Quick Trip!

We just returned from a quick jaunt to eastern Oklahoma for an overnight stay in a luxury cabin! They're called River's Edge in Watson, Okla., and I'm actually writing a story about them for Oklahoma Today, so our cabin was comped! It was an altogether refreshing time, and I highly recommend this kind of getaway to everyone!

Humor me (or don't) by listening to a few trip stories. We ended up shoving off right on schedule, highly unusual for us, at about 5 p.m. The owner assured us we would reach them by 7:30. I'd copied down directions from mapquest and the cottage website, but Jay insisted on inputting the town into his iPhone. Well, the iPhone suggested a different route, one that seemed a little shorter, so we went with that one. I didn't protest too much, thinking there wouldn't be much difference either way, even though mine was the way the cottage website recommended. Usually I don't regret being quiet, but this time I do! We wound through the Ozarks for three full hours, with one yellow diamond-shaped roadsign after another showing the squiggliest arrow you've ever seen! Between Nashoba and Smithville, about a 60-mile stretch, we met about four cars, and saw maybe 10 mailboxes and a couple churches. It felt like we were in a pine tree maze, with nothing but occasional glimpses of civilization, and often backwards ones at that: a schoolbus parked next to a shack or Christmas lights twinkling merrily. We would not have been a bit surprised to see Bigfoot saunter across the highway. Jay said, "If we make it out of here alive, we're taking your way back."

When we finally rolled in at 8:20 p.m. (I didn't count in our trip time a brief stopover at a family friend's house), we felt like it was midnight! Thank goodness Claire slept in her carseat for the last hour of our trip, or we might have been miserable. Our cabin was amazing, but we couldn't even see the best part of it that night: the view of the Mountain Fork River! The couple had all these little thoughtul and often romantic touches, too: the Bible open to Song of Solomon, twin plush robes, candles everywhere, and of course, complimentary wine and chocolates! (We actually stayed in a couples-only cabin, but they relaxed the rule for us, since I have a deadline and that was the only cabin available!)

We had a great time: breakfast on the deck, a hike, and a tour of the under-construction lodge with the owner. Now it's time to get back to the daily grind!