The Hints

I have a confession to make. My big 3-5 is looming. That’s right. In less than a week I will be 35 yrs old. How did THAT happen? Wasn’t I just in college? I’m not really bothered about officially being in my mid-thirties. I’m just not all that excited about the fact that I will soon round up to 40.  Again…how did that happen? Didn’t I just get married? How is that I’m now within arms length of my 40’s? Seriously? WOW!!

This thought process is spurning a lot of self-reflection…you’ll probably hear more about that as I process it.

So, while I’m not all that excited about the fact that my pending birthday will be my 35th birthday, I am excited that it is my birthday in general. I’ve always loved my birthday. My mom always made such a fuss over my birthday and I guess it’s always stuck with me. So, despite the ever increasing number associated with my birthday, I generally start getting giddy at the thought of it weeks ahead of time.

In an effort to ease the blow of this milestone year, BG has decided to whisk me away for a birthday weekend getaway. Much to my delight AND chagrin, he refuses to tell me where he’s taking me. I love surprises, but at the same time I’m dying to know. I beg and plead with him to tell me, then he’ll say “Ok. Do you really want to know? If you do, I’ll tell you right now.” In response to which I take a deep breath, squeal and say “No! It’s not my birthday. It’s not time!!”

BG finds this little dance very amusing. I’m pretty sure that if I actually said yes he’d refuse anyway. He just likes teasing me. So, to either appease my excruciating curiosity or just confuse me more, he’s been giving me hints. See if you can help me figure it out…

Hint# 1 – It’s in the valley of  “sportiness” and “loveliness.”

From this I’ve gotten him to admit that we will be taking the bikes with us.

Hint# 2 – It’s north of Georgia, east of Nashville, south of Ohio, and it’s not a beach.

Umm…there’s like a million places that fit that description.

Hint #3 – It’s about a 3.5-4 hr trip from Charlotte.

He won’t specify whether that is by plane or by car.  Although, I doubt he’d torture me by making me fly on my birthday, and I think that since we are taking the bikes it’s probably a road trip.

Hint #4 – Masterful!

And…what am I supposed to glean from that exactly?

He’s been on a business trip for the last three days and promises me a great hint upon his return.  In his absence, though, I’ve been scouring the internet trying to figure it out.  Here are some options I’ve come across.

The Grove Park Inn and Spa in Asheville –

(Image courtesy of ashevillenc.com)

Well it sort of goes with Hint #1 in that I hear the inn is just beautiful and there are tons of places to go biking around Asheville.  But…I think this would be considered more of a mountain getaway versus a “valley.”  It’s certainly “north of Georgia, east of Nashville, south of Ohio, and not a beach.”  As far as Hint #4 is concerned, it supposedly has one of the best spas in the U.S.  I’d think that fulfills the “masterful” requirement.  But…it might be too close to Charlotte to meet the 3.5-4 hr commute.  Plus, we’re going to spend a weekend in Asheville in August.  So, I’m not sure he’d repeat cities that rapidly. Hmm…

What about the Inn at Westwood Farm in Orange, Virginia?

(Image courtesy of http://www.innatwestwoodfarm.com/)

The best I can tell, this seems to be in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  The Inn looks to be quite lovely…especially as it is within driving distance of Barboursville Vineyards (Oh how I love visiting a vineyard!).  Plus with all that surrounding beautiful Virginia nature there’s lots of places to bike about and be sporty.  Location requirements?  Check!  According to my iPhone GPS, though, it’s a 5-hr drive from Charlotte.  This may be too far away to be it.

Speaking of Barboursville Vineyards, looks like there’s an inn on site there.

(Image courtesy of http://www.barboursvillewine.net/winery/the-1804-inn)

The 1804 Inn to be exact.  Of course, if BG took me there, I might think that I died and went to heaven rather than celebrated yet another year of life.

Maybe I’m looking too far north. What about Charleston?

The term “lovely” doesn’t even begin to do this gem of city justice.  We’ve been there before, but it’s been a while, and we’ve been talking about wanting to go back. There’s not much about Charleston that I would consider to be sporty, though.  It certainly fits the regional and commute hints. Although, while not technically consider a beach town, it may be too coastal to be a match.  And, I’m not sure how the “valley” terminology would fit here.  Best to keep looking…

Dare I hope and pray?  Could it possibly be Blackberry Farm?

(Image courtesy of http://www.blackberryfarm.com/farm)

This place meets nearly all the hint requirements…except the valley bit.  Word of warning, BG.  If this is it, I may refuse to leave!!

Where ever it is, I know I’ll love it and I’ll be thrilled to spend a long weekend, just hanging with my guy!  In the meantime, if anybody else has any thoughts or interpretations of the clues, hook a girl up!  I’M ABOUT TO BURST!!!!!!

Cheers, y’all!