I had a nice Mother's Day weekend. It started off on Friday with an overnight trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I met up with my friend, Laura, from New York. Wilkes-Barre was the mid-way point, so we decided to meet there for a little kid-free time to chat and catch up. Though it was brief, it was great to see her, and nice to have a little time to talk without constant diversions. We dined at a nearby Chinese buffet, then took a little drive to check out the area. We ended up in the town a Moosic, a few miles up I-81, where we found The Shoppes at Montage and spent a little time walking around The Christmas Tree Shop.
The hotel we had originally planned to stay in was doing some work with some solvents or something and the smell was so toxic, we decided to seek accommodations elsewhere. We ended up staying at the Hampton Inn, which was a mile or two down the road. It ended up being cheaper, and a decent place to spend the night. We stayed up late chatting and got an uninterrupted night's sleep. We woke up Saturday, made use of the hotel's exercise facilities (the treadmill), showered, surveyed the "continental" breakfast, then checked out. After a brief trip to Barnes & Noble and WalMart, we parted ways, heading back to our respective locations.
I found the driving time alone to be relaxing, listening to an audio book or music, and just having some quiet time to think. The trip was about three hours. If it had been much longer, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it quite so much, as the minor discomforts of pregnancy are not improved by long sedentary periods. But, I stopped in Harrisburg/Camp Hill, PA, both on the way there and on the way back, to grab a snack and use the facilities at The Healthy Grocer. It was about the half way mark, so it made a good pit stop. Aside from a brief torrential downpour and wind storm, the drive was uneventful.
I got home around 6pm on Saturday, to find Darren looking a bit frazzled, but with his sanity still intact. He had managed to get the kids to bed the night before without too much effort, and then entertained them all day with various craft projects, activities and DVD's. Though the house wasn't the image of tidiness, it wasn't too blown apart, and it was nice for Darren to have some alone time with the kids.
Mother's Day started with an early morning walk around the neighborhood with the dog. The weather was crisp and clear and perfect for walking. Upon my return, I inspired (aka nagged) everyone to get ready to go to church. My attempts were partially successful, and we eventually got out the door, arriving about ten minutes late. After that community-enhancing experience, we visited with my mom for a bit, who stopped down, then we heaed to Frederick in the afternoon for lunch at The Common Market. After filling up on various organic treats, we took a leisurely drive towards home and ended up veering off a bit to go to Cunningham Falls State Park to let the kids play for awhile at the recycled tired playground there.
We got home around 8pm, and Flo still had time for a quick bike ride with her friend, and Joe spent a little while blowing bubbles off the deck at Bruno. Meanwhile, I copied the audio book, The Science of Getting Rich, written in 1910 by Wallace D. Wattles, onto my iPod, then headed out for my evening 30 minute walk around the neighborhood.
The night wound down with Darren getting Joe to bed reading various Dr. Seuss books, and me reading another chapter of Harry Potter to Flo. Once everyone was asleep, I headed here (to the computer) to download the photos from the past few days and update our weblog.
So, all in all, a nice weekend, spent with family and friends. I couldn't ask for much more!