My Weekend Escape

Good morning! I am back home in Kentucky. If you have been seeing or reading any news, you know that Kentucky was hit by a big winter storm last week. We had a foot of snow, covered by a coating of ice. Many places lost power, but thankfully ours stayed on. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get to Philadelphia on Thursday; the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Kentucky) was covered in ice and snow. The runway looked like solid ice, and I wondered how the plane could take off under those conditions... but it did.


So, my weekend began with a flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia. We waited on the plane for about twenty minutes while they de-iced our small plane. The de-icing machine passed over the plane several times. It was like being in a giant car wash where you sit in your car and the machine goes back and forth. After that, the flight was uneventful (I love uneventful). We landed in Philadelphia and I felt the familiar buzz of being back in my adopted city. I got on the train that took me from the airport to my friends' neighborhood.

I was going to visit with my friend, R. She and I were going to a "spa retreat weekend" with a larger group of friends. They picked me up at the train station. The next morning, we drove to Princeton, to begin our spa weekend. On the way to Princeton we meandered through Bucks County, enjoying the scenery along winding country roads. We stopped for lunch in New Hope, which is full of artists, shops and cafes. We had lunch in a tiny, friendly cafe where we chatted with other customers and had a glass of wine.


The retreat was put together by another friend. It was held at a conference center in Princeton, New Jersey. We had package that included our room, all our meals, and activities. Everything was great... good service, good food, fun activities. The hotel is a great-looking place:



Saturday morning we had a "hula hoop dancing" lesson! Yes, this was a group of grown women. "HULA HOOPS?" we thought. We haven't done hula hoops since we were kids! But it was fun... the teacher brought special adult hoops which are larger and heavier than the small plastic ones. It was good exercise. It works your "core" and burns 600 calories per hour. Hula hooping photo below:


Saturday afternoon we had yoga and meditation. Later that night, we had "zoomba dancing". Zoomba dancing is a new exercise craze, apparently. It's a mixture of salsa, merengue, and Cuban dancing. It is VERY fast and involves a dizzying array of leg, arm, and hip movements. Continuing with the Latin American theme, we had pitchers of mojitos.



Saturday night, I was tired! I slept well in the wonderful hotel bed... it was like a cloud.

Sunday morning, I had a massage, then a leisurely breakfast. Then we drove back to Philadelphia.


Sunday night, back at R's place, we watched the Super Bowl with another group of friends. They treated us to buffalo wings, homemade pizza and lots of snacks and desserts. On Monday I spent a couple of hours in the Philadelphia airport. First, I got on a plane scheduled to leave at 1:40. After we sat at the gate for a while, they told us to get off the plane. The plane had a flat tire, and the flight was cancelled. They gave me a meal voucher, which I took to the bar and had a cocktail. Then I got on another flight at 4:30... and finally got back home.