Hacienda Hotel

 Sorry for the delay between posts, I had to get a new phone recently and was having trouble with the software that stores the pictures from the phone but I've got it all figured out now...I think.

Since my last post about the first Fancy Flea of the year, we have now been to another Fancy Flea, a much smaller one, in a town just 10 minutes from us. We took the kids and they loved it, especially Cadence who says that vintage markets are now her thing.

We've also attended a couple of the local flea markets which both kids love because they can always find a toy or two that they NEED and the vendors frequently give them small things for free.

But this past weekend it was just Chris and me - my favorite kind of weekend.

On Friday Chris said he wanted to do something fun this weekend, just the two of us and, at first, my mind went blank on something I wanted to do. When I couldn't come up with anything Chris suggested going downtown and playing pool at the pool hall.

While I'm not opposed to playing pool (I'm just not any good at it) it wasn't really my idea of what we could do on our special adults only weekend so I got busy and came up with an idea.

I have a thing for pink hotels. Back in 2021/2022 when we were planning our honeymoon we had decided to go to Hawaii and stay at the Royal Hawaiian which is pink and was built in 1927 - two of my favorite things. But then I went broke so that never happened but there was this other 1927 pink hotel just an hour from where we live that was being renovated and brought back to its former glory.

I had even thought about getting married there (and it would have been lovely) but they didn't know exactly when they were going to open and couldn't guarantee it would be before our wedding so I never went to see it and I kind of forgot about it until I started thinking about what I would really like to do this weekend.

Also, I've been searching for a charming little downtown where Chris and I can escape to easily for daytrips. Somewhere that has charm and makes us feel like we've gone away on vacation even if it's only for a few hours.

Taz and I had those types of places, a couple of little towns we loved but they are a little further away from where I live now and I really want to find a new place where we can make our own memories.

The Hacienda Hotel was everything I wanted it to be - luxuriously pink, that Spanish-Moorish style that was so popular in the 1920s, cozy and old fashioned inside with welcoming white rocking chairs on the back patio. 

There's even a big park in its backyard with a river running through it. I was enchanted.

The town, however, wasn't quite as charming and I don't see it as a place we'll come back to time and time again. It wasn't bad, it just didn't give me all the feels so I will have to keep searching.

After leaving the downtown area, we decided to play a round of mini-golf. I do enjoy miniature golf and I don't suck at it the way I do at most other sports but it was beastly hot and the sun was beating down on me mercilessly and I wasn't exactly dressed for mini-golf so I wasn't sad when the 18 holes came to an end and we I could escape to the air-conditioned paradise of our car.

It was a lovely day and I really enjoyed exploring a new place; it's one of my favorite things to do. I know that Chris had projects back at the house he would have rather been doing so I appreciate the gesture of giving most of the day over to me.

Once back home I changed into less clothes (the dress and hat I'd worn for the day made me feel so cute and was perfect in the town which had breezes blowing off the river but definitely not the smartest choice for mini-golf) and took Chris to Lowes to buy electrical crap for his latest project (putting electrical outlets in the shed that he's turning into an office for his company) while I went to Walmart for toilet paper. Not the most romantic way to end a fun outing but necessary, I guess.

And now I'm back at work and we have the kids starting tonight through next weekend. I have been busy researching other towns to try and one that's closer to us has a night market this Friday so I see that outing in our future, this time with kids. I'll report back and let you know if I've finally found the charming town of my dreams. I'm sure the kids will love the face painting and the scavenger hunt. I'm looking forward to the food trucks and maybe some fun shopping.