Best Anniversary Trip Ever!

I forgot my phone. We couldn't find Arkansas. The dog got sick in the back seat. Our hotel room was out of a horror movie, and the bathtub overflowed

- KRISTY DEWBERRY

My husband, Don, and I always try to do something special for our anniversary. Lucky for us, our wedding was in March, a great time to travel. We've been all over. New York. The Rockies. New Orleans.

For our thirty-sixth anniversary, I wanted something extra fun. These trips are an annual opportunity to remind each other why we got married in the first place. That might not be obvious to an outside observer because Don and I are polar opposites.

Don's an early riser. I hate mornings. Don likes everything done a certain way. I'm more...go with the flow. Don was in the Marines. I would have washed out of basic training on day one.

On anniversary trips, those differences melt away and we remember how much we enjoy being together.

Both my sister, Karen, and my friend Wanda suggested the same destination for our thirty-sixth: Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

It's a charming mountain town in the heart of the Ozarks. Don and I love mountains (looking at them, not hiking). Branson, Missouri, is one of our favorite places. Eureka Springs sounded idyllic.

I looked up pet-friendly hotels, since we take our shih tzu, Scooby, everywhere. There was one right in town. Even better, every room was decorated with a theme. We'd stayed at a theme-roomed hotel in Branson years ago, complete with a murder mystery dinner play. Don was in heaven. He's a horror movie buff.

"Maybe we'll get the Psycho room," he said when I told him about the Eureka Springs hotel. "With slashing sound effects!"

My heart sank a little. I'd glanced at a description of the room I had booked. There was a bit about dolls but no mention of slashing sound effects. Lord, I asked, please don't let Don be disappointed.