Hocking Hills Haucks

As you may recall, the Haucks are no strangers to Hocking Hills!

See our family trip from almost a year ago - here

And so, when it came time to think about where we might like to

celebrate our five year wedding anniversary, Hocking Hills was

a natural (not to mention affordable choice :).

We waited a little too late to get a reservation on for the weekend,

so we ended up heading down on a Wednesday.  This was actually

awesome!  We both got to sleep in Wednesday morning, get our

hair cut (Rob) and blown out (Carrie), and then eat at one of our

favorite sub shops (Dibellas). The overall drive to Hocking Hills

is actually very pretty....and it was nice to just hold hands and relax

into our time together.

I had planned for us to stay in the "Tree House" which is part of

the Inn and Spa at Cedar Falls. Check in was at 4:00...so I planned

 couple's massage at 3. The massage was so WONDERFUL.  

Rob fell asleep and I almost did too.

After that we just headed right over to our cabin!

The weather was calling for a chance of rain...

and so since the sun was still shining we drove the short

distance to Cedar Falls.

 

The falls had a bit more water than they did last May...

and everything was lush and green!  I kept saying to Rob

that it reminded me of Oregon...the ferns...the moss covered

trees....waterfalls. I was in heaven.

The only tragedy of the evening was when my phone

decided to take a dip in Cedar Falls :( Blah....

However, it must be an anniversary miracle because

it never stopped working and continues to charge like

normal. Just to be safe though - we drove into town

and got a bag of rice from the Walmart. Driving back to the

TreeHouse we made a last minute decision to eat dinner

at Mill Creek BBQ. Best. Decision. Ever. They had

tiny little corn muffins - that melted in your mouth.

We also got the most delicious onion straws and pork

sliders. Yum, yum, yum. Upon arriving back home, we

had some time to explore the grounds of the Inn a bit more

(this may have been prompted by the fact that we had

no Wifi or tv access).  We walked through the most

charming tree tunnel (I kept wishing I had my phone

camera but it was still being held hostage in the rice).

There is also a roof top garden for growing herbs

and other things...and we just got to sit and swing :)

 Our Saturday was spent with equal parts hiking

and relaxing. We did the Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave

hikes in the morning. It was so nice just to take our time....

and Rob helped me find my favorite spring wildflowers.

By the time we arrived home for lunch, we made some

quick sandwiches and ate out on our deck.  The deck

overlooked some beautiful flowering dogwood trees.

We were serenaded by Rufus-sided Towees and

Woodpeckers of all kinds. We catnapped on the couch.

Rob finished a 500 piece puzzle we started on Wednesday

evening.  We discovered how to get the free wi-fi.

Played checkers and munched on free peanut butter

cookies in the Inn. All in all it was just perfect.

 

 

 

 

By the time dinner rolled around we were feeling

completely refreshed...and just in time for our

four course meal at the Inn. We had a cheese ball/olive tapenade

appetizer, house salad, steak (Rob)/noodles (Carrie), and

dessert!  Also we sprang for a bottle of the most wonderful

wine. It was from the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

(I told you I had Oregon on my mind!)

Thank goodness we could walk home :)

 

  We saved the best hike for last - Konkle's Hollow on Friday morning!

And, even though there was a slow drizzle of rain

the entire time we walked....it just felt magical!

And we even found my favorite spring wildflowers- Jack in the Pulpit's and

Trillium Grandiflora! Not to mention - the little spring beauties!

Shortly after we hit the road - back to Columbus (and real life)!

 

 

 We had such a wonderfully, relaxing time!  A kid free vacation

is something to be celebrated and relished for sure. But, nothing

makes us happier than being home together and loving on Max :)

And, thanks to Mims and Grandpa for watching our favorite

little guy!

 Cheers to a lifetime of fun with Papa Rob!
xoxo