FREEness

So, we got to Cave B around 4:30ish. It was amazing. So beautiful. So quiet. So perfect.

It's a small resort and winery--only about thirty or so rooms. BUT, each room is more like a suite or studio apartment, complete with hardwood floors, exposed ceiling beams, rustic furnishings, limestone and granite and lots of glass in the bathrooms. The entire backside of each suite overlooks the Columbia River Gorge and Cave B vineyard--it's all glass with two doors so that you can walk out onto your own lawn and patio (covered by trellises and grapevines). It was just so incredibly peaceful. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, when we checked in, the receptionist at the front desk said to Steve, "Oh, I see that our manager (that would be the 'Amazingly Fabulous Tiffany') has decided to upgrade you to the Honeymoon Suite, which will be complementary this evening. We are so sorry for your trouble. Also, your dinner, at table #2 (better known as THE BEST TABLE IN THE PLACE!), will be on us this evening, as will your breakfast in bed. What time would you like us to bring that to you in the morning, Sir?"

We giggle like teenagers and stutter a bit, wondering, "Could they be serious?'"

Oh yes, they were.

After we agreed on what time we would like to eat at the finest table in the restaurant for free, we had to decide what time in the morning we would like to be fed a gourmet breakfast in bed for free. Then there was one more decision. What time would we like to go to the free wine tasting session we were given along with our two free wine glasses. Hmmm. Um, NOW? Cuz, it's free.

I realize that with all of this "free" excitement I must sound like a total and complete cheapskate. I promise, I am not. But, it felt so surreal to be in such a beautiful place, enjoying beautiful scenery, tasting amazing wine, eating amazing cuisine, holding my husband's hand, sleeping in, reading, lounging, taking two long baths in a jetted tub, and being able to actually have an adult conversation that wasn't punctuated with phones ringing, disciplining, etiquette training, or hiney-wiping of any kind. I would have paid six hundred dollars for that. We paid nothing. It was Cave B's little gift to the Prentices for --um--being INCONVENIENCED. Man, I wish we could be inconvenienced like that every time we vacation!

All in all, it was one of the best times away with Steve I have had yet. So relaxing. So beautiful. So quiet.

Don't worry. We did some pretty over-the-top tipping, just so we could feel like we were actually giving them something for treating us like ROYALTY. I can't wait to go back! And, we won't even mind if they ask us to pay for it.