Enjoying Our City :: A Weekend by Ourselves

I always feel I have to head out of town for an exciting weekend with my husband, but after last weekend, I think my views are changing!

Jake and I had this past weekend to ourselves - something we rarely get to enjoy. We talked about heading to Dallas or Shreveport or even entertaining friends. Yet, when we began the weekend together, we were really searching for adult, sans kids, fun.

Friday night, after driving around for 30 minutes wondering what we could do with ourselves, we ended up at a wine bar called Vines & Friends. An upscale yet completely welcoming establishment, Vines & Friends offered a great selection of wines, draft beers, and well paired eats, like cheeses, meats, and fruits. You can even order sandwich fare if you feel so inclined. It is a non-smoking lounge; a definite plus. They have pub tables and chairs for traditional seating or leather couches to relax in and enjoy the live band or the piano. Great service and fantastic drinks coupled nicely for an adult-only atmosphere.

Afterwards, we went home and turned up the music via Spotify. Between games of pool, we'd dance and laugh. We discussed our week and loosely planned our Saturday. What a stellar evening!

Saturday morning we were up and ready to conquer the day...by 7am. So much for sleeping in! We straightened up the kitchen, made breakfast, and headed out the door. We ran errands for the first couple of hours: Target, Lowe's, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby for my project, checked on the JMG garden, stopped by AutoZone for Jeep parts, and so forth.

By 10:30, we had made our way to the Funky Finds indie art show. It was amazing! Jake even enjoyed himself as we perused all the unique etsy shops and local artisans' boothes. We made some purchases and discussed how we could make some of the many items up for sale. There will be another art show coming to Longview in November and I highly recommend attending. What a treat!

Lunch found us a T.Blanco's, a Mexican cafe. This place is by far the best Mexican food I've ever eaten, and folks, I've eaten at a lot of unique Mexican restaurants in all of my travels  (even in Ireland). We had amazing service by a waiter named Miguel while we dined (almost privately) on the patio overlooking the Sabine river. I had the Flameado and Jake ordered the the Chile Rellano. Absolutely incredible! If you go, make sure you order the queso, too - wow!

After lunch, we took a stroll down the Paul Boorman trail. We walked about a mile and a half, all the while enjoying the beauty of the day. Afterwards, we grabbed some movies and dessert and headed home for a relaxing evening.

It really was a great weekend! So, the next time you have a weekend with your spouse, see what you can find to do in your own town (especially those in rural communities). You will be surprised to find what awaits you!