My daughter works for AT&T, and she invites me to attend their annual AT&T Summit rewards ceremony when she wins and she has won 9 times in 11 years!! I have an amazing daughter!
The pics below were taken on the Hyatt Resort property. We did a spa day that not only included the massage (simply amazing!), but lunch and all day access to the spa facility. The pics of the fish were taken at the entrance to the spa. Did I mention the hotel was across the street from the beach!!
Between The Dashes
The girls (Mom, Daughter and I) cruised 4-11 Jun 2016 to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico. This was our first cruise. Lessons learned:
1. Don’t start your cruise on your travel day. We discovered that even with insurance, if your flight is delayed or anything happens that makes you miss your ship, the best the insurance can do is fly you to the next port. This will shorten your cruise, and in our case by 2 days. I don’t know what other compensations are available, but the cruise ship waits for no one! So this time we flew a day early, spent the night in a hotel that provided travel to the port as well as pick you up when you return. You have a choice of going directly to the airport or do more excursions before boarding your plane.
2. Remember to pack sundries because they cost lots of money while on the cruise. Examples of things to bring are:
We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary by visiting the Shenandoah area. Besides seeing the sites, one of the other treats was the fabulous food we tasted along the way. Below are some of the highlights:
Joe’s Steakhouse In Front Royal, VA
Scallops Beurre Blanc – pan seared sea scallops with shallot, mushrooms and tomato in a beurre blanc sauce
Stuffed Haddock with crab and cream cheese, finished with a light tomato-basil cream sauce, brown rice and mixed veggies
Claire’s At The Depot in Warrenton, VA
Mediterranean Lamb Chops on a Bed of CousCous – the chops were cooked with fresh herbs grown in their own garden!
Claire’s At The Depot Herb Garden
Southern Shrimp Salad – Yummy!
Aunt Beatty’s Decadent Chocolate Cake – for the chocolate lovers!
My husband and I haven’t done a weekend getaway in a while so we decided to go someplace we’ve been talking about for at least 10 years – Luray Caverns! Following are just a few treasures. If you love nature, the caverns should definitely be on your bucket list!
Some history: Cold air rushing out of a limestone sinkhole atop a big hill west of Luray, Virginia, blew out a candle held by Andrew Campbell, the town tinsmith, on the morning of August 13, 1878. So began the discovery of Luray Caverns.
Campbell, three other men, and his 13-year-old nephew, Quint, were exploring the area, looking for a cave. With the help of local photographer Benton Stebbins, the men dug away loose rocks for four hours before, candle in hand, Campbell and Quint slid down a rope into the cave. They could scarcely believe what they saw. The party had discovered the largest series of caverns in the East, an eerie world of stalactites and stalagmites seen by the light of a candle.
Luray Caverns, Luray, VA – in this section of the caverns, the water collected provides a mirror image of the structure above!
Not only did we visit the caverns but we checked out some local attractions. Following are pics from our visit to the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge in Mount Jackson, VA. First, a little history:
One of the best-known covered bridges is the 204-foot single-span Burr arch truss known as Meem’s Bottom Covered Bridge in Mount Jackson. The Meem’s Bottom Bridge was constructed in 1892-93 from materials cut and quarried nearby for the massive arch supports and stone abutments, which extended 10 feet below the riverbed. It was deeded to the Highway Department in the 1930’s in return for assuming its maintenance. This long span over the North Fork of the river carried traffic for more than 80 years before being burned by vandals on Halloween 1976. After salvaging the original timbers, the bridge was reconstructed and eventually undergirded with steel beams and concrete piers. The bridge was reopened to traffic in 1979 and is still in operation to date. One of the many stops along the Wilderness Trail in Shenandoah County! (Source: http://www.virginia.org/listings/OutdoorsAndSports/HistoricMeemsBottomCoveredBridge/)
We also toured the Route 11 Kettle Chip factory. If you like potato chips, you’ve got to try these!
Route 11 Potato Chips, 11 Edwards Way, Mount Jackson, VA 22842 540-477-9664
I’ve always wanted to travel on Skyline Drive, and today Al and I got the opportunity. The total distance is 109 miles which runs the entire length of the Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The nearest city to our entrance was Front Royal, VA. We started at the North entrance at SR 340 and drove about 50 miles to the first exit at SR 211 in Thornton Gap.
It was a beautiful day for the ride – no rain, just blue skies. The combination of different trees and foliage made the drive colorful and awesome. Nature is truly amazing!!
Since Al qualified, we were able to avoid the entrance fee of $20 a private vehicle. We paid $10 for a lifetime membership for all National Parks. In fact, as long as one person in the car has a lifetime membership, everyone in the car can enter the national park free of charge!
A portion of the Skyline Drive Map, located at http://www.sherpaguide.com
Between The Dashes 