Too good for one post

This was definitely one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. Too good to document in just one post. So, instead, I'll do a post for each day.

Day one was really just arriving in Canaan Valley. We made very good time, and arrived by 1800. Plenty of time to unwind and enjoy a nice, quiet evening.

We stayed in the Royale Cabin,

which, I think, is laid out nicer than the other cabins.

We made ourselves at home right away - you gotta love a cabin that has a wine rack all ready for me to stash my wine.
Even the yarn enjoyed the cabin. It had to move around a bit to decide which position it liked best. In the end, it decided it liked the pedestal - a place of honor it felt was well deserved.

Plus, it has a great view of the barn right outside the window. You know how we love barns.

After settling in, we sat out on the porch in the rockers,

chatting for a bit before retiring out to the jacuzzi, and eventually topping off the evening with a yummy steak dinner, some sparkling wine, and desserts somewhat smooshed from the trip down, but still 'lishy (SigO talk for delicious). A nice peaceful start to an exciting weekend.

More tomorrow.

Field Trip

Friday, one of my coworkers suggested we spend lunch strolling the grounds of Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. An excellent suggestion as the day was beautiful and it's always nice to get out of the office for a minute.

Here are some pictures of the gardens.

The bell of Peace and Harmony donated by the Koreans:

From Afar
Really, really close

Dragon head on top.

There were some incredible peonies in bloom - and we all know I have a soft spot for peonies.

For a while, we stood out on a deck in the middle of the lake and watched the turtles and koi swim around. This is the view from the deck.

Then we headed over to the kiddie garden - that I couldn't play in, cuz I had to go back to poopy old work and I would have gotten all dirty. Poo.

On the way out, and back to the grind, we passed this miniature garden. Way cool.

We've all sworn we're going to do this again soon, but I suspect it will take Dario to get us out there again. Go, Dario, Go!!

New River

Well, we got to go White Water Rafting again this year. I didn't sit in the front like I did last time, and it's not nearly as breathtaking.

Next time, I'm definitely back up front.
Once again, we managed to stay in the boat the entire time, although SigO did his best to go for a swim. The boat tipped up on the side we were sitting on and I was sure we were going over. SigO had a special little moment with the guy sitting next to him at the front of the boat. After they were done making out, SigO pulled him back into the boat and we were back on our way.

After we were finished braving Class III - V rapids, we rushed back to the cabin and jumped in the jacuzzi with an ice-cold Stella. It really doesn't get much better than that.

And now, to the irony. After surviving the "dangerous" rapids, we went to Pies & Pints on a recommendation for dinner. We had planned on eating there, but there was a girl at a nearby table who could have shattered glass with the shrillness of her voice. We were both ready for some peace and quiet, so we took our pizza to go and headed back to the cabin. By this time, it had been raining for about 30 minutes, and it was coming down pretty steady. Naturally, not only did I not want to get wet, but I didn't want the pizza to get wet either, so we rushed up to the door as quickly as I could hobble on this knee, and sure enough, my feet slid out from underneath me on the slick wood of the deck. My right leg went flailing out and I came crashing down on my left knee. Fun times. Isn't it just the way that I survive Class V rapids, but can't survive a trip across a 10foot deck.

The knee is fine. Never fear. It stung pretty good for a while there though.

We came home the next day and started cleaning up the house that we had left messy in our haste to get outta Dodge. And wouldn't you know it, first the dishwasher refused to drain and started leaking into our newly refurbished kitchen. Then our washing machine overflowed the sink drain and water went rushing all over the laundry room. Nothing like home sweet home huh?

I think SigO summed it up best when he pointed out that "Logistics Of Life" has the same acronym as "Laughing Out Loud".

Appropriately so.

Spoils of MS&W

What a great weekend!
First, Anya and I were both a bit trepidatious about our knees holding up for an 18 mile bike ride, but not only did we both hold up just fine, we both decided we needed to do more of it, because our knees felt better afterwards. And it couldn't have been a better day for a ride. Beautiful weather, beautiful friends, sexy boyfriend...oops, sorry - back on topic. I guess I haven't even mentioned where we rode - we wanted to do the Mt. Vernon trail, but not an out and back. So, we parked one car in DC, and the other in Mt. Vernon and off we went. As I say, it couldn't have been a prettier day for it.

But, we got a late start. And by the time we were finished, chances of us making our dinner reservations were slim to none. So, on the way back to the car parked at Mt. Vernon, we started brainstorming where to eat. We were cruising down Washington St., just past King street in Old Town when we remembered this great little Italian restaurant SigO and I had eaten at before. Both of us immediately went heads down to our iPhone to try to remember where it was and what it was called when Jim (Anya's squeeze) pipes up: "Is this it?" Purely random. He just noticed a restaurant up ahead a little ways. We look up from our iPhone, and in stereo: "YES!!" You probably had to be there to appreciate how surreal it was, especially after hearing how often Jim and Anya had been lost in the surrounding area for the past two days. The restaurant is called Trattoria da Franco and has some of the most authentic Italian food I've eaten here in the U.S. Needless to say, the four of us had a wonderful meal with wonderful conversation.
Sunday, I finally went to Maryland Sheep and Wool (MS&W) fest. I've never gone before - to me, it's like being an alcoholic in a bar - and I'm just not as strong as Sam Malone. But, Anya was here, and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, so I took one for the team (yeah, right). Even better, I managed to convince the SigO to come along - ladies, here's the trick: Wait until morning, when he's moving out of heavy sleep and into almost ready to wake up. Then go down, kiss him sweetly and say "Are you sure you don't want to come with me today?" He'll be so befuddled, he'll pretty much agree before really knowing what he's agreeing to. Worked for me, anyway.

At the fest, we found lots of great vendors, looked at lambs ranging from newborn to almost grown, watched the border collies do their thing herding up the sheep, oh, and bought a little bit of yarn. Hardly worth mentioning.... yeah - I'm gonna need another storage bin.
So, as I said, a wonderful weekend. Here's to more like it - but cheaper.