I like surprises. No, I love surprises. Ok, I absolutely am utterly in love with surprises. Whether they are for me or someone else, I am very VERY passionate about said surprise successfully getting pulled off without a hitch. I’ve never in my life had a surprise birthday party. Probably because I’m such a planner that I just make my own Holly-day plans. (Yes, even as a child, my mom would roll her eyes in February as the plans for my summer bday bash were already well underway.) But I have been fortunate enough to have a guy who has planned some very memorable surprise trips for me. And you better believe I was tremendously psyched about these exhilarating experiences!

This time? A weekend trip to Michigan circa 2003. He had told me we were going somewhere, but no details, so I packed my suitcase as best I could. Unfortunately, the location was revealed the night before we were heading out. (Confession: I threw a riduculous tantrum because the surprise got ruined. [Eye roll.] But thankfully I still didn’t know any of the details he’d planned!) So early the next morning, (well, early for two cats with no children) we drove from our rented duplex in Wisconsin down and around Lake Michigan to the other side of the lake. The good side with the fine sand and the beautiful coast. Clueless as to what our weekend plans entailed, I relished each surprise as it was unveiled. Some of the activities included attending the horse races (A brand new experience for me!), seeing the musical Oklahoma (I love musicals!), and the biggest surprise was a ferry ride back home over Lake Michigan! 15 years later and this gorgeous guy is still pursuing me with trips and surprises!