Bavarian retreat in… West Virginia?!

Geoff and I recently celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Last week we were able to escape for a wonderful 24-hour getaway outside the Beltway. In the week or so leading up to our anniversary, I had done some research into inns or bed&breakfasts within a close proximity to DC, in hopes that we’d be able to take a short trip sometime this summer. In my research I came across the beautiful Hillbrook Inn in Charles Town, WV. I made the comment to Geoff that this place looked spectacular and had decent rates to boot, and suggested that we should go there sometime. Upon opening my card from him on the morning of our anniversary, I found a print-out of this very inn with the promise of going away for a night sometime within the next week. So, on Monday the 14th we left our little apartment in Arlington and headed west… enjoying a beautiful 1.5hr drive to our destination. As you can see from the pictures, this inn is a beautiful Bavarian style retreat (circa 1700) on 18 acres of grounds, land that once belonged to George Washington. We booked 1 of the 4 cottages they offer outside of the main house rooms, the Summer Cottage (see Geoff sitting on our porch). The grounds were beautiful and our first day there was rather humid but still bearable to be outside. I’m glad we enjoyed it while we could because the next day was rainy! We walked around the grounds, played a round or two of horseshoes and then played chess. They had a large chess board you could walk on, which is so much more fun than manipulating little pieces in front of you on a tiny board. I of course did not remember the rules or which piece did what since I’m not much of a strategy game kinda girl, but it was a lot of fun even though I lost quite grandly. Geoff was kind enough to give me lots of “help” that seemed to work to his advantage most times…. We later played backgammon, which I had never played before. I picked up the strategy fairly well and managed to beat Geoff the second time, so I’ve come to enjoy that game :) We had a wonderful time just relaxing and being together without the demands of everyday life. So thankful for chances like this to get away, and so thankful for the man God has given me as a caring, loving husband. For more pictures, check out Facebook.