My Own Velveteen Rabbit Tale

I’m back & reasonably refreshed from my travels this weekend; it helps that I don’t have to be back to work until Wednesday morning & the guys are both occupied. Can we hear it for alone time?

I spent the past 3 days in Louisville, Kentucky, participating in my very first ever “Girls Weekend Getaway”. The most exciting part wasn’t just spending time with a group of great women, but that I was meeting each one of them for the first time. Yep, you read that right; self-professed shy person Meg flew across country to spend the weekend with people she’d never met- talk about a leap of faith!

Now, these ladies weren’t strangers to me; it was a gathering of blogging friends that I’ve come to know over the past two & a half years. Most of us started our blogs around the same time, & came to know each other through our writing, swapping comments, & emails. Over time, phrases like “If we lived closer, we could…” or “Wouldn’t it be fun to…” were sprinkled through our conversations, so it seemed a natural step when the idea of a get-together was introduced six months ago.

So, Friday afternoon, I was met at the Louisville airport by the others & we embarked on an adventure in friendship. The first order of business once reaching the hotel was taking pictures & exchanging gifts; I brought small collections of seasonal stationary, local jam, apple butter, & honey, as well as small hand-knits for each person. Then it was off for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, a favorite spot for each of us, followed by a real surprise treat: a horse-drawn carriage ride thru downtown & back to our hotel! It was the first time for a couple of the girls & even though it was pretty chilly, we had a rousing good time.

The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before heading to Louisville Stoneware, where we spent a couple of fun hours painting our own ceramic pieces,. The pieces will be fired, packed, & mailed to us within a couple weeks. We took some pictures with our creations, & explored the store & museum, before heading down the street for an awesome lunch at The Cafe.

Later, it was off to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby; this was a real treat for me, as the love of horses runs strongly thru generations of my family. We saw the horses paraded around the paddock in their racing silks, chose our favorites, & even made a couple of small wagers. One race was watched from the track rails & another from up on the second level; we even had 3 winners (talk about beginner’s luck!) before doing some souvenir shopping in the store & heading back downtown to the Fourth Street Live area. Some of us wandered through the bookstore & a couple others walked down to the Louisville Slugger Museum (which unfortunately had already closed), before meeting again for dinner at the Hard Rock Café- another first for me. We wound up the eventful day by talking & laughing until the wee hours of the morning- my stomach still hurts!

Sunday morning meant getting ready to go home to reality; we all had breakfast together at the hotel & then began taking girls to the airport- two had to be there at 10:00, & another at 12:00, so after they were seen off with hugs, pictures, & tears, the remaining three of us went to lunch at the Cracker Barrel & a bit of last minute shopping. We said our last goodbyes at 2:30, with plans to get together again, possibly out this way next time; I would be tickled to be the hostess & be able to share the wonders of my part of the world. A long, uneventful 7 1/2 hour journey found me back home with my guys & felines, all of whom needed some attention. Evidently, Chris has been sick since Friday evening- head, chest, & the full spectrum of gastro-intestinal distress- so both he & Sam did little more than watch movies & order in food. Oh darn~ I am sooo sorry to have missed out on all that fun!

So, there are my escapades in a nut shell; today was spent cleaning up, unpacking, doing laundry, & running some errand, while the guys went back to work & school. I’m so glad I was able to able to schedule in some down time to recuperate, but you know that it was all worth it. Thank you, girls, for creating treasured memories of becoming Real!