Summer Vacation: Stop #5

Our final stop on Summer Vacation 2011 was spent at a beautiful resort in the mountains of PA: the Bedford Springs Hotel. It turned out to be a great place to explore. I started immediately upon check-in by heading to the tavern with Grannie and Son #2 in tow. We also found the game room with giant puzzles, chess boards, books, etc. Every room was so well appointed.

And there were little surprises hidden throughout. Nooks and crannies to escape and read a book. It had the requisite gift and pro shops but also a candy store as well as this sweet (!)  ice cream and cupcake shop.

Pretty sure I could live here--especially if we could have hot chocolate for breakfast every morning!

We had the luxuriously warm, spring-fed, indoor pool to ourselves. That's me impersonating a jumbo shrimp.

Thanks to Hurricane Irene, we had the dark, overcast, outdoor pool to ourselves, as well.

 

Time to leave the pools, go back to the room to change and start driving home.

The only wave of "can we go now?" boredom struck as we waited for the car. Hey, that's what the large ottomans in the lobby are for, right?

Goodbye summer. Goodbye vacation.

Mini-weekend: Day 10

Wow, ten weeks and going . . . well, strong might not be the right word. But going nonetheless.

Today, I spent over two hours at the Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic. I have to say, if you need to spend so much time in a lounge awaiting test results from a fairly painful squish-your-boobs-into-pancakes set of exams, this is the place to do so. Nice, white cotton robes. Fireplace. O Magazine. Big tank of tropical fish. Hot teas. Back massages. If I didn't know any better, it would have felt like a few hours at the spa.

I followed it up with a trip to my chiropracter -- who I love, love, love. He's a professional miracle worker and also very interesting, motivational, spiritual, compassionate, funny, intellectual, musical, etc. One time, I was walking out and I said to his wife Dawn, who was working the front desk, "I love your husband." She replied, "Yeah, you and about a million others. Get in line!" We both cracked up.

Today, in the waiting room, a business man walked in who was worried about missing his flight. I offered to switch appointments with him since I was in no hurry as it was my day off. He gratefully accepted, asked where I worked and (of course) knew my boss. Small world. Small town. Small favor. Hope he made it to the airport on time.

Lastly, I had the pleasure of meeting with a furnace sales rep. I didn't realize how much I needed a new furnace. Now my wardrobe is complete. What's another $3K in this money pit? When I went to sit with my new friend Alan at Chase, he shared horror stories with me of clients who have $100K in credit card debt. I rarely take pleasure in others' misfortunes but it did help me to put my situation in better light. New furnace, new front porch, new siding, new windows, new countertops: not optimal but at least it's not being spent on crack whores.

We'll have to win the lottery to afford that kind of luxury.