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!

MAY: MEMORIAL DAY - LOS ANGELES

Well, April went by too quickly and we never planned a weekend away, so we planned a fun getaway for May. We decided to go to Los Angeles to visit Michele's brother and sister-in-law for the long holiday weekend. We flew out early Thursday morning and arrived in L.A. around 9:00 am, which meant we had the whole day to explore. After picking up our rental car (a Mustang convertible), we drove out to the beaches. First, we headed to Santa Monica, which was beautiful and looked just like we had seen in pictures. Then, we walked to Venice Beach. We did not get any pictures there, because we were too busy people watching! We found a great place to eat on the boardwalk, Figtree's Cafe, and just sat there for about an hour watching everyone walk by, it was truly entertaining! And we knew we were in California, when we noticed that they had a Tofu Reuben on the menu. Sounds yummy, huh?


Darren getting ready to check out Santa Monica Pier


The Classic Santa Monica Pier Picture

Friday morning, we woke up early (thanks to the time change), and decided to do our own Hollywood sightseeing tour. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy outside. Who says it never rains in Southern California? First, we drove to Beverly Hills and checked out Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Hotel.


The Beverly Hills Hotel

Then, we headed to historic Hollywood Boulevard. Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame were of course full of tourists, but they were fun to see, especially Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's hand- and foot-prints!


Grauman's Chinese Theatre


Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's prints

Our friend Tina had recommended that we do the Kodak Theatre tour, which turned out to be a great idea for the rainy day. The Kodak Theatre opened in November 2001 and was built to be the first permanent home of the Academy Awards®. It was definitely fun to see inside the theatre and the VIP areas. Unfortunately, they were doing work on the stage, so we did not get to see any of the backstage area.


Getting ready to do the Kodak Theatre Tour


The staircase outside the theatre

After our tour, it appeared that the rain had stopped for a while, so we decided to drive to Robertson Boulevard and check out all of the hot celebrity spots. We walked by The Ivy and saw Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Prince von Anhalt, being interviewed by the paparazzi. Then, we checked out the shops that young Hollywood is always shopping in, Kitson and Lisa Kline. Darren was quite happy that Michele could find nothing to buy at either place, because it surely would have put a dent in our travel budget!


The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard

Saturday, our hosts Kevin and Joanne were excited to show us around their city. We decided to try to find some of the houses used in famous television shows. The first one we went searching for was the "Brady Bunch" house. We spotted it right away. There is now a fence in front of the house, but it still looks exactly the same!


The "Brady Bunch" House

Next, we searched out the apartment complex from "Melrose Place". We went inside but did not see the famous pool from the show, so I don't think they shot any of the inside scenes here.


The "Melrose Place" Complex

We then took a break from house searching and went to check out Griffith Park. Griffith Park is a 4,000 acre park which includes the Griffith Observatory, the Greek Theatre (an outdoor concert venue), and numerous trails and recreation areas. We got some great views of the city, including the Hollywood sign. Then afterwards, we headed over to Beechwood Drive, where we could get some great pictures of the famous sign.


Views from Griffith Observatory


Hollywood Sign as seen from Beechwood Drive

To complete our sight-seeing for the day, we then found the house from "Happy Days". Again, it looks exactly the same! And our final stop of the day was the Little Brown Church of the Valley. This is the church where Ronald and Nancy Reagan were married. It is open 24 hours a day to the public. Recently, you may have seen paparazzi photos of Britney Spears there.


The "Happy Days" House


The Little Brown Church of the Valley

Sunday was all about Dodgers baseball. We had strategically planned our trip to Los Angeles so that we could see both the Dodgers and the Angels while we were there. On Sunday, the Dodgers were playing the Cardinals. The weather was gloomy in the morning but fortunately started clearing up for the game. It was very cool to see Dodger Stadium which was opened in 1962. Our seats were in the outfield in the "all you can eat" section, so we were able to have as many of the famous Dodger Dogs as we wanted. It was well worth it! The game was incredible and ended up going into extra innings. The "Boys in Blue" did not let us down and ended up winning the game in the tenth inning!


