a weekend at salamander

What do you do when a flight cancellation leads to a trip cancellation? In our case, we hop in the car and head to a resort for the weekend.

As we sat on the couch mulling our post-trip cancellation options - our already packed bags sitting by the door just waiting to be whisked away for the weekend - Jon suggested we see if the Salamander had room. I had stumbled across the Salamander in Southern Living (they have the BEST regional travel tips) a few months ago, and it's been on our bucket list ever since. And hey, we deserved a little luck after our flight debacle. We called to say we were on the way, and by 8:30 p.m. we were checking into the hotel with complimentary glass of wine in hand. Ahhhhhhh.

view from the balcony

that bathtub…swoon

It's unlike us to show up anywhere without a plan, but I loved the spontaneity of the trip. Nothing is more depressing than unpacking a bag that you just packed 3 hours earlier. We were making the best of an annoying situation, and I'm really thankful we were able to enjoy a weekend getaway - even if it's not exactly how we planned it.

On Friday, we slept in and enjoyed room service breakfast. Ordering room service always makes me feel fancy - especially when it comes with white tablecloths and fresh flowers.

Later in the morning we headed to the spa. Spas make me feel fancy too. I got a facial and massage while Jon got a massage. It was definitely one of the nicest spas I've  ever been to. Even better, the spa had a private pool for spa patrons only. After our pampering, we spent the afternoon relaxing at the quiet, adults-only pool while the other resort-goers had to slum it down at the noisy family pool. ;)

It wasn't the most patriotic way to spend the 4th of July, but we made up for it by having BBQ for dinner, sitting by an outdoor fire, making s'mores, and watching some fireworks.

Middleburg is horse country. That's the only explanation I have for this. 

the good life

On Saturday, we sipped our way through Virginia wine country. Turns out we have some pretty decent vineyards right here in our own backyard. We've visited a few local wineries here and there, but this is the first time we devoted an entire afternoon to vineyard hopping. It was such a beautiful day.

For dinner that night, we headed to a nearby B&B called the Goodstone Inn. It was a charming little spot with lovely views and excellent food. I kind of wanted to move in and never leave.

On Sunday we headed home, but not before a delicious brunch at the resort. I was sad about leaving so I comforted myself with this little treat. These are butterscotch scones. They left them in our room each evening during turndown service (turndown service...add that to the list of things that make me feel fancy), and they had mountains of them at brunch. I thought about stuffing some in my pockets, but I went for the classier option of buying them at the local bakery on our way out of town.

My next order of business is to recreate these little mounds of awesomeness. It was a lovely weekend full of even more reminders of why Virginia is pretty awesome. Sorry we couldn't see you this time, Arkansas, but we'll be back!

the night the tree fell

It's been one of the weirdest 36 hours on record. Wednesday was my last day at work. I'm starting a new job next week, but leaving an old job is always a little weird. I was looking forward to sleeping in on Thursday morning, but Jon woke me up early with some unexpected news. A tree branch fell on our driveway. We have a knack for middle of the night crashes. This one didn't wake us up, but it was a nice surprise when Jon went to get into his car and found a huge tree branch blocking his way. We got really lucky…this time. The tree fell across the driveway right behind his car. It did minimal damage to one bush. It could have been so much worse. Our neighbor was kind enough to help Jon move it into the street so he could drive to work.

Jon went to work, and my day was full of errands and packing. We were leaving late Thursday afternoon for Arkansas to visit Jon's family. The weather had other plans. We were under a severe thunderstorm warning as we drove to the airport. That should have been our first sign of trouble. The airport was total chaos. The departures board was full of delays and cancellations thanks to the local thunderstorm and the hurricane causing problems all along the east coast. Our flight to Little Rock connecting through Charlotte was one of the few that was still scheduled on time so we checked in and went to our gate as planned. They made one promising announcement about taking off once the ground stop was lifted, but three minutes later, the monitor had changed from on time to canceled. Apparently things were such a mess in Charlotte that they just canceled most incoming flights due to the congestion. 

Since so many people were in the same boat as us, the soonest they could rebook us was Saturday. Arriving Saturday with a Sunday morning departure really didn't make much sense so we canceled the entire trip. Then it was down to baggage claim to try to retrieve our bag. Although we were disappointed about our trip being canceled, we really were lucky - at least we were home. People who were connecting through DC were having trouble getting their bags and getting other flights. One woman's bag was ahead of her in Orlando, but she had no idea when she would arrive to meet it. Another guy was renting a car to drive 11 hours overnight to be where he needed to be. A family from Florida opted to just drive all the way home. Two hours after arriving at the airport, we were back home with bag in hand. 

So what do we do now? Our bag was already packed, and we were already planning to spend the weekend away. Why not find an alternative destination? Although the weather was terrible on Thursday, the rest of the weekend was supposed to be beautiful. I had read about Salamander Resort in Southern Living. It's a new resort that opened in Middleburg, Virginia about one hour from us in the heart of Virginia's horse and wine country. The horses I could leave, but the wine I'll take. We didn't think they would have availability on such short notice, but we decided to check anyway. Surprise! They had a room. So we hopped in the car and by 8:30 p.m. we were checking in for a weekend of spa treatments, poolside relaxing, small town shopping, and winery hopping. I'm not complaining. 

view from our balcony

I quit a job, a tree fell in our yard, our trip to Arkansas got canceled, and we ended up at a resort in Virginia. Just a normal 36 hours with the Hardins. 

P.S. Happy 4th of July! 

virginia is for lovers, and i'm smitten

I waxed poetic about the Midwest a few months ago so I think it's only fair that I give my current home some love too. It was one year ago this week that we went under contract for our first home. I've now lived in two states, one district, and a commonwealth. What's next...a territory?  

Northern Virginia is really more "outer DC" and I know the rest of Virginia probably doesn't look too kindly on us. We take up little of the land, but we have more of the people and therefore influence a greater share of things than the rest of the state would like. I get that. We're a bit annoying and a lot bossy in that way. But I hope the rest of Virginia won't hold it against me because I certainly appreciate that much of what makes Virginia a wonderful place to live is the 98% of the state not called Northern Virginia.

Virginia is a little bit South and a little bit East Coast, but resides in this no man's land known as the mid-Atlantic. We're famous for peanuts and Presidents. There are worse things to be famous for.

Virginia is full of places that are old, quaint and historic - all things that are right up my alley. I'm also not above admitting that I've geeked out at more than one Civil War battlefield in Virginia.

I love exploring my new state, and I'm settling into the idea of calling it home. This is no small feat. I lived in Arkansas for 5 years, but I don't remember ever entertaining the idea of it being home. I'm a nester with a bent toward the domestic so "home" is my highest form of praise.

I'm warming up to Virginia because I feel comfortable here. I live close to the city where I can enjoy baseball games, great restaurants, culture and shopping but then I get to drive a few minutes away to my home on a quiet street with parks and trees and the kind of neighbors who watch out for you.

Virginia likes to surprise me. Every time we take a road trip through this state, I'm completely blown away by how beautiful it is. I could probably spend a month hopping from small town to small town, from B&B to B&B and never get tired of it. And yes, I know I travel like an octogenarian.

I've been to a lot of states (49!) so I know a thing or two about American countryside, and I can honestly say that Virginia is near the top of the list. I was reminded of that over Memorial Day weekend when we spent some time exploring around Charlottesville. This was taken at Montpelier - James Madison's home. These early President's certainly had a knack for owning beautiful properties. It's tough to beat this view of the blue sky and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

So here's to you, Virginia. I think we're going to get along nicely.