Salad Days: getaway

Friday, December 6, 2013

Hotel creeps

Brad had a conference at the Greenbrier resort and my parents were kind enough to watch the girls for a few days so that I could tag along for a mini-getaway with him. It had previously been used as a hospital during WWII and then became a hotel in the 1940's. I don't believe they've redecorated since then. Seriously. Check out the pictures! It's a neat experience though... feels like you're thrown back a century or so. The service is fabulous and all of the food is to die for. And it was just Brad and me! Our first getaway in a few years was much needed time to focus on us.

The only problem is that I have trouble sleeping in these type of hotels. The first one that we ever went to was the Homestead resort in 2007. We went on a Wednesday and it was fairly empty. I commented to Brad as we walked down the long, deserted, lush hallway that I felt like I was in "The Shining". I probably psyched myself out a bit as I taunted "Redrum, redrum". Anyway, we got to our room and saw that there was a door inside, as if there was an adjoining room. There was only a deadbolt though, no knob to actually get into the room. We looked out in the hallway where the adjoining room would have been. There was a door there, but again, only a lock. No knob, no room number. It did looked like it had been painted over, not used in a long time.

We had a fabulous dinner that night and basically a relaxing time. That night, though, I had a dream. I dreamt that there was a little boy standing in front of the door to the adjoining room. He was dressed in 1920's period clothing and was definitely a ghostly presence. When I awoke I was so shaken that I couldn't get back to sleep for a while. Now, this isn't unusual for me. I have strange dreams all of the time. Not necessarily dreams about ghosts but dreams that I cannot tell if they are real or not. Dreams that leave me feeling as if I have truly experienced them. It happens so often that by the morning I didn't even mention it to Brad. He doesn't usually have similar dreams and he doesn't believe in ghosts or spirits.

We checked out and had just gotten into the car. Brad told me that he had a hard time getting to sleep. When I asked him why he said that he kept feeling like he heard children laughing on the other side of the adjoining door. C-R-E-E-P-Y.

And that... is why I don't sleep well in old, historic hotels!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

NYC!!

I have needed a break... for a LONG time (what mom hasn't!). Honestly, though, I've survived three years of Brad's grad school (playing single mom for most of it). In the 9 months since he's finished we have traveled to China, adopted Cadence, endured 2 surgeries with her, bought new land, sold our home, built a home, moved into a rental, moved into our new home, all while working full-time - whew! If that doesn't deserve a vacation, I don't know what does.

Two of my favorite girls and I headed to New York City! I've never really spent any time there and we definitely made the best of it. We stayed in Midtown, just blocks away from Time Square and Rockefeller Center. We woke up leisurely each morning and approached each day with things we'd like to do, but no strict timeline or pressure to get them done - so unlike my day to day life! We stayed out til 2am and were serenaded by some Irish boys. We shared lots of laughs, a few tears, many cocktails, and an epiphany or two (yes, probably cocktail induced)! Not only was the break away from home and all of my responsibilities what I needed, but also time with my girlfriends. These fabulous women care not only for me but also for my kids and my family. I know that I can count on them for anything and that can be hard to come by nowadays. The whole extended weekend was so wonderful that it's hard to pick out my favorite thing, but I'll say my favorite epiphany was "We MUST do this more often!".

It's this way... or that way...

Loved the mariachi band that hoped on the subway... they were worth the $1 donation!

'Nuff said!

Lit a candle for a very special little girl in St.Patrick's Cathedral (I think God will forgive me that I'm not Catholic - right?!)

Breathtaking

Went to see "Chicago" with Christie Brinkley

Yummy, yummy bite sized cupcakes!

Kelli claimed they had a foreign accent, I thought they were just inebriated. Regardless, these Irish boys ended up serenading us (if you can call it that!)