MASSANUTTEN RESORT: VIRGINIA

Ryan's parents have a time-share at a resort in Virginia. Very well known to everyone around here it seems, though it was the first time I'd heard of it. Large, gorgeous and filled with activities. Made me feel a bit like I was at the "Dirty Dancing" resort...minus the dirty dancing and horrid end-of-season production.

Nevertheless, it was a very fun and relaxing way to spend the last week of the summer. We went mini-golfing (putt putt, for all the Americans around here who don't speak "Canadian"), go-carting, to the driving range, up a chair-lift (yes, in August-more on that later) and kayaking, among other things. Ryan was such a good sport about it all that he even let me drag him to a Reflexology seminar. Feet aren't his favourite thing, so it was a nice compromise on his part, for sure.

As I'm sure you can guess, this was my favourite part of the room. A gigantic bathtub for two. I spent many-a-happy-hours in here, immersed up to my eyes in white, fluffy bubbles. A book, a bottle of wine, and a tub full of bubbles...what more could a girl want?

The view of the golf course from our balcony

Ryan and his favourite drink: The Banquet Beer

At the water-park, where we had a free lunch and listened to the sales talk. It was more fun watching the kids attempt to surf on the artificial waves than anything else and kept us entertained for the better part of an hour.

Before (or after?) we went out for sushi on the night of my birthday. For a small town hours from the coast, it had some surprisingly tasty items on the menu. Our taste-buds were satisfied.

WINE TASTING

Michelle, Ryan and I went on a wine-tasting, courtesy of the event planners at the resort. At the first place, we tried 12 different wines, and at the second place, we could try anything on their menu. That added up to almost 50 different bottles to sample. We were tipsy after the first winery....so you can only imagine the results after the second.

The newest dance-crazy: "crushing the grapes". We think it'll replace the "shopping cart" and "sprinkler" in all the bars. Kendrah, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Our guide talked and talked and talked. I didn't mind it so much when we got to the cold cellar and the sweat was finally able to dry from our steaming foreheads. But when we were outside, in the 100+ degree, 100%+ humidity, can't say I was having the time of my life. Fortunately, he followed it up with a sample of the freshest grape juice I have ever tasted. I think Ryan liked it so much, he was tempted to steal the beaker. Fortunately, common-sense prevailed and we just took multiple pictures of the thing instead.

VIRGINIA: PART TWO

As mentioned earlier, the resort was filled with different activities. We went golfing, kayaking (sadly, no pictures to show us racing down the mighty Shenandoah), mini-golfing, to a reflexology class, etc. The only thing we didn't do that I really wanted to was candle-making. Called too late and all the classes were full. Who knew it'd be so popular?

Prior to starting our Go-Kart race. If not for the head start he got, I would have definitely kicked Ryan's ass. Or so I persist in thinking.
The view from the chairlift as we rode to the top of the mountain. Nothing like the Colorado Rockies, but still a pretty view, once we got to the top. From there, hiked a little higher (remember the 100% humidity I mentioned earlier?) to the peak. It was pretty, but so humid out that the air was actually hazy and decent pictures were hard to take. Everything ended up looking...well...white.

Ryan's mom and dad
Ryan's mom took us to a local "Book Barn". We found thousands of discounted books for sale. Of course, I ended up with a basketful. More summer reading for me!

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

PostSecret

I read this blog every Sun, after they've posted new secrets. Some make me laugh, some make me cry. Mostly, I realize (for all that I may not have loved about my life) that things could be far worse. In fact, things are pretty good. That's a good feeling to have.

MOM'S VISIT: PART 1

Mom came to visit me in NC for a week. In fact, she just left 2 hours ago. The last time she had been to visit me was a year ago in San Francisco, so I wanted her to have another good time.

In her 7 day visit, we went swimming in the Atlantic, played in a river in the mountains, toured the Biltmore Estate and explored the (tiny and dead) downtown Raleigh scene. We also saw (purely by accident) a gorgeous view of Cold Mountain. All in all, I think she had a pretty good time while she was here.

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH

Notice a trend yet? Every time we have visitors, we usually end up playing on Wrightsville Beach. How could we not? It's close, it's pretty and the water is warm. And since my mother seemed to have brought a heat wave with her (just ask her how hot it was in SF when she came to visit!), it was the perfect place to spend a lazy (and blisteringly hot) Sun afternoon.

Being brave in the water. The waves got a little crazy later that afternoon, so we all tended to stick close to shore.

Emer and Kendrah

I''ll be driving one of these boats someday. That's the life, for sure.

Driving back from the beach after a day toasting ourselves in the sun.

MOM'S VISIT: PART 2

Sampling our new favourite "champagne". Actually, it's a malt beverage, and at $3.99 a bottle, we think it's damn tasty. In fact, we go through it so fast, the cashiers at Total Wine have become our new best friends. It might be the Ontario licenses we use for I.D....but it's more likely our tri-weekly visits to purchase the aforementioned brew. On the last trip to the store, K got smart:

She bought a case.

I think mom enjoyed it too.

ASHEVILLE

For part of her visit, we decided to visit both Asheville and the Pisgah National Forest. It took 4 hours to get there, and while it was beautiful, it was an awfully long drive and some awfully hot weather once we got there. The forest was cool -went to a place called Sliding Rock that had some interesting natural attractions they've turned into tourist traps :)

At $47/night....what more could you ask for?

Your own built-in-bottle-opener.

What a scuzzy room.
Downtown Asheville

The waterfall we found, while looking for the actual Sliding Rock site. Tons of people were playing in the water at the base of the falls. A former lifeguard's nightmare, but I made the most of it by totally ignoring their spinal-inducing antics and took some good pictures instead.

Sliding Rock Just as it appears. You line up and take turns sliding down the natural waterslide into the pool of water at the bottom. It's a spring-fed stream and the water is icy-cold.

The Smoky Mountains

MOM'S VISIT: PART 3

THE BILTMORE ESTATE

A private residence?!?! See the windows to the left of the centre tower? The ones that look like they've slanted downwards over the years. Though they look cock-eyed, they were designed that way and actually follow the curve of the grand staircase inside. A very cool architectural detail.

Can you imagine this being your driveway? The sheer size of the place threw me off every time I looked around. And it's still privately owned. Imagine the upkeep on this....no wonder they keep it open to the public.

They wouldn't allow pictures inside -otherwise you'd see many of the 65 rooms, as they were all so gorgeous and elegant. My favourite was the dining hall, which had a gigantic fireplace -big enough to walk in- and a full-sized cathedral organ.

These pictures were taken at the Outdoor Centre on the estate. Grandpa -thought you'd like seeing the rocking chair and the tractor. Mom went crazy when she saw them.

The view from the Inn at the Biltmore. If only we had stayed there.....

We had lunch at the estate's Deerpark restaurant. Delicious.