Early in December Chris and I had a long weekend trip to The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. The journey started on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 when I loaded the girls into the car and we hit the road to go to Connecticut. Grace and Sarah Elizabeth were AWESOME in the car. We changed into their PJs in a Wawa bathroom in Delaware. (Grace still talks about how funny it was to be in in the store in her PJs.) We pulled into the driveway at my parents at about 11:00 PM. The girls had been sleeping in the car so they were rested up for a quick "hello" to MeMa and PopPop. The "quick" hello lasted until about 1:00 AM because once the girls woke up they had a hard time getting back to sleep- they were too excited. My alarm went off at 5:15 AM and it was time for me to hit the road back to the Eastern Shore. Now to some of you the idea of 4 hours of sleep and then driving 8 hrs home seems awful. BUT IT WAS GREAT! Don't get me wrong the girls are great in the car but there is still the constant requests for snacks, drinks, books, toys, ect. Then if/when they fall asleep you don't want to stop and wake them up for any reason. So potty breaks, coffee stops, and gas fill-ups must always be carefully planned. And then there is NEVER a quick in and out at a bathroom stop because I have to unload both girls and trek in with them, even if they don't need to go. By myself in the car I was able to listen to my book on tape in peace, stop for coffee on a whim, get gas at one stop and then stop again later for a snack. OH SO NICE!!
I made great time and hit the outlets in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware for some Christmas shopping.(For FIVE hours.) Then I drove to Salisbury, MD for a stop at Target, Ross, Marshalls and the mall. We don't have any of that stuff down near us so I was taking FULL advantage of the kid-free shopping time.
I got home at about 9:30 PM with loads of Christmas shopping done.
We met Kathy and Jeff in Richmond on Thursday afternoon and rode with them to The Homestead. Linda had no idea we were coming for the weekend, Eric planned for us to surprise her at dinner. The timing worked out and we made it by the skin of our teeth. (Anyone who ever wants to go to the Homestead- don't use GPS or mapquest- they try to take you where there are NO roads.) Linda was VERY surprised when the four of us showed up in the suite before dinner. It was a great long weekend and although we were busy at times it was full of delicious food, a few Gingerbread Lattes from Starbucks, late nights, great Scotch, and even a game of Hand and Foot (a card game). We woke up Saturday morning to almost 6 inches of snow. It was beautiful! The Homestead was decorated for Christmas, it was like something off a movie set, just perfect!
All together in front of the massive Christmas tree in the Great Hall.
The view from our window at 7 AM and then later on Saturday.
Lunch, the windows around us made it seem as if we were looking into a snowglobe.
A Winter Wonderland at night.
A few of the Christmas decorations, including the Gingerbread scene, tree of Poinsettias, and the GIANT Christmas tree.
Chris and I are all smiles at the end of our weekend.
