The Homestead, Hot Springs VA – Nov 2016

November 14, 2016 by anyonecantakeapicture

It was Dad’s Birthday Extravaganza! We went to the Homestead because I won a contest and the grand prize was a weekend away!

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I didn’t ask him if he wanted to go for his birthday, I TOLD him we were going away! We left Friday morning and arrived in Hot Springs (named so because of the natural springs that run through the county) in the early afternoon. The Homestead is celebrating 250 years and every day at 2:50, they serve tea and cake in the lobby. We arrived just in time to partake in the celebration. Visit https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/homestead-virginia/property-details/history/archives for some history on the property.

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After cake, we explored some of the property. This is the lobby.

Some of the rooms on the main floor.

Mom spinning around the massive grand ballroom.

My boss was at the Homestead for a conference the week before and left me a note in the library. Needless to say, my boss is awesome and it was a lot of fun going on a little scavenger hunt!

We then walked around outside. This is the main entrance in the front.

The front porch had rocking chairs :)

This is the back of the property with the pool, spa, and mini golf.

We relaxed and chilled next to the fire pit on the patio of Jefferson’s Restaurant before we went to dinner.

I decided I looked really good that night and snapped a picture in the bathroom :)

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Dinner was at Sam Snead’s Tavern in the little town down the hill. We started with the spinach & artichoke dip which just might have been the best I’ve ever had! For my main course, I had the trout, which was too mild for my taste (I like fishy fish). We split the cinnamon donut bread pudding. AMAZING!

The Homestead played movies in their theater every night, but the movie selection didn’t appeal to us so we headed up to the room to watch TV.

I woke up early the next morning and went down to breakfast. The all-you-can-eat-oh-my-god-I-could-eat-my-weight-in-breakfast-food-buffet in the main dining room is legendary and it did not disappoint! I had cinnamon waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries, bacon, fruit, and smoked salmon. Oh, and half of a crab cake eggs Benedict. No regrets!! Other than the fact that I had a 3-hour hike ahead of me and didn’t feel the greatest while I waited for the shuttle. But it eventually settled by the time we started.

I was told that I HAD to go on the hike led by Brian and now I see why. He was a comedian for a time and had a lot of one-liners! He started the tour showing his expertise in bird calling. He also showed us how an acorn cap can not only be a life-saving whistle, but can also be used for bird and frog calls :)

He also showed us the damage beavers can do. The tree in the middle with the gash in it is the start of what they can do. The stump at the bottom is the end result. He said a beaver can knock down 500 trees in a year!

The hike was amazing and spectacular! That’s all I can say about it. Well, I can say I think he said we passed something like 12 waterfalls.

Proof I was there!

Brian pointed out this is a rattlesnake orchid. I’ll have to come back in the spring and see it in bloom.

There were several places on the hike that had rocks instead of stairs. That’s why they recommend intermediate hiking ability!

We ended up on the Cascades Golf Course. The building in the background is Rubino’s, a restaurant that used to be the home of someone that I can’t find any info on now. The building was moved, section by section, from Italy.

After the hike, I met up with the parental units and we went to the equestrian center to go on a private, hour-long, horse drawn carriage ride around the property. It was very peaceful, quiet, and serene.

The Homestead has so many activities! They also have archery, hiking trails, and golf. This is the falconry center and they also have horseback riding.

Family portrait :)

We didn’t realize just HOW BIG the horses were until we got out of the carriage!

After the carriage ride, we went straight to miniature golf. My family is extremely competitive when it comes to mini golf. That doesn’t mean we are particularly good at it. Let’s just say by the 14th hole, Mom was kicking the ball into the hole and Dad and I pretended not to notice! But we had a blast and laughed the whole time. The birthday boy won, but only by one stroke! I should have been given an allowance for toting around 15lbs of cameras!

After mini golf it was time for cake! Once we finished our cake, we went back up to the room to get ready for dinner. It was in the main dining hall and required all men to wear a dinner jacket! Very fancy! I had the Chateaubriand which was fantastic!

After dinner, we pretty much fell asleep, it was a full day!

The next morning we had the breakfast buffet again. I had the legendary donuts which lived up to their reputation. The scrambled eggs were delicious, the bacon was crispy, but no smoked salmon! That was disappointing :(

As we headed home, we took a different route in order to stop by the Falling Springs waterfall.