Dodger Stadium est. 1962


View from our seats in the outfield

Monday was Memorial Day and our last day in L.A. Fortunately the weather was finally nice! We were able to put the top down on the Mustang, and then we decided to check out Malibu. We drove to Kevin and Joanne's favorite area near Pepperdine University and did a nice little hike around the area.


Enjoying the beautiful day in Malibu


The amazing houses on the beach in Malibu

At lunchtime, we decided to check out Neptune's Net, which is a famous seafood restaurant and bikers bar on the beach. The food was pretty good and we had a nice view of the beach, plus it was fun hanging out with all of the bikers and surfers!


Neptune's Net in Malibu


The beautiful Malibu beaches

Our final stop of the trip was Angel Stadium in Anaheim. This is a much newer stadium than Dodger Stadium, and it is really nice! The Angels were playing the Tigers on Monday, and we had club seats this time. We had great views of the stadium, especially of the bullpens, plus we got to have some good food delivered to us. It was a much slower game than the one on Sunday, although there was some good defense to watch. At the end of the ninth inning, the game was tied at 0-0. So, once again we got to see extra innings. This time, the Angels won the game in the 12th inning. And since it was a holiday, we got to watch the fireworks next door at Disneyland as we drove home.


Outside Angel Stadium in Anaheim


View of the bullpens from our seats

We had a great trip to Los Angeles. Next time, we hope to have more time to do some hiking, because there are some great trails in the area. And hopefully we will have better weather too! To view more pictures from our trip, check out our album on Kodak Gallery:http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d7zvi5.ahecf2hx&x=0&y=-kqvihm&localeid=en_US. To see more on the baseball games, check out Michele's blog at http://natsgirl.mlblogs.com/. Now it is off to plan something fun for June!

MARCH: EASTER WEEKEND - THE HOMESTEAD

For our March getaway, we decided to go to The Homestead on Easter weekend. The Homestead is a luxury resort located in the heart of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains. It was founded 10 years before the American Revolution and has hosted a number of U.S. Presidents throughout the years.

The Homestead

We set out on Friday night after work and it was a bit of a drive to get there, about four hours, but it was worth it. The resort is beautiful and we were given a great room with our own balcony, which had spectacular views of the resort. Since we arrived late on Friday and we were given an agenda of the many activities available for the holiday weekend, we decided to retire early so we could start the next day bright and early!

Darren hanging out on our private balcony

Our package included breakfast buffet for both days and unlimited use of the pool and gym. So, Darren hit the pool early on Saturday while Michele slept in a bit, and then we both visited the breakfast buffet. From omelets to Belgian waffles, there was plenty to choose from for breakfast, and everything was delicious! Afterwards, we definitely needed some exercise, so we decide to explore the town of Hot Springs, VA, where the Homestead resides. We also came across one of The Homestead’s hiking trails and decided to do a short hike where we got some great views of the resort.

Michele enjoying the view of The Homestead

Then, it was back to our room to change and hit the gym for a quick workout. Afterwards, we decided to walk around the resort and check out all of the available activities. That was when we found the bowling alley. We had never bowled together, so we figured now was the time. It was a close game, but Darren ended up winning at the very end. Next, it was time for a quick sandwich for lunch and then more exploring. We checked out their ski resort and ice skating rink (which were closed of course) and watched some guys play paintball. We headed back to the resort on one of the other hiking trails. We were ready to go back to our room when we saw the croquet set and decided to play. Neither of us really knew the rules so we made them up as we went along!

Views around the resort

Darren with the winning stroke in Croquet

Before returning to our room to read books and relax, we saw that they were serving afternoon tea in the Great Hall. We enjoyed a few cups sitting in front of the fireplace and then retired to our room to get some rest before the evening activities. There are many options for dinner at The Homestead, and you really should make reservations. We decided to go the casual route and chose Sam Snead’s Tavern. We hadn’t made reservations but there was plenty of room at the bar, which worked out perfectly, because we wanted to watch some of the NCAA games. The tavern had a relaxed, casual atmosphere and was surrounded by photographs and memorabilia from Sam Snead's years with the PGA Tour, and his life in Hot Springs. After dinner, we decide to check out the bars in the resort. First, we went to The Presidents Lounge, which has portraits of a number of presidents. We couldn’t understand why only some of the presidents were there, but then we realized that it was all of the presidents who had visited The Homestead over the years. Next, we headed to The Players Pub to play some darts, pool and watch more of the NCAA games.

