Weekend Getaway and a Big Announcement

This weekend marks our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate we are hitting the road!  We have been talking about taking a trip for a while now but we finally hammered out all the details this week which has created a fun, spontaneous air around the weekend.

The cool mustang we got to drive around in on our wedding day.  House pictured: site of our wedding reception

Leading up to it, we had a few criteria that needed to be met for our trip:

1. Cost: With J studying for the bar, only one income (mine) to speak of and some major changes on the horizon (more on that in a minute), it needed to be a relatively inexpensive trip.
2. Location: Must be within driving distance.  See number 1.  Plane tickets this time of year are notoriously expensive. 
3. Distance: Even though we are driving, with the high price of gas we knew the destination couldn't be too far away in order to keep costs low.
4. New: Must be a place neither of us have been to before.  We love exploring new cities together!
5. B & B's: We really wanted to stay at a Bed and Breakfast while we were there.  I love them and find them extremely romantic and much more personal than a standard hotel room!

With these criteria in mind, we narrowed it down to 3 finalists: Sainte Genevieve, Hermann (Missouri wine country), and Hannibal, MO.  Sainte Genevieve is having a French Heritage Festival this weekend, which may explain why all the B & B's in the area were booked on Saturday night (the night we were hoping to stay).  Hermann's B & B's were all more than we were looking to spend for a night (average was around 140 dollars a night) which, combined with wine tasting fees, would be pretty pricey for a two day trip.

Enter Hannibal.  Only two hours and four minutes away from St. Louis, we were able to find a charming B & B for only $90.00 a night! With lots to do including visiting Mark Twain Caves, Mark Twain's Boyhood Home and Museum, a cute downtown area and a few wineries nearby, I know we will have a great time and I can't wait to share all of our photos and experiences with you next week!

Okay so this is Disneyland's version of a steam boat, but you get the idea!  Image via weheartit

Oh, and about that big announcement? 

J and I are moving.  

In less than two months.

  

To South Bend, IN.  

Home of my beloved Fighting Irish and my sister 

(although she will be studying in Rome next year.) 

Image via weheartit

J was offered a great job for a year and we are very excited/a tiny bit nervous about this next stage in our lives!  I will of course take you all along for the ride as well as we start new jobs, explore a new city, make new friends, take in a football game or two, and decorate a new apartment.  There are great things on the horizon so stay tuned :)