Winter get-away with my love

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin. The drive was a nice reminder of how peaceful, and calm the winter can be. It has so much clarity to offer beyond the cold, brisk conditions. This will be my first trip with my boyfriend, and I’m looking forward to seeing it all unwind.

Thankfully we both love being outdoors, even when it’s winter… Both of us being photographers we spend a ton of time hiking around gathering images of the vast beauty around us. His niche is more wildlife and people, whereas mine is nature. Landscapes, just the views I guess you could say. I think even when we don’t expect it to, a photo really is worth a thousand words. Honestly maybe more.

We finally pulled up to the cabin, I hadn’t even gotten out of the car but I could tell right away just how stunning this whole trip was going to be. Once we pulled off to the side my boyfriend, James, shut the car off and we both just looked at each other for a minute, though it felt like hours. There was such intention behind the way we looked at each other. I knew my intentions, but this was one of those moments where I wish I could read minds because I wish I could know what was going through his head right now.

After a moment we both hopped out of the car, he grabbed our bags from the trunk and I grabbed our camera equipment from the back seat. We trudged through the snow up to the patio area towards the door. The entire front of the cabin is floor-to-ceiling glass, and even a glimpse inside was enough to prove just how gorgeous it was inside. We walked in and set everything down and off to the side before taking off our boots and started walking around to see the place. It was magical in there, very modern rustic aesthetic. A deep oak color on the floors and carried throughout the kitchen with black accents and a black marble counter in the kitchen. The kitchen was surreal, the back wall had the fridge, stove, and microwave; and then the island had the sink and plenty of counter space. It was so well done I just couldn’t believe it. Off the kitchen was a huge living room, with such high ceilings and so many glass panels and windows. There was dark furniture and a black area rug beneath the all-glass coffee table.

Up the winding stairs was a short hallway with a linen closet on the right, and a door to the bathroom behind that. Across the hall on the left side was the loft-style bedroom over top of the kitchen area. The bedroom was gorgeous, it was simple but stunning. In the center of the room was a huge king-size bed dressed with deep red bedding. On either side of the bed were two small black night tables. There was a large closet that had bathrobes in it. There was a projector set up in the room for watching TV which projected onto the blank wall in direct sight of the bed. We went across the hall to see the bathroom, which from the ad, we knew would have a jacuzzi. When I stepped into the bathroom I was speechless. The floors were heated, and there was a towel warmer beside the vanity as well. They continued the dark, modern theme. The vanity was a deep brown with black accents and two sinks. The jacuzzi was kiddie-cornered in the left corner, it was practically the size of a hot tub. Off to the right was the toilet and behind it was a standing waterfall shower, black tiling in the shower as well. It was well-lit with plenty of pot lights.

After a moment of just shock, James and I went back downstairs to unpack. He took our clothing luggage up to the bedroom, and our toiletry bag to the bathroom. I started unpacking the food and drink bag in the kitchen. I started putting everything away and tidying it up when I opened the fridge to find a bottle of champagne. I knew in my gut this was going to be a beautiful weekend, something I would never forget.

Shortly after James came back down exclaiming he had unpacked and tidied it up upstairs. He suggested we make a coffee and relax for a bit after our six-hour drive. We sat down in the living room area with our coffees and just kind of talked for a while. No phones or laptops, just us sitting there chatting about everything and nothing all at the same time. Unforgettable moments.

After talking for a while we decided to go and enjoy a hot shower before making dinner and settling in for the night. The shower was so refreshing and relaxing. I think we both really just wanted to freshen up so we could put on pj’s, which is exactly what we did. Both of us slipped into fuzzy sweaters and jammie pants with our matching slippers. We traversed down to the kitchen to make dinner.

After eating James asked me to come to the living room, where there was a record player and a stack of records to choose from. We agreed on jazz, poured glasses of wine, and just enjoyed cuddling for a little bit on the couch. James went to the kitchen to top up our glasses and I went upstairs to grab a blanket. When I got back downstairs he held out his hand and invited me to dance with him. It was legitimately like a scene from a movie, so we danced in our pj’s taking breaks to sip our wine. Eventually, we agreed to head to bed and enjoy our night up there. It was magical and euphoric.

The next morning we made some oatmeal, and packed our coffee to go. We were headed on a hike with our cameras. We got suited up and packed up before we headed out into the woods. We brought trail tape to mark our path just in case, it definitely came in handy. I was taking photos from the moment we stepped outside. We hiked into the forest for about a half hour before we stopped to start getting serious with our cameras.

It was like a whole other world in there. I could spin and look in any direction and it was just a vast bright white forest, so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat. James was taking tons of photos of some animal tracks in the snow. We both had top-of-the-line cameras, but nothing could capture how sparkly the snow really was. A picture couldn’t successfully capture the intensity of the silence. My goodness, it was intoxicating and the paradise around us was just extraordinary. It was bliss, simple as that.

After a couple of hours of hiking and taking photos, we decided to head back to the cabin. It took us about an hour to hike back. We started some water to boil on the stove. We both needed a nice hot tea after our adventures that day.

After we warmed up, had a bath, and got changed into our date night clothes we decided to head out to the restaurant we made a reservation at. I was wearing a long, flowy navy dress with gold jewelry and gold closed-toe heels. I was wrapped in a nude shawl for warmth since my dress had really thin straps beneath the lace overlay for sleeves. I felt like a queen. James had a navy blue suit on with a bright salmon pink tie, he was so handsome.

The entire night was magical, we had a delicious dinner and shared a bottle of red wine. We shared a creme brulee for dessert and eventually headed back to the cabin.

When we arrived James helped me out of the car and up to the cabin. He invited me once again to dance, this time in more appropriate attire. We danced for a few minutes before he pulled me in closer to him. I rested my cheek on his chest and we slowly danced just entirely in flow with one another. It was like we were one whole person rather than two people dancing. I looked up at him as the song changed. I looked him dead in the eye and leaned in for a kiss. When our lips met, something about it was different than every other kiss before. We melted into each other, our connection was so deep and strong, no words could ever truly do that moment justice. When we broke from the kiss we stopped dancing and just hugged each other. I leaned into his chest, but he gestured me to look at him, and as I turned my head to look up at him he placed one hand around the back of my neck with the other on the small of my back.

When our eyes met, I knew exactly what was coming. In a peaceful quiet voice, he uttered the words I have been dying to say, “I love you”. A tear rolled down my cheek as I replied saying I love him too.

The rest of the trip was amazing, but that moment was the best part. When we were leaving we decided to make this trip an annual one. It was like the seventh heaven, and I could never capture the true depths of the trip.