The Staycation Valentine

Strange title for a travel blog post, I know.

But tomorrow will be my 14th Valentine’s Day with Adam, and I have to say, I’m thrilled that we’re not going out of town. Instead, we’re going to do all the things we rarely have time for in a life work and social engagements and travel. We’re going to have a staycation.

We’ll go for a long drive and re-discover our favorite plant nursery. Southern California’s planting season is upon us, and we’re at long last going to tend to our neglected gardens. There are whole big patches that need fluffing, filling, color, and love.

We’ll take our corgi for the hike that’s only two blocks from our house…but that we seem to get to little more than seasonally. L.A. this time of year looks like the rain has taken a Windex-soaked squeegee to the sky, and the view from atop Fryman Canyon should be endless and green. There’s a little nip in the air, so we’ll bundle up in fleece and return home to some hot chocolate.

After rooting through recipes and a grocery store or two, Adam’s going to make me dinner with his own mitts. This was what he did for our first V-Day together, and I remember every lovely bite. Years ago, he worked for a caterer, and the man can cook beautifully. These days, with a business to run, he rarely has time for eating dinner at home much less making it himself; to him, cooking in own kitchen feels like a vacation all on its own.

We’ll linger in our neighborhood bookstore. We’ll make a fire in the fireplace, maybe break out the Chateau d’Yquem we’ve been saving for a special occasion.  We’ll watch travel shows and revise our Top 10 Places To Go list. Right now, Australia, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway, and Colombia already top it.

Back in the real world, we’ll save some money, slow down, and fall in love with our home all over again.

Make romance the destination, and you can fall in love with each other wherever you happen to be.