Low Key and Restful

NOW I'm returning to telling you about our adventures in Ohio for our anniversary getaway!

When I last told you vacation stories, we had visited the Air Force museum, which we loved, and we "just so happened" to discover that there was a Duck Donuts right there in Dayton! (And by "just so happened," of course, I mean that I flat out Googled it and there it was!) So before we went home, we stopped by for some donuts.

We first learned about Duck Donuts on our anniversary trip two years ago, when some friends took us to the one near their house in North Carolina. We were hooked. Fortunately for our budgets and belly sizes, we don't have one near us, but we sure do look for them every time we take a trip!

It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, and the place was empty, so we ordered coffee on the side and just stayed for a bit to have a coffee and donut date!

No, we didn't eat them all. We made them last all weekend for breakfasts! But our little mid-afternoon date was low-key and fun.

We went back to our Airbnb where we took naps and watched Home Alone. Not having a strict schedule is the best.

A bit later, when we felt hungry again, we went out to try a little diner my friend Odie told me about. It was in a little suburb not far from us, and about five minutes after we arrived, the only other people eating in there finished up and left, and we had the whole place to ourselves for our entire dinner!

The little town was all darling for Christmas and the downtown area was like a scene from a movie.

 Super cute and character-laden inside!

 Ryan liked his sammich!

And I loved my salad!

(Excuse both of us still looking super groggy from our naps!)

And because we had to check out the desserts...

After we left, we drove around and looked at a few lights, and then we went back to our Airbnb!

I am often teased (lovingly and not-so-lovingly) by many for my dedication to planning the details of our vacations. I love to plan so we can make sure to take advantage of as many opportunities as we can whenever we visit a place - because in some cases, we know that may be our only visit! (We want to go as many places as we can, rather than revisiting the same places over and over.)

But I also love to leave gaps so we can rest. We knew, before we went on this trip, that when we came back, life was going to change significantly. We knew we were going to have rehearsals and multiple programs in the days following our return. We knew I was likely to begin working. We knew rest was important, and we made time for it.

So mid-afternoon coffee and donut dates, naps, movies on Netflix, quaint little diner dinners...those were sweet, low-key times that perfectly balanced all the fun plans we had! We were equally grateful for both!