THE ANGEL AT ROSE HALL

Don't you just love that name? This is the B & B where we would enjoy the second and third
days and nights of our wonderful honeymoon together!

We drove away from J.R.'s Hideaway the next morning after a very leisurely breakfast out on the deck.
It was a rather cool morning and looked promising for Spring rains a little later in the day.  The woods in the background looked so peaceful.  The deer roamed freely within close range.  It had been a romantic night and morning, but we were now packed and ready to move on.

We had a pretty long drive ahead of us.
A little less than a mile, actually.
What a big, beautiful home!  Our suite was upstairs and couldn't have been lovelier! It was split level, with a jacuzzi, a nice fireplace, and such pretty decor!
Shades of pink with roses. Very Victorian. We loved it!
Downstairs in the kitchen, there were homemade, freshly baked cookies for the guests.
And there was champagne, as well.  All made so special for the many couples who chose to stay at
this lovely B & B.  We knew we had found a great place to continue our honeymoon.

Of course, when two people are so in love, it doesn't really matter where you are, 
as long as it's together!  And yet, given the choice, naturally we would choose to be
exactly where we were.

That afternoon we ventured out to check out different things we might enjoying seeing or
doing while here.  Mostly we drove around, stopping for lunch, and later visiting shops at
a strip mall.  While there, we purchased tickets for an evening comedy show.
Because we both loved a good laugh!
In case you've forgotten our unique sense of humor, you can read about it here and here.

Just driving around Eureka Springs was quite enjoyable. It's a town full of winding, twisting
roads.  And hills.  Lots of those.
Everywhere you look are antique shops.
Historic hotels and churches.
Adorable little cafes.
Horse drawn carriages.
A dinner train.
And, of course, countless Bed and Breakfast homes.
These are only a few of the things to see.  However, what I loved seeing more than anything else, was
the smile on my husband's face, and the love in his eyes.
I know. You are probably thinking that I'm a little crazy.  And you would be right.
I'm crazy about my guy!

The rest of the day was leisurely enjoyed in our suite.  And how sweet it was! 

Later, after dinner in town, we attended the show, and quite enjoyed it, after the initial little,
only slightly rough beginning.  To our surprise, just after we found our seats, my husband saw a couple guys from his job.  'Honey, I'll be right back, okay?' he said and proceeded to go
over to say hello.  I waited for him to return to me.  It was only a few minutes, but
I began feeling just a little upset that he wasn't excited enough to take me with him and
introduce me as his wife of one day!  When he returned and sat next to me, he was smiling.
It was pretty obvious that he didn't think he had done anything wrong. Okay.  I confess.  I had
to ask him why he didn't take me with him.  He looked so surprised. He told me he hadn't
even thought of it and why hadn't I just gotten up and gone with him?
Then I felt bad.
Naturally.  Our first little misunderstanding as husband and wife.  What hurt the most
for me was the 'hurt' I saw in his eyes!  This tiny misunderstanding was settled quickly.
We went on to totally enjoy the rest of our evening.  Knowing that while this was so small
and seemingly insignificant, we would have others, and we would learn and grow from them.
But more importantly, we would love one another through it all.

Remember the promise of rain?  It came that night.
Just after we returned to our place.
We stood there on the huge, country style front porch, arms around each other,
just enjoying being together.  Not wanting these moments to ever end.
Don't you just love the fragrance of rain when it first starts?
It only added to the peaceful, romantic feeling all around us.
We finally decided to go back to our room for the night.
 I remember Odell mentioning that it sure felt chilly.

It was that evening I discovered  my husband's love of fireplaces!

I didn't think it was cold in our room, but apparently he did.  He got a fire going all right.
In the fireplace.  I could think of more fun ways to get warm! (smile).
It was electric and, unfortunately, malfunctioned.  The temp stayed at hot!
I love being all warm and toasty as much as the next person, but this went way beyond that!
Covers were definitely kicked to the floor later!
I don't know if either of us dreamed, but if I did, I feel sure we were
stranded together somewhere in the Mohabi Desert!

We awoke to a beautiful day, Easter Sunday morning.  It wasn't raining. Which would make
it much more pleasant strolling downtown later.  And,  thank God, our room was at a
comfortable temperature once again.
Evidently, the malfunction corrected itself.  I sincerely hoped my dear husband wouldn't feel
the need for the fireplace again that night. 

Our breakfast was enjoyed in the 'Morning Room'.  And what a gourmet
breakfast it was!  There were a few other couples enjoying it, as well and as we ate, we could

hear beautiful chimes from an ancient church just down the street in downtown Eureka Springs.
Those chimes were calling us to worship.  We knew it.  But somehow we just wanted to
'do our thing' all day.

We believed the Lord would understand. . .after all, He understood
honeymoons!  Marriage was all His brilliant idea!

We took off for downtown and just enjoyed checking out all the cute little shops.
Looking and dreaming of some of the things we might want to purchase later to
begin setting up our own home.
Together.  (sigh). Of course we bought a few small souvenirs.
We would save the bigger things for the next time here, which we hoped wouldn't be too
far off in the future.

 Dreaming of our future was just beyond exciting.  Honestly.  There were times I didn't know if I could contain so much!  I'm glad God designed our hearts to hold this much joy and happiness and love!  One of life's simplest pleasures was just walking side by side, holding hands, and just
loving being together.  The glances, the smiles and laughter, and several stolen kisses.
Could it get any better than this?

Looking back, I will have to say that the only thing that would have made it even better than this, was taking more pictures!  We took only a very few.  That was later our one regret. And still my regret today.  The memories are sweet and strong and I pray will always be.

Anyway, back to our story. . .

Finally exhausted of shopping and lunching,
and more shopping,
we were ready to give it up for the day.
We ended up stopping at a quaint little grocery store where we each got a pint of ice cream to enjoy back in our room.  We even picked up a movie from the selection just down the hall from us.
To be honest, I don't remember finishing the movie.
Or even what movie we watched.  I do remember the coziness of just leaning back together on the floor with pillows behind us, enjoying our ice cream, and at least starting the movie!

The next morning, after another wonderful breakfast, we left Angel at Rose Hall. In heavy rain.
All the way to our next destination.

Did I mention it was raining?  And the rain would continue all day.
Increasing in its strength.
Increasing in its intensity.
Like Odell and me.  Like our love.  We would be just fine. . .

Oh, and have I mentioned lately how much I adore my husband?  I watched him as he drove so compentently through the pouring rain.  I knew in my heart that he would always steer us through
any crisis we may have up ahead in our journey together.  He turned his head just for a second, winked
at his girl, and said, 'I sure love you!'



Next destination. . .slightly more than a mile ahead.