Weekend at WinShape

This past weekend, Ben and I attended the "Romantic Adventure" retreat at WinShape Resort in Rome, GA with a group of 20 couples from our church. We had heard from many couples that it is the most gorgeous place, and that we would have a blast. We were not prepared for the gorgeousness and all the fun that we would have! WinShape is set among the 29,000 acres that make up Berry College. It is media free, so no there is no Internet or TV’s. You’re also asked to turn off your cell phones (I kept mine on because of E, but it stayed in the room). WinShape used to be a working dairy farm, and all the barns have been converted into lodges. Read more about it’s history here. It was amazing! This is what WinShape has to say about their marriage retreat,

“An exciting retreat for couples who want to increase their passion and have a blast doing it!Forget routine for a couple of days and have some fun with the one you love. From special meals in our Dining Hall to outdoor activities, the Romantic Adventure offers couples unique ways to enjoy time with each other and God, while enlarging their vision for how thrilling and fulfilling marriage can really be!”

Warning: this post has a ridiculous amount of pics because I wanted everyone to see all the beauty that surrounded us!

This was the view from our “barn” the evening we arrived.

These little guys were everywhere! They are protected on the campus, so they just wander around and are not scared at all of people. One of the staff members told Ben that it’s not unusual to see around 1,000 deer in a field when the feeders are out! We saw deer, turkeys, swans, geese, horses, cows, and smelled a rotten skunk!

Another view from our “Barn”. There are horses and cows in the distance.

This was our “Barn” called “Dijon”. The rooms were gorgeous, and those upstairs had rooms with lofted ceilings with exposed wood beams.

Another converted barn. All the bricks for the buildings were made on site by the students of Berry College back in the day.

We had a little surprise on our bed when we arrived!

This statue was outside the chalet reminding us of the dairy farm days.

We got up early on Saturday morning to watch the sun rise, and I was able to get some pretty neat pictures around the campus. This is looking through one of the breezeways back toward the chalet.

The whole WinShape campus in the early morning light.






The cows and horses were up early too!

The chalet in the daytime. There was 24/7 coffee, soft drinks, popcorn, and soft serve ice cream! I drank WAY too much coffee!

The dining hall was beautiful too!


This was looking up in one of the spiral stairwells in the dining hall.

And now we’re to the FUN part! The weekend included games and “couple-building” activities. You didn’t have to participate if you didn’t want to, but of course we did! Ben and I (well, mostly me) decided we would climb a 40 foot telephone pole with a tiny platform on top. Once at the top, we had to stand up and jump off to a trapeze bar together. It was much harder than it looked, but so much fun! I am bruised from head to toe from clinging to that silly pole and platform!
Strapped in and ready to climb!


I was first to climb because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get onto the platform if Ben was already on it.

Almost at the top. One of the harder parts was figuring out how to get from the pole onto the platform. It was a tiny platform, and we are not small!



I don’t have a pic of us both on the platform, but it was tight, and we each had to get to a standing position with that pole swaying back and forth! I was shaking like a leaf. Ben was able to grab the trapeze bar!
I
Our partners in crime. Adam and Sophia climbed the pole too!

We took a small hike to the old mill on campus. It was so pretty!


The Normandy Inn on campus.

Looking at the campus from the Inn.

Others from our group.

We had church service in this old chapel on Sunday morning. It was gorgeous! We began church while it was still dark and as the sun came up, the stained glass inside began to glow!




Possum Trot church. This church was 1.4 miles up a rough, gravel road. It was so old and so pretty.


Overlooking the pond behind our barn when we were ready to head home.


One of the beautiful views on our drive back!

We had an amazing time at WinShape and strengthened our marriage while there. I would encourage anyone to go, and see what God has in store for you as a couple! You won’t be disappointed! We can’t wait to go back next October!

Beth

Linking up to these fabulous parties!
Serenity Now,  At the Picket Fence