Archive for the Category »The Back Porch «

Wedding Song

All brides are beautiful – every  single one who gets married here is radiant – glowing. You can see their joy.  People are naturally drawn to love, want to share the warmth.  Love seems to bring out the best in all of us – joy and happiness are contagious in the best way. Why then does the media make brides and weddings seem so awful? So filled with tension and anxiety – so fraught with problems, near disasters and plans gone awry that tears and tantrums are a forgone conclusion.  I thought wedding tears were supposed to be tears of joy???

It’s a wedding – a day of celebrating the love two people share and their commitment to that love and each other. Whether it’s a private moment shared by two or a huge event shared by hundreds, a wedding is still merely a few notes in a symphony that will play out over a lifetime. It’s the love and the commitment that matter – not the wedding or the price tag. There isn’t a “wrong” way to get married. There isn’t a minimum purchase price required for a “real marriage”. I have seen weddings with no guests and a $500 budget (honeymoon included) that were breathtakingly beautiful, touching, loving and inspiring ……..and been left cold by weddings with 500 guests,  20 attendants, a $5000 wedding gown and a total price tag of $250K. All the couples still ended up just as married in the end. A perfect wedding doesn’t buy a perfect marriage any more than the 1st bars of a symphony guarantee you’ll enjoy the rest of it.

Married 62 Years, Still Making Beautiful Music Together - Click Photo To Play Video

True love and commitment isn’t something you can buy, or find or even define – but I can promise, you’ll recognize it when you see it – it’s in the little glances the quiet smile and the absent patting of a knee between a couple in their 90′s who have been together 60 or 70 years. When you see that love and devotion you aren’t wondering what their wedding was like.

A Day At The Retreat

A perfect spring day.

Waking up  to a soft slow rain on the cabin roof  – mist on the mountain-tops. Taking coffee to the porch – birds sing greetings, treetops alive with joy – deer emerge, curious, tentative – delicate steps, watch you watching them. Bacon – hot, crisp – toast, butter, jam – smells of morning in the cool air. Sun peeking thru the trees, mosaic, light and dark. Boots, walking stick – exploring. Waterfall roaring, creek dancing across stones, clear, sweet water – smells of nature. Wildflowers carpet sunny glades, perfume the air calling hummingbirds, butterflies to feast.

Pack a basket, wine, cheese, bread, fruit from the farmer’s market. Grab a red canoe – floating, quiet, shhhh …. see the fox and kits playing in the shallows. Find a special spot, yours alone – spread a feast, lie back and watch the clouds rush by, not you. No rush here, now. Dozing under a tree lulled by water music until discovered by a crow, then 2 then 3 – their spot invaded they complain – Gulliver comes to mind – laugh at them, with them. Leave them to their eden – travel on down the river  still smiling.

On the ridge – the edge of twilight. Colors light the clouds – orange, red – then pink and purple. Silhouettes against a rising moon. Steaks sizzling on the grill, strawberries sweet and lush, a toast. Find a sweater, walking in the starlight, not far – fireflies winking, a heron wades in the pond – splashing. Frogs converse – a turkey calls a reply – look a shooting star! Sleep calls – softly – a good tired, so quiet, a cool breeze, a soft blanket…. the day is done.

Pets Welcome – Really!

Eureka Springs is a decidedly “dog friendly” town – from multiple choices in patio dining to dog friendly stores your well behaved dog is welcome in a lot of places – except there aren’t many choices for pet friendly lodging – especially cabins. The Retreat at Sky Ridge is one of a handful of pet friendly cabin resorts and we don’t require a deposit (so long as you have a credit card on file with us), nor do we have a number or size limit for pets. So long as your furry family member is on a systemic flea preventative (Revolution, Sentinel or Frontline) he or she is welcome at The Retreat.

Activities you can share with your dog include caving, canoeing, hiking, carriage rides, shopping, dining and here at The Retreat we offer swimming and 135 acres of space to run and play with your pet. We even have an in-house pet sitter so you can feel comfortable leaving your buddy here at The Retreat for an evening of enjoying some local musical or theatrical entertainment.

Since we (the collective owners) are all pet lovers we even welcome our canine guests with a doggie treat bag and bandana!

If you’ve been waiting to visit Eureka Springs because you can’t bear to leave your best friend at home – wait no longer! The Retreat staff will even help you take advantage of all the pet friendly activities our area offers. To make reservations or get more info visit www.retreatatskyridge.com or call us at 800-242-3128. Our pet guests all give The Retreat two paws up!