Sunday morning, we had another great breakfast at the buffet, and then decided to take the scenic route home. Darren took Michele to Douthat State Park and showed her where he usually mountain bikes and camps with the guys. Then, we stopped at James Madison University, so Michele could show Darren where she went to college. It was a great holiday weekend, and we hope to get back to The Homestead to try out all of the activities that we missed, especially the spa and golf course!

Enjoying the views at Douthat State Park

FEBRUARY: PRESIDENTS' DAY - WASHINGTON DC

Since we’ve been pretty busy, we didn’t have time to plan a weekend away for February. So, we decided to do a “getaway” in our own city, Washington, D.C. We set out early on Saturday and took the metro downtown. We had reserved a hotel room for the night at Hotel Monaco. Hotel Monaco is a boutique hotel located in Washington’s Penn Quarter. The hotel occupies what was once Washington, D.C.'s General Post Office, built in 1839 by Robert Mills, the same architect to design the Washington Monument. For all guests, they host a complimentary wine tasting and if you request, they will provide a goldfish for the room. We arrived early at the hotel and requested the goldfish, but were very disappointed as the goldfish never arrived! We would like input from anyone who has stayed there and actually received their goldfish. The hotel’s architecture is very interesting. It has the skeleton of a neoclassical building and fits right in with the traditional style of Washington, D.C. However, once inside the décor and art are very modern. The lounge is named Poste which is a reference to the fact this was a post office and it sits in a glass enclosed atrium.

The front entrance of Hotel Monaco

After checking into our hotel and having awesome brick oven pizza for lunch at Ella’s, we headed over to the National Portrait Gallery for their President’s Day events. We were able to get our pictures taken with the Washington Nationals Racing Presidents and then viewed Stephen Colbert’s portrait. For those of you who watch his show, you may know the story there. We finally found it located between the bathrooms and above the water fountain!

Michele hanging out with George

Michele hanging out with Colbert

We then made our way over to the National Museum of Natural History for the Butterfly Exhibit. The exhibit is a 1200 square foot tropical setting and interactive experience where you can stroll among live butterflies and exotic plants. There are over 400 butterflies representing 30 different species. We ordered our tickets in advance and we’re glad we did. The line to the butterfly exhibit was over an hour and a half long. The tour was worth it, the exhibit is lined with tropical plants covered with many different butterflies. They swarm all around you and even land on your clothes! It was great to explore the National Museum of Natural History again; we had not been there for a while so it was fun to see the dinosaurs, minerals and gems, including The Hope Diamond.

A few of the beautiful butterflies at the exhibit

We were craving a good steak for dinner, so we ended the day at Ruth’s Chris. Afterwards, we walked around the city some more before returning to our hotel for a “night cap” at Poste. We then changed into the luxurious robes that the hotel provides and watched a movie while enjoying some Valentine’s chocolates!

After sleeping in on Sunday, we made our way downstairs to enjoy coffee and the paper lounging in front of the fireplace on the comfy couches in the hotel lounge. We ventured over to Poste again to enjoy breakfast, including their pommes frites, which are delicious!

Before we left the city, we took the metro over to The Navy Yard to check out the new Nationals stadium. The Navy Yard is being revitalized as old warehouses are being converted to condos and lofts. We can remember that this is what the Chinatown/Gallery Place district looked like 10 years ago. Due to the construction; we couldn’t get very close to the stadium. A police officer would not let us walk around the construction site, therefore our only pictures were off the upper-level bleachers. From what we could see, it looks fantastic and we are very excited for Opening Day next month!

Darren posing in front of the Navy memorial

A view of the new stadium still under construction