand...
Love the details - French Second Empire Style
While walking around we played, guess how much this one costs for all the houses for sale. This lovely historic home, with a total of 5,881 square feet was for sale for $600,000. We were surprised as we'd guessed higher for the cost.
In addition to old houses, I love old churches with ornate details. Here are some of my favorites from Red Wing.
The stone work on this church was loevly.
I forgot to get a better picture of this one. The wooden door on this church was great!
By far my favorite church in Red Wing was First Lutheran. The steeple is breathe taking.
This picture does not do this window justice, the stained glass and other details are beautiful.
My favorite detail of First Lutheran Church?? The blue door - the color ties in the stained glass above the door brillantly.
Cute Boy I found down by the river........I wonder what he is thinking about.
Breakfast: Early on Saturday morning we heard a music box playing in the hallway outside our room. This was the signal that fresh muffins and coffee were delivered outside the guest's room. The muffins were fresht out of the oven and delivered in a little basket. (nice touch, though we may have made a comment about the music box being creepy 
)
Breakfast was served at 9:00 around a lovely set table in the dining room.
All 5 couples staying at the inn shared a 3 course gourmet breakfast around the table. And of course my hubby, found out one of the guests was a professor at Century College where my hubby works. It is funny how that works...can't take the man anywhere without someone knowing him After the initial introductions of the guests, the conversation flowed nicely. It was a very enjoyable breakfast.
Three courses of breakfast:
1. Cold Sherbet Fruit Soup
2. Ham and French Toast
3. Dessert - Pots de Creme au Chocolat - served in the cutest pots de creme cups with handles and covers. My favorite!! I could get used to dessert at breakfast
Pots de creme Dessert Cups with mini spoons....very cool!
After checking out we headed to Memorial Park to enjoy the view before heading home to WBL!
View from Memorial Park
View of Barn Bluff - I whimped out and didn't want to climb to Barn Bluff.
View from Memorial Park of the town of Red Wing.
Tommy had a great time staying with Josh and Amy while we were gone for the evening. It was hard to get him to come home!
Video games and ice cream!! No wonder Tommy didn't want to come home.
My Silly Boys....they make me laugh and are such a joy to me.
I know I had said I won't blog out of order, but I wanted to post about this weekend while it was still fresh in our minds. I will go back and post highlights of the past few months as well. It felt so good to blog about our time away and happy feelings. Through everything we continue to feel very blessed - life is good!
Blessings to you!
Jen C
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