Donna and I are planning our first vacation by ourselves without our daughters since they were born. We have been away from them overnight before, but that was for a conference Donna was attending, so our days were spent apart.
This time, we'll be away for three nights, with no obligations to anyone but ourselves. Donna has some frequent flyer miles with Continental to spend, so we looked to see where in the country we'd like to fly to for this first romantic getaway since the twins were born.
We chose Cleveland.
The reasons are practical: since our daughters will be staying with their grandparents in Richardson, Texas, we wanted to fly from Dallas, and the only places Continental flies non-stop from Dallas are Houston, Newark, and Cleveland. As we live in Houston and have too many relatives in Newark to make it a getaway, I chose Cleveland.
Perhaps not surprisingly, even though we are flying into Cleveland, we are not staying there. Our first night we're staying in Michigan, mostly so that Donna can check-off another state on her list of states she's visited. The next two nights we'll be staying on Kelleys Island, the largest US island in Lake Erie. From all appearances, Kelleys Island (notice the lack of apostrophe) is a laid-back island with not much to do except walk (or bike) around enjoying the trails and small beaches. That sounds just perfect.
But I get a kick out of telling people that our romantic trip without the girls will be to Cleveland. The unsaid implication is that it will be romantic not because of the destination, but because of the company.