Birthday Mystery

Saturday was my birthday.  Saturday was also my monthly tech class.  Last week Dan told me he had planned a surprise road trip for Saturday.  So I attended half the class and let them know I would miss the last half.

I tried asking questions about where we were going.  He answered a few and refused others.  Said it would give it away.  He was delighted that I was still baffled by my birthday mystery.

Saturday we set out after I got home.  We headed southwest from Billings.  I guessed Jackson Hole.  Not there.  I thought about Yellowstone Park but I knew the roads were closed in the direction we were going.

A couple of my guesses were:

• Have we stayed there?
• Is it a new motel or vintage?
• Is it a place I'd been to before?
• Is it noted for a point of interest?
• Is there a bead shop there?
• Is their a quilt shop there?

Many of my questions he refused to answer.  He did say, "The town has a rodeo every year."  He followed that comment with, "But so does most every other small town in Montana."  

But he did say he didn't think I'd stayed there before.  With that answer I was very puzzled.  

I pondered the communities along the road we were traveling.  Joliet, Roberts, Boyd small towns no points of interest.  Red Lodge is one of my favorite little towns.  I love all the specialty shops - most cater to the summer tourists or the winter skiers. I lived there for about a year.

As we drove through Red Lodge I was confused because I couldn't think where we were going.  You could get to Roscoe, Fishtail, Nye or Columbus but other roads were more direct.

Just as we got to the outskirts of Red Lodge he turned the car into the Lupine motel parking lot.  He grinned as I raised my eyebrows.  "You haven't stayed HERE!" And I hadn't.

Part of my birthday present was some cash and time to go shopping.  I loved it!  It was also time together.  That was delightful.  He had made reservations at the Rock Creek Resort restaurant - "The Piney Dell".   Supper was delicious.

When I stopped at Boomerang Beads, I learned that there were 2 other ladies who had come to town to celebrate their birthdays.  Two of us ate supper at the Piney Dell restaurant.

Best of all Dan had used his new computer and his growing skills to look up and make reservations.  I was so proud of him.  He told me he had been planning this even before we had gone to Red Lodge to buy Peggy's birthday present.  

He had already made the arrangements when I reminded him that I had class on Saturday.  He told me, "I hadn't planned to let you know anything.  Then when you mentioned the class I knew I'd have to tell you something."

His eyes filled with delight that he had succeeded in surprising me.  It was a delightful mystery and a great birthday surprise.