Happy Anniversary - the Living Social way

    

Remember this song from the Flintstones? Well, some of you young'uns may not, I'll be 40 this year, so of course I remember it! It's a catchy tune and is the perfect opening for me to outline how you can have an awesome anniversary weekend using the deal of the day site, Living Social. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Man, can't believe it's been a year already! MonkeyMan and I got married last year, April 28.

Knew I wouldn't make it through this post without posting a wedding pic.

Ok, on to what you came to find out about how to save some mula, change, cheddar, paper, ok, money on an anniversary weekend or simply a weekend getaway for you and the hubs (geez, what's with all these urban dictionary words I'm using). 

MonkeyMan found this deal a few months prior to our anniversary. We knew we wanted to stay kinda close to home, so that helped narrow things down a bit. That's important because, as parents, we have to manage our time carefully. Trips should be planned out, except for those last minute road trips. If you work outside the home, have you scheduled the time off from work? Once that's established, plan out the trip details with your spouse. Determine how far you want to travel. Will you be traveling on a day when the kids are in school? Who's gonna pick them up? When you guys return after a blissful weekend,   have you allowed enough time to prepare for the next day if you are heading back to work? 

Alright, so you've figured all of that out and ready to hit the road. For this trip, Helen is only 1 hour away. Remember all that planning I just told you about? Well, add in travel time during rush hour traffic. We hit the road at 5 pm, which is a huge NO NO in Atlanta. Neither of us had work on this particular Friday but were exhausted from the work week that we neglected small details that would have a huge impact. It nearly took us 3 hours to get to our destination, check in closed at 8 pm. Most places will have some type of system that allows you to check in after hours. Be sure to contact the hotel/resort if you are running late. 

This was our hangout for the weekend! This cabin is nestled deep into the woods, the driveway was so steep. Total seclusion, total peace, total serenity, total anniversary weekend. 

Before booking, does your spot have amenities that make the trip worthwhile? This spot had a hot tub, a  balcony that led from the bedroom, bbq grill and an awesome living room area with bar and fireplace. We had more space than we knew what to do with. And nature added it's own twist, it rained most of the time we were there, made it more romantic. 

Saturday the rain stopped long enough for us to venture out and see the sites. 

Helen is this quaint little town in the northern Georgia mountains. According to Wikipedia, the town adopted a Bavarian look, all of the buildings there are replicas of an Alpine village.

With every deal of the day site, there is fine print. Be sure to read it. Most of the getaway deals have black out dates (dates when the deal cannot be used). The fine print will also list any additional fees, like resort fees or taxes. Read this, if you aren't clear contact the vendor directly for clarification. Don't show up and be surprised when there's a balance due and you know you already paid through Living Social. 

It proved to be an awesome weekend. It's a great feeling when you make no plans, other than the trip, and get to lounge around with your best friend. 

Need a spot for your anniversary? Or just looking to get away, check out any of the deal of the day sites and get to booking!