I turned 40. I still cannot believe I’m a whole 40-year-old. There were times I did not think I would see this age, so I’m beyond grateful. Hildon and I planned to take a joint trip for our 40th birthdays, since we are less than 30 days apart. We wanted to go to Iceland, but the pandemic made quick work of that decision. We are at the point where we don’t even want to leave New York, because it is too much of a hassle to get tested prior to leaving and then getting tested again or possibly having to quarantine, depending on the state. So we opted to simply continue exploring our beautiful state. I use the word exploring loosely, because we went up to Big Indian, which was under two feet of snow. Could not hike in two feet of snow, so decided to just chill in our cottage for those two days, and it was the most relaxing getaway we have ever had.

We stayed at the Full Moon Resort in Cottage 3.

It was divine. Check-in was smooth: you just go to the main house and pick up the envelope with your name on it. It contained the keys to the cabin, instructions like trash pick-up times etc., and a map of the compound, which proved useless because it was blistering cold and all we did was meditate, eat, snuggle, watch TV, and…..other stuff. The cottage looked just as it did on Airbnb and Instagram. But I was most impressed by the heated bathroom floors. More hotels should have this feature. It’s a revelation. Also, the bathroom had a walk-in shower instead of a tub and it had two shower heads so we didn’t have to fight for water. Each cabin also comes with wind chimes, which I thought would annoy me at first but soon became a soothing soundtrack to our stay here. The place was dead quiet except for those chimes.

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Only one thing made me feel uneasy. That window that acts as a headboard.

Don’t get me wrong; waking up and looking back there was delightful. But at night, for someone with a vivid imagination, looking into the pitch black and wondering if someone was back there looking in was a fleeting worry. A part of me wanted to go back there to see if I could see through the window, but there was no way I would go back there at night because I’m a wuss. In the end, I figured I was being paranoid and after a few glasses of wine didn’t care as much. Our second night there, the light on the front porch of cottage 4 lit the back of ours and it was better because I could see the snow and no dark figure lurking. Fear of the unknown is a bitch.

The cottage came equipped with a mini fridge and Keurig but no microwave. My one critique. There was also a Samsung smart TV and we were able to log into Netflix and binge. That first night we watched “Behind Her Eyes.” Have you seen it? I don’t care what the critics say, I enjoyed. And that twist! If you haven’t, I recommend. Just go in with an open mind and remember it’s just a movie and you’ll be entertained.

Before heading up to Big Indian Mountain we stopped at Brio’s in Phoenicia. That’s the place where we ate after our railways trip last summer. We shared a pizza to kill time before check-in. We decided to get huge salads to go for dinner because we did not want to have to drive back into town for the rest of the evening. The food at Brio’s is amazing. We settled in for the night and ate our salads and binged.

The next morning we went to the Phoenicia Diner for breakfast. We went here not expecting to be able to eat in and we were right. The interior of the diner was closed but there was an outdoor eating area with heating lamps that were no match for the wind chill that morning.

Long story short, we ate in the car. Because a. Who can enjoy their food when their fingers are numb? I mean, there were quite a few people there. Some of them had dogs. This one little pomeranian was shivering. I felt so bad for him. And b. Driving 17 minutes back to the cottage would result in cold, soggy pancakes, since there is no microwave in the room. But eating in the car wasn’t bad. I’ve done it countless times before. One time I ate a two piece from Popeye’s while going 70 on the 678.

Anyway, that day we just took pics and snuggled. It snowed on and off all day. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up and looked through the huge front window all I saw was white. When nature is blanketed in snow it ups the relaxation factor. I fell back asleep again. It was glorious.

We wanted steak for dinner. I googled steakhouses and decided on The Phoenician because it was closest. We did not want to eat indoors. I tried calling to place an order for pickup but there was no reception. Plus, cold steak? Nope. We got dressed and drove down. The parking lot was full. Not a good sign. When we entered, the right side of the restaurant was a little too crowded for my liking. The hostess said they were booked, but to our delight the bar area was empty. I felt safe eating there so we took a seat and had a couple cocktails with our meal. The steak was so tender. People kept coming in and eventually others took seats at the bar, but by then we were wrapping up. That night I laid in bed and stared at a painting on my side of the bed. Could have been the cocktails coupled with the wine we took up there….or the dank gummi worms I took, but it really spoke to me.

Saying goodbye to the cottage the next morning was rough.

I did not want to leave and head back to reality. It was the coziest getaway we had ever had and I did not want it to end. Seems like most of the people staying there left that Sunday morning. I couldn’t tell by their facial expressions, because masks, but I had a feeling they shared my disappointment of the end of a weekend well spent.

Enjoy Hildon’s drone footage of Big Indian below.