AUGUST: ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND - YOUGH LAKE

Our anniversary fell on a Wednesday this year. We were celebrating three years of marital bliss and decided to check out this restaurant that we have wanted to go to for a while, 2941, in Falls Church, Virginia. Because we were there on a weeknight, it was not as crowded which was nice. The food was excellent and so was the service. It was an all-around great atmosphere and the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary! Darren had told our waiter that it was our anniversary, so they brought us a special dessert after dinner. Then, they offered to give us a tour of the kitchen and let us meet the chef. We got to see the chef's table where we have had friends eat before and even ran into some of our friends that were having dinner there that night! Before leaving, they gave us a loaf of their fresh bread, which we ate the next day. It was very good! We would definitely recommend this restaurant to others for a special occasion.


Our special anniversary dessert


Happy 3rd Anniversary to us!

For the weekend, our friend Tina had invited us to her family vacation cabin at Yough Lake. Yough Lake is short for the Youghiogheny River Lake, which is a a sixteen mile project of the US Army Corps of Engineers located in Pennsylvania near Nemacolin Woodlands and Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water. Tina's family has owned a cabin there for forty years and spend as much time during the summer there as they can. Michele had spent weekends at Yough Lake before but Darren never had, so we were looking forward to it!

We tried to leave the DC area before rush hour got too bad. It ended up taking us about four hours to reach the cabin which is located in Confluence, Pennsylvania. On the way, we stopped in Cumberland, Maryland to have dinner at Puccini's Restaurant. Puccini's used to be Uncle Tucker's Restaurant, which was famous for its brick oven pizza. The atmosphere appeared to be the same and the pizza was still great! Puccini's is very accessible from Interstate 68 either east or westbound, so it is a great place to stop when you are traveling.


Puccini's Restaurant


Cabin at Yough Lake

Friday night, we all hung out drinking and playing games, while enjoying the peaceful mountain evening. Many of Tina's family and friends were there, so it was a fun time. Saturday morning, we woke up early to enjoy the beautiful day. Some of the group took the boat out to go water skiing and Darren took the kayak out to explore the lake. We all headed down to the dock after a while to get some sun and relax. Then our host Carl took us for a ride on his boat, so we could see the whole lake. We had a great boat ride, passing into Maryland and enjoying all of the views!

Great view of Yough Lake

Enjoying the boat ride

After a long enjoyable day outdoors, we sat down for the traditional cabin dinner of chicken and shrimp fajitas, with margaritas of course! While the girls cleaned up, the boys went outside to make a bonfire and have some fun. We finished the day watching the American sweep of the 4x400m relays at the Olympics!

Sunday was another gorgeous day at the lake. We started the morning off with a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage, courtesy of our hosts Carl and Nancy. Darren took the kayak out for another ride around the lake, and then we all spent some more time enjoying the private dock sitting in the sun. There were not a lot of boats on the lake which we attributed to the high gas prices, so it was very peaceful.


View from the dock


View of the lake from the cabin

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend at Yough Lake and appreciate the hospitality of Tina, Carl, Nancy and their family. Hopefully, we will be able to get back there next summer. The whole area is truly beautiful, so we would definitely recommend it for a weekend getaway!

JULY: INDEPENDENCE DAY - COBB ISLAND

For July 4th weekend, we were fortunate to be able to rent a cottage at the last minute on Cobb Island, Maryland. Cobb Island is located in Southern Maryland, about 45 miles south of Washington DC, in Charles County, Maryland. The island is on the Potomac River and is connected to the "mainland" by a bridge on the Neale Sound. On the Wicomico River side of the island, you can see St. Mary's County and St. Clement's Island. We were able to rent "Waverly Cottage" which is a waterfront home with a private dock and great views!


Welcome to Cobb Island


Waverly Cottage

After about a two hour drive, we arrived at our new home for the weekend. The weather was great, so Darren decided to take the kayak out. Our friends Karen and Kraig have a house on the Northern Neck, so they brought their boat over and hung out with us for a while. It was only about an hour ride by boat for them, so it worked out perfectly! We took a walk around the island to check it out and then decided to have lunch at one of the local establishments, The Scuttlebutt Restaurant. It was definitely a fun place, but we were surprised that there were not more seafood options on the menu, considering where it was located.


Our private dock


Darren kayaking around the island

After Karen and Kraig headed home, we hung out and enjoyed the view from our dock. Until a storm started rolling in and we decided to watch the storm from our sunroom while playing a good game of Trivial Pursuit. As the thunder and lightning began to get worse, we started hearing sirens going off which we thought were for a tornado warning. We were a little freaked out and started looking for the safest place in the house to be for a tornado. Fortunately there was nothing on the television or radio about a tornado touching down, so we assumed the sirens were to warn the boaters to get off the water. That sure would have put a damper on our vacation!


Watching the sunset after the storm

The storm died down with plenty of time left to prepare for fireworks. So, we headed to Cobb Island Market to get a Hunt Brother's Pizza. Then, we got comfortable on our dock and watched the fireworks while listening to music. It turned out to be a great location, because we were able to see the firework displays from all around the island. It was a great holiday!

Saturday morning, we enjoyed our morning coffee outside where it was so peaceful. Darren decided to take the kayak out again and explored the whole island. I stayed behind enjoying the view and having fun taking pictures of all of the cute little duck families on the island.


Relaxing and enjoying our morning coffee


An adorable family of ducks on the island

Saturday afternoon, we decided to take a drive and explore the area. We drove to Colton's Point, Maryland to check out St. Clement's Island. St. Clement's Island is the place where Maryland's first settlers landed in 1634. It is also the site where the first Catholic mass was celebrated in the new colonies. The island was named in honor of Pope Saint Clement I, patron of mariners.

Information on St. Clement's Island

Great view of St. Clement's Island

We were also able to get some great views of Cobb Island while we were driving around. Then after a relaxing afternoon at our cottage, we decided to check out another one of the local restaurants, Shymansky's. And after that, it was back to our dock to watch another great night of fireworks, and of course we finished the day with a Trivial Pursuit rematch. Darren won again!

Sunday morning, we enjoyed the peace and quiet again. Then on our way out, we had to stop by Cobb Island Gallery for some coffee and breakfast. Our hosts Vince and Betty, who were so great, recommended it to us. We had such a wonderful relaxing weekend, it was the perfect getaway for July 4th! We have been thinking about fun places to get a vacation home someday, and Cobb Island is definitely at the top of the list now!