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
My husband and I took the Canada/New England Cruise out of Baltimore, MD on Royal Caribbean. We did not anticipate Hurricane Dorian to come from the Bahamas, miss Florida and follow our cruise itinerary! After spending two nights at the Baltimore pier (it was closed due to Hurricane), we followed the Hurricane up the east coast! Our cruise skipped Boston and Saint John but completed the rest of the stops on our 9 night cruise. The waters after the storm are extremely calm so the cruise ended up being the calmest ever! And we were at the front of the ship!
We did a tour of the park followed by a lobster lunch! Enjoy the pics!
Between The Dashes
If you have more than one child, you realize they are all different with different needs. Well, my daughters taught me this. At the time, it wasn’t funny, but years later I can look back on it and laugh. My daughter was about six years old, a time when kids enjoyed spending the night over a friends’ house. I didn’t always let her spend the night with friends, but this night, I decided to let her go. I made sure the parents were home, and that I could reach them in case of an emergency.
Anyway, my house phone rang about midnight. Phone calls this late can be really scary. I wondered if it was my Mom telling me someone was ill, or worse yet, someone had died. I was almost afraid to answer the phone since it was so late.
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
Between The Dashes 