In-town retreat relieves stress

The bedraggled garden begged to be put to bed. A towering load of laundry needed folding. And then there were those dust bunnies dancing across the floor. All the tasks on my to-do list were forgotten, though, as I headed to my weekend getaway -- all of 14 miles away in downtown St. Paul. I dined at Meritage, slept at the St. Paul Hotel and nearly forgot I am a working mother of a nine-year-old (who was happily attending French Camp) with a messy house and a shopping list. And that is the joy of the stay-in-town trip: you get all of the abandon of a more elaborate vacation, without any of the stress of getting there. I highly recommend it.