Adventure Together
I recently heard someone recount the advice they gave their son, "you'll never get a girl to fall in love with you until you go on an adventure together." As a romantic, I love this advice, and I also think it imparts a valuable truth that matters for marriage. Adventuring together is so important to enjoying each other and continuing to fall deeper in love and companionship throughout your life together.
When I hear "adventure," my mind automatically thinks "spontaneous." But, I've learned that as romantic as spontaneous adventures can be, if you sit around waiting for them to happen in your marriage, they probably won't. You have to purpose to adventure together by dreaming, talking, planning, and committing. Woody and I have made it a point to dream about travel and adventures, mark our calendars and make it happen! For us, once it's on the calendar, we have an accountability to plan, book rooms, research restaurants, and show up. What steps do you take that help you commit to making adventures happen?
This Valentine's Day, before even talking to each other about our plans, we both separately had the idea to go out of town together and celebrate with another couple. After considering a few options, we decided we didn't want to travel too far since it was just a weekend trip, and we were going by car. Living in Birmingham, we thought the Nashville area would be nice, but weren't too excited about the hotel options and prices we were finding.
After checking our usual travel resources, we hopped on the popular VRBO to see what we could find. We stumbled upon the most adorable cottage called Brigadoon by Shelter & Roost in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. The location was perfect, the price was perfect, and we were in love with this romantic getaway spot. Woody contacted the owner, got the details sorted out, and our adventure was booked within 24 hours.
Wanting friends to join us for a Valentine getaway, we invited fellow adventure lovers, Rachel and Lucas. It didn't take them long to say yes after our persuasive pitch of how much fun it would be! We all got together a few times to make plans for our trip, but for the most part, adventuring in Leiper's Fork was easy and laid back and didn't require too much work beforehand. With most things being within walking distance of our cottage, we knew we could do as much or as little as we wanted with ease. We decided to eat out Friday night to enjoy some local flavor and then to cook in Saturday to avoid the Valentine's crowds, and it was perfect.
Delicious Southern lunch and live music at the original Puckett's Grocery in Leiper's Fork.
I surprised Woody by making his favorite cookies, and it's safe to say the look on his face at first bite was priceless!
One of the things I loved most about this trip was the relaxed flow. We planned enough activities that we got to experience the location, but left enough flexibility in our schedule to relax and be spontaneous. It helped that the vibe of Leiper's Fork naturally contributed to the laid back flow we wanted for our weekend away. In fact, one of my favorite memories is simply walking hand-in-hand with Woody exploring new shops and places.
Looking back, as adventures should be, this trip is like a bookmark in our relationship. It's something we can turn to as an experience we embarked on and enjoyed together. The memories we made and the time we spent together truly served to fuel us and our marriage.
“Adventure helps to build companionship in a marriage. Whether it is camping in the Tetons or traveling to New York to see a Broadway show, the excitement and mystery of adventure can be strong coffee for a marriage. The new sights and sounds, the need to pull together to erect a tent or hail a cab—and yes, all the tensions also—they awaken us from the dulling effect of the daily grind and make us more alive to our world, to each other, and to God.”
When you adventure together, something new happens as you find yourselves in unfamiliar places absent of usual routines. This allows you to see your partner in a new way and experience something fresh together. As husband and wife, we are designed to make it through life together, so it only makes sense to keep your skills sharp by making adventuring a regular part of your marriage!
In addition to making your marriage better, shared adventures are a great place to build friendships. It's important to pick the right people to welcome along on your adventure, too. One of the things we love about being with Rachel and Lucas is that we feel inspired in our marriage after spending time with them. They are the kind of people that make you want to be a better spouse because of how they love each other. It's no mystery that who you spend your time with will impact how you live your life, so find other couples that you respect and enjoy and invite them along your journey!
Rachel is a fabulous photographer, and she captured all these beautiful and sweet moments of our adventure. I hope you've enjoyed a little peek into our Valentine weekend, and that it inspires you to take an adventure with your spouse. Whether it be long or short, near or far, just get out and go and get ready for your marriage to grow!
What are your favorite adventures you've shared together?