It was worth the detour!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I hope you had fun, I certainly did!

Virginia Beach VA 2016

September 24, 2016 by anyonecantakeapicture

Another quick beach trip! The forecast called for showers just about every hour I was there, and it did rain on the drive over, but luckily it cleared up.

Unfortunately the trip did not coincide with the annual Sandsculpting competition and Art Fair. But, I did visit a new part of VA Beach I had not been to before – First Landing State Park. So named to commemorate the 1607 landing of the Virginia Company at Cape Henry. The group of settlers that made landfall there eventually moved west and formed Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. The cape was originally named by the settlers to commemorate the Prince of Wales, Henry Frederick, who was the eldest son of King James.

As I walked up the boardwalk, I saw kites and thought kids were flying kites. Then I saw a couple of guys kitesurfing! I can’t recall ever seeing that before so I stood for quite a long time watching them. I even got a short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMqpEPl8pjo&feature=youtu.be

I wasn’t expecting there to be any shells, so I didn’t bring a bag. But there ended up being a ton, so I had to use my camera bag (I emptied it out carefully before putting my camera back in it!). The black thing is a skate egg case, or what I’ve heard them referred to as a “devil’s purse.” I’ve seen a ton of them, but this one was still perfectly shaped and already dried, so I scooped it up to add to my collection! Also found a cool bottle cap so I kept it too. You can barely see it, but I found clear seaglass! It’s below the big square thing next to the devil’s purse. I have no idea what it is, but it has flaky layers and a sheen on the other side. I also picked up what I think are calico crab shells. Never seen them before so I grabbed a few (bottom left).

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Not only were there a lot of shells, there were also a lot of “critters.”

It was very quiet and peaceful there. I will definitely go back to that spot the next time I go to the beach!

There is a second entrance on the other side of the street that has a lot of trails. I’ve never seen Spanish Moss in Virginia before.

I then traveled to a spot that was recommended for good dolphin sittings. It’s called Chesapeake Beach Park near Chic’s Beach. I didn’t see any dolphins but it was a quaint little beach.

I also found a large piece of driftwood that had some shells embedded in it. It’s outside drying but I can’t wait to incorporate it into my shell bowl!

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It was too cloudy to wake up early and catch the sunrise, but one night the sunset cast a few colors on the clouds.

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The beach is always good for boat and people watching.

The sun managed to come out the morning I left. All in all it was a nice, relaxing trip to the beach, exactly what I was hoping for!

Chasing sunsets

September 2, 2016 by anyonecantakeapicture

Getting to know Virginia – Old vs New Downtown Richmond

June 18, 2016 by anyonecantakeapicture

A few co-workers and I grabbed some lunch at City Hall and took the elevator up to the observation deck. There isn’t much up there but a couple of picnic benches. Oh, and a FANTASTIC view of the entire city! It was a very breezy day, made worse by the wind-tunnel effect at our high elevation. On a subsequent trip it was less breezy but I can see this becoming a popular spot for my lunch crew on nice, summer days.

Starting with the North and going counterclockwise around the building, first up is the Richmond Coliseum.

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Residences at John Marshall (formerly the Hotel John Marshall) and the Berry Burke building.

Hannah Lauck government building is the half round one in the middle.

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The new rooftop restaurant Kabana (a new eating spot I need to try!) with a view of the James River.

Old City Hall (see more below), along with the Capitol Building and the city skyline in the background.

The James Monroe Building is the towering one on the left. Side-note: the James Monroe is the tallest building in Richmond at 449 feet and 29 floors. The SunTrust building, another tall skyscraper (which is the tall builing on the right in the picture above), is 400 feet with 26 floors. Main Street Station clock tower sits behind the 95, with the James River snaking beneath it.

The MCV Medical campus of VCU takes up quite a bit of real estate in the area.

My office is the cluster of white buildings to the right of the row of cars. The new building for the school, which is supposed to break ground this summer, will be built where the dorms currently are in the upper left where all the trees are.

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As I was researching some of these buildings for this post, I discovered the beautiful gray building across the street, that I thought was a courts building, turned out to be Old City Hall. So, I postponed posting this until I could go inside and get some shots.

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