Weekend Retreats Let Moms Catch up, Shape up, Bone up or Just Put Their Feet up
Kids aren’t the only ones that can go off to camp. Moms can plan their own getaways, doing anything from archery in the great outdoors, to scrap booking in a cozy bed and breakfast.
by Amy De La Hunt
Sticking to a household routine is a good thing, most of the time. But if yours is starting to feel like a military drill, it might be time for a strategic retreat from parenthood. A weekend is a perfect length of time to catch up on craft projects, start a fitness routine, expand your knowledge of the outdoors or simply relax. There’s a getaway for every interest, at prices you can afford. Here are some great ideas to help you plan your own Mom Retreat:
Scrapbooking and crafts: When Laura Hewgley of Fenton started creating scrapbooks seven years ago, finding time for the fulfilling hobby was easier than it is now that the working mom is juggling her career as a lawyer with two preschool children.
Then she discovered retreats.
"I've always gotten at least 50 pages done in a weekend," Hewgley said. She’s a veteran of six retreats at various locations, but her favorite is Crop-A-Doodle-Do in Arcadia, Ind., about four hours from St. Louis. "I can get many months completed in an album, and on top of it, feel completely pampered," Hewgley said. Crop-A-Doodle-Do offers spa services to scrapbookers.
Many options exist for scrapbookers, quilters and crafters, including weekend workshops at YMCA Trout Lodge and Camp Lakewood or book-your-own stays at bed and breakfasts. Hewgley recommended checking into the amenities before putting down a deposit: How much workspace will each person have? Can you leave your supplies out? Do you have to leave the premises for meals? Are the chairs comfortable for long stretches? Is the lighting sufficient for late-night sessions?
She travels with a friend or two, and they stay a couple of nights. "If I’m going to take the time away from my family," she said, "it's got to be a time when I can get some real re-energizing in-and some real work done on my scrapbooks."
Fitness and health: "Yoga is a great way for moms to give back to themselves," said Lucy Holmes of Wellspring Yoga. "I know, because my Saturday morning class at the Center of Clayton is all moms!" Holmes occasionally organizes multi-day workshops geared toward women.
The Women's Wellness Weekend at the YMCA Trout Lodge includes hip hop fitness, Pilates, piloga, aerobic kickboxing, sculpting and, new this year, salsa and zumba. The latter two are especially popular, according to Nora Witbrodt, lead program director. "Some people come down and sign up for every exercise class we have." The weekend isn’t all killer ab work, though-its broad definition of health includes financial management, meditation and creativity in food presentation.
Outdoor skills If you’re looking for a traditional “camp” program, there are programs for women to reconnect with their inner hunters and gathers. An increasingly popular retreat gets women out into nature.
The Missouri Department of Conservation coordinates "Discover Nature-Women" programs designed for those with beginner outdoor skills, said Kevin Lohraff, outdoor skills education coordinator at the Missouri Department of Conservation. In Illinois, the Department of Natural Resources offers similar workshops twice a year.
Lohraff said these weekends provide a safe environment where women can learn new skills, such as canoeing, hiking, archery, fishing and hunting, at a minimal cost.
Relaxation and spas: If you're looking for less dirt and more pampering, a spa weekend might be a better fit. The vineyard regions around St. Louis tend to be particularly popular destinations. In Hermann, there's the 15-bed Healing Stone Retreat and Spa, which is open May through October. In Ste. Genevieve, the Belle Haven Spa at Chaumette Winery specializes in grape- and wine-derived products. And in Rocheport, Yates House Bed and Breakfast often books groups in its Garden House, sometimes for cooking classes with the proprietor, Dixie Yates, and sometimes simply to hang out.
"Women come for different reasons," Yates said. "Often they come just to have a good time and sit with a glass of wine."
For breakfast, Yates offers a three-course feast-crème brulee French toast, for example, with tarragon-leek-egg soufflé and ham on wilted arugula and Yukon Gold smashed potatoes. "Our breakfast is large and very, very good, and 99 percent of the people eat everything," Yates said. "It’s a special-occasion thing. When women come they just enjoy sitting in the dining room and drinking their tea or coffee without interruption."
Mom-friendly retreats and workshops
Crop-A-Doodle-Do in Arcadia, Ind., offers two-night scrapbooking packages from $299. Info at 888-317-2767 or www.crop-a-doodle-do.com.
The YMCA Trout Lodge and Camp Lakewood in Potosi offers scrapbooking, crafts, outdoor education and women’s health weekends from $90 to $225. Info at 314-241-9622 or http://trout.ymcastlouis.org/calendar.
The Missouri Department of Conservation offers "Discover Nature-Women" weekends in June for a $20 registration fee. Info at 573-522-4115 or www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/mow
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers "Becoming an Outdoorswoman" weekends in early summer and early autumn from $135. Info at 217-782-7026 or http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/bow.
Lucy Holmes of WellSpring Yoga organizes periodic yoga workshops for women. Info at 314-614-3187 or www.wellspringyogastlouis.com.
Belle Haven Spa at Chaumette Winery in Ste. Genevieve offers packages including a "Girls' Weekend Getaway." Info at 573-747-1000 or www.chaumette.com/spa.html.
Healing Stone Retreat and Spa in Hermann offers getaways from $200 per night with optional spa services. Info at 573-486-5000 or www.healingstoneretreat.com.
Yates House Bed and Breakfast in Rocheport offers getaways from $170 per weekend night with optional cooking lessons. Info at 573-698-2129 or www.yateshouse.com.
Photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation
Warm weather means writer Amy De La Hunt and her sons, ages 5
and 2, can be found outdoors: walking to school, growing veggies,
playing bocce at the neighborhood community garden or attending free
concerts in city parks. When she moved to St. Louis eight years ago,
she didn't realize how child-friendly the urban core would be—nor did
she imagine that her labor of love would be STL Free For All, a blog about inexpensive family activities (http://mom22kids.wordpress.com). When she’s not working on her blog or writing for St. Louis Kids Magazine, she writes about food, restaurants, nightlife and wine for a variety of publications.
Watch Amy discuss retreats for moms onKMOV's Great Day St. Louis!Great Day airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on Channel 4.
