Nashville Rocks Downtown Night 1!

Relaxing by the pool without children to watch was truly relaxing! 

This is my sister, we were so proud of her, she did something all by herself, but we can't remember what?!

 After the pool, Aunt Gen arrived, aka the "Fun Coordinator", so we hit downtown. 

The street was lined with pretty light filled trees. 

 As well as fun photo opportunities.

Here we are at Dick's Last Resort.

Then we went to Just Kickin and watched Payton Taylor perform. So talented she is!
Check her out at http://www.paytontaylor.com/paytontaylor/Home.html

 Plus she supports the Wounded Warrior Project.

Then we went to Bootlegger's and tried the moonshine--four flavors of grossness!

They had a shelf full of varieties for the adventurous, but, 

 I'd recommend sticking to the beer, unless your taste buds are seasoned for the taste of moonshine. 

This was the cool chandelier. They had live music too.

We heard many good bands through out walking around the buckle area and by the river front. 

We ended the night at the The Big Bang Bar, which is a dueling piano bar.

Last picture of the night in front of the Hard Rock Cafe sign.

Then off to go grab the three from the airport. Until tomorrow.....

Wyndham Nashville We are on Our Way!

Setting our sails...ok, really the acadia.... ready to go. My sister in law and my sister and I are driving, 3 are flying- meeting us tomorrow, plus one from Alabama, and one from Florida, all with the same end destination of Nashville Tennessee....Fanfare here we come!!!

While driving we spied this awesome sign on the back of a tractor trailer. 

Love it!!! We gave the driver a thumbs up upon passing.

 The drive was really only 12 and 1/2 hours, but at times it seemed like forever. Here passing through....

 Then into Virginia, but we missed the sign. How fun is this car?!! It was one of several passed that were obviously going somewhere fun. 

 Loved this sign in Virