My husband and I will be celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary in mid October. He 'might' be going to a conference the weekend before, but will be home the weekend after (and the day of).

WHile 18 years isn't a big deal in numbers, what is a big deal is that I'm now the weight I was when we got married (and will be thinner than when I got married by the time of our anniversary). Not only that, but even more importantly, I'm more fit and so is he. So, I want to go celebrate something, somewhere, but I don't know what.

Our kids are 15 and 6 and we live with my mother in law, so an overnight getaway is possible, but our budget is also very tight while I'm still staying at home.

We live inbetween Baltimore and DC (both about 45 minutes from us), so there's tons of stuff we could go see or do. But I need some suggestions on how to make a full day of it - weather alternatives if things are outside.

Our first anniversary we did a picnic outside at a botanical garden, took a nice walk through the gardens, came home, showered and then had a nice dinner out. Full day without busting the bank. (We lived in Chicago at the time).

We kind of did something similar for our 10th anniversary and basically haven't done anything fun/exciting any other time with kids, moving, renovating etc. But I really want to celebrate our new healthy lifestyles together... we have weathered through a lot and came through it pretty unscathed...

romantic suggestions?

Mid-October in the greater DC area is pretty near prime time for Shenandoah National Park! Entrance to the park is only $15 per car. You could do parts of the Skyline Drive, and celebrate your new healthier lifestyles with a hike, a bike ride, or horseback riding. The park has a great website with lots of details on the available outdoor activities: http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisi...activities.htm

If you wanted to do an overnight there are options at the park, but you could also consider having dinner and spending the night in Culpeper, VA. I think it's less than an hour's drive from the north-central portion of the park, and is a cute, small town with places you could walk and windowshop in the morning before heading back home. There are a few good restaurants - a good Thai place (I can't remember the name, but I doubt there's more than one Thai restaurant in Culpeper!), and a very nice fine dining restaurant called Foti's. I've never stayed overnight in Culpeper, but it's large enough that I'm sure there are multiple options from basic hotels/motels to B&Bs.

Shenandoah/Culpeper were the first things that came to mind for me, but I'll try to think of some others as well!

I'd go to Culpeper just because I like the sound of the name. Never been to that part of the country.

bargoo, my inlaws have a place on a lake near Culpeper, so we go down there a few times each summer. It's a beautiful region - near Virginia wine country and smack dab in the middle of the Civil War battlefields. It also feels incredibly removed from the traffic and congestion of the DC area - I love making the drive there because I swear I feel myself relaxing more with every mile.

Btw, I lived in Saratoga for a few years when I was young. I haven't been back to visit since I was 22 or so. Talk about a place with a lot of options for day & weekend trips!

I'd love to visit that part of our country,it has always fascinated me, what history ! We are only babies , here in California, 200 years younger than the East and South. Come back and visit Saratoga , sometime, you might be surprised by the changes around here although Saratoga still prefers to call itself a village.

I was going to say- a long drive and picnic along the Shenandoah. Or a bike ride along some of the Rails to Trails, stop and have a picnic at a scenic vista, then go home and get gussied up for a fun night on the B'more waterfront or a Georgetown restaurant.

I personally love outings where the day is spent outdoors, relaxed and the night is a little more dressed up night out

Alternatively, there are tons of bed and breakfasts in that area, especially in Virginia. My fiance and I went out to New Market, VA one weekend with another couple and had a great time. You can easily find BNBs in cute towns for around $150 or less.

The National Botanical Gardens (out in Northeast of DC), Rock Creek Park, Eastern Market/Southeast Waterfront, Mount Vernon (you could bike to it from DC) are all some wonderful ways to spend a day in D.C.

Oh! Or what about a day trip to Fredrick, MD? Adorable little town. You could do walks around the downtown, a hike, stop in the little shops.

Olde Towne Alexandria, VA? You can also bike from DC. It's cuter (and cheaper) than Georgetown, in my opinion.

Ok I'll stop. I used to live in DC and will be moving back next July so your post got me really excited

Thanks for your suggestions so far! We did Shanendoah one year for our anniversary, but it's been YEARS. That's a good idea. Culpeper was hit pretty hard by that earthquake, so I would want to check it's not all under construction if we went there.

We used to live in NoVA (until mid 2009), so we frequented Alexandria a lot. We haven't explored B'more at all. If we did Shanendoah though, I think I would go with the entire family. Not that it would take away any of the romance and nicety of it. I love spending days like that with my family. And now that my youngest is six, it will be way more fun than when we had to haul the stroller.

If you are interested in checking out Baltimore, this looked like a good way to do it in an active way to celebrate your fitness along with your anniversary.

http://www.walkbaltimore.com/index.html

And there is plenty to see and do indoors to, if the weather isn't cooperative.