Four Years! - The Celebration

On February 24th, 2011 McCord and I celebrated our anniversary. It goes by so fast! I know four years seems simple, and for most, it is. But considering societies stance on marriage, I think every anniversary is something to be celebrated and cherished. I watched my parents marriage fall apart and disintegrate, and therefore, my family. I vowed to myself long before I considered marriage that that would never happen to me. I also vowed that my spouse would absolutely agree with my standards. Luckily, I found and married that person. It has never been an issue, and we continue to make sure that divorce will never be an option.

So anyway, we decided to take the weekend off and spend some child free time together. In a small, nearby out-in-the-boonies town called Almo, there is a little hotel, restaurant, and hot springs. They had a Love package for the month of February (ya know, Valentines Day) and we scooped it up for our anniversary. Harrison stayed with McCord's parents. Of course, the weather was awful. Snowing, blowing, drifting and COLD. We almost didn't make it out the driveway. But we made it to Almo just 40 minutes before the restaurant closed. Hallelujah! I was starving. We enjoyed a meal of salmon, steak sandwich, dutch oven potatoes, and pioneer puddin'. What the heck is that?
Pioneed Puddin' consists of spice cake, raisins, walnuts, and some type of caramel-y puddin' sauce. Topped with ice cream. Gross as is sounds, its actually quite tasty.

We then commenced to our hotel.

P.S. The couch was so fluffy! We just sorta sank into the pillows, and it consumed all desire to ever move again. Also, the sheepskin blankets hanging over the chair and arm rest are soooo soft!! I wanted to take one home.

The wood on the table and chairs were just beautiful. Standing on the table is a book/journal for guests to write about their adventures during their stay. Some were very interesting.

This tub was huge! And it was jetted :) Saturday morning I spent a good hour in there. I was feeling really sick, and the most comforting thing for me is a hot bath. I also didn't sleep well, so again, the hot bath is relaxing.

The only disappointing thing about our room was there was no Bible. It was the first thing I expected to see in the drawer, but no such luck. Just about all cowboys acknowledge the existence of a higher power, not all, but a lot. I just found it strange, that's all. *EDITED: Ok, nevermind. McCord says cowboys didn't read the Bible, just had faith and belief in a higher power.
I love the detail on this ottoman! Plus, it was huge and very soft.
They had some gorgeous artwork, and the books are real (in the basket on the floor). Interesting old western stories.

By now it sounds like I'm an advertising ad, but seriously, this is a great little stop in Southern Idaho. I would love to just spend a week there. The food is home grown fantastic, the rooms are comfy and again, very home-like, and the springs are fabulous. We didn't go to the springs because I was still fight an UTI. We've been several times before, and it is always enjoyable. If anyone is looking for a quick weekend getaway, this is it!

Some things that we learned: Make plans to be in Almo four hours before your intended ETA. Especially if there's snow.

Take food/snacks with you. Each room has a microwave and mini fridge, plates, silverware and cups. We had to leave a day early because I was so sick, partly from the infection and pregnancy, and partly from a lack of nutrition. The gas stations are sparsely prepared for meals.

Don't go unless you can absolutely get in the hot springs. That was a huge bummer.

We were also thinking that it might be fun to get a group of us a go together. The hotel set up is like an old 1800's building. There are 11 rooms, two of which are 2 story, and there are three separate cabins. The cabins have just one bed (queen) and a cast iron tub. I think the two stories have 5 or 6 beds.

So, who's in?