Jo Anne and I wracked our brains for quite some time trying to decide how best to celebrate Mother's 80th birthday. She didn't want a big party but mentioned she would like to go somewhere. I began looking online for a nice getaway weekend location and came across Elm Creek Manor Luxury Spa Resort outside of Muenster - a small German community in North Texas.
We had a little mini birthday party at Christmas when most of the family was together and gave Mother the brochure with details of the trip.
The much anticipated spa weekend arrived.
I got to Mother's and there's not a thing in her bag. There
she stands, still in her pj's contemplating what to take. Never fear. .
.
we have her packed and ready to go in a jiff. What I
didn't know was that she had laid out a stack of clothes to pick from
and wasn't intending to take them all. Oh well, she will have plenty to
wear :).
Finally, Jo Anne arrives (she actually had to work today)
road trip bags for the occasion filled with snack goodies, lip balm, and other potential necessities.
We load up Mother's new car and we're off.
The drive went well - only a bit over 4 hours from Lubbock - so we got here well before dark. As we pulled through the gate, we were stopped by a flock of chickens. I honked a couple of times to no avail, so Jo Anne had to get out and shoo them out of the way. It was quite comical (wish I had thought to take a picture).
The host met us as we drove up to the main house, gave us a tour around the farm, showed us how to play Bocci Ball, and completely unloaded our luggage. He would not have us helping.
The host met us as we drove up to the main house, gave us a tour around the farm, showed us how to play Bocci Ball, and completely unloaded our luggage. He would not have us helping.
We're staying in the Provence cottage. Christmas decor was still up when we arrived but soon came down to make room for Valentine's.
the main house
front porch
pool area
our welcome in the room
inside the cottage
well-concealed refrigerator in our room
5 o'clock in the library was happy hour so we head that way.
Elm Creek Manor makes all their own cheese and it was fantastic!
enjoying the fire
We were the only ones at the Inn Thursday night so after a few minutes in the library, we decided to go on to dinner.
We chose one of the local German restaurants in town (I think we picked the wrong one).
Jo Anne and Mother had schnitzel
I had sausages.
It looks better than it was. The sausage
was really good and made locally but the schnitzel, potato salad, red
cabbage and kraut were not outstanding. Of course, when you've been to
Germany and eaten the best, it's probably not fair to compare.
After dinner we went back to our cottage to watch the movie Australia.
waiting on Jo Anne to start the movie
At about 9 o'clock we were all having trouble staying awake so we decided to make it a two-parter and watch the rest the next day.
Often times when you are awaiting an anticipated event, such as a new movie, a book or a trip, you are dissappointed because the hype just wasn't worth the end result. However, in this case that was just not so. What a fantastic trip! I hope when my 80th birthday rolls around, my girls remember this!!! Wouldn't have changed a thing. It was just amazing from beginning to end. Of course now my chicken fever is stronger than ever. Can't wait to have my own little chickies!! We have enjoyed farm fresh, organic, free range eggs that I brought home with me from Elm Creek Manor. They are so yummy!! My only dissapointment was that I didn't get to milk the goat. Maybe next time :)
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