My First Night Away…ALONE!

The day is finally here and I’m all packed up to go away all by myself for the first time.  No husband and no kiddos.  I’ve put my bags in the car and grabbed the wine I’ve been chilling in the fridge.  When suddenly…Ring Ring Ring.  “Hi Mrs. Johnson.  This is the school nurse.  Would you mind coming in to pick up your daughter?  She seems to have a bit of a bellyache.” You’ve got to be kidding me!  I can’t make this stuff up.  With a sigh, the wine goes back in the fridge and I’m on my way to pick up my little cherub from school.   

Fast forward two hours later after my daughter miraculously recovers after watching TV and playing a little electronics.  I’m finally on the road with music blaring and I suddenly have no weight on my shoulders.  I’m off duty!

I was so lucky to be staying at the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn because it was exactly what I needed.  It is located right on the water in Gloucester and the staff made me feel so comfortable as soon as I walked in.  I couldn’t recommend it enough!

After checking in to my gorgeous suite at the inn, I heard the waves crashing on the shore so I decided to go for a long run…ha-ha…ok…it was actually a long walk! It was so peaceful and the view was incredible!   

I went back to the room to enjoy some Thai food and watch the girliest movie I could find… He’s Just Not That Into You.  I was so relaxed…UNTIL…

I had the brilliant idea to take a bath since the hotel left me bath salts and the fluffiest towels I’ve ever felt.  I was filling the bath and went into the kitchen to open some wine and when I went back into the bathroom the ENTIRE floor was covered in water! We’re talking full-on flood.  Something had happened with the shower nozzle and water was spraying directly onto the floor.  If you had seen me, you would have thought you were watching a sitcom.  I’m on the floor using the fluffy towels to try and soak up all the water.  Six towels later and the floor is now dried when…you guessed it…Ring Ring Ring… “Mrs. Johnson, is everything ok because water is coming through the ceiling.”  I almost died of embarrassment.  Completely mortified!! What made it worse was the inn was SO NICE about the matter and even apologized to ME for it happening. I felt so bad because I should have never left the room when the tub was filling. I wanted to grab my bags and run away.  But instead I drank my wine, called home, and laughed when my kids told me, “That would have never happened if we were there!”

The next day I decided to explore Gloucester.

 I even got out on the water.  

I grabbed some yummy sushi for lunch and then headed back to the inn to sit by the water and read my book.

So did I ever get bored? Nope.  I kept myself pretty busy exploring and vegging out but I may have if I weren’t in a location where there was so much to do.

Was I ever lonely?  Not so much lonely, but I kept thinking, ‘My kids would love this.’ or ‘This would be even better if my husband were here.’ I was so excited for my husband to come spend the second night at the inn with me since I was dying to show him how gorgeous it was. 

Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  I think once a year is perfect for an alone getaway. 

Here are some tips friends gave me and a few I figured out on my own:

– Pick a nice hotel that offers lots to do.

– Make sure you will feel safe being there alone.

-Find things to do in the area that will keep you busy.

-Wine!

-Bring a good book.

-Call home only once.  They’re fine…trust me.

-Do simple stuff you never get to do (drink coffee in bed, eat Thai food out of the container, read a magazine from cover to cover)

-Sleep in.

-Wine…did I mention wine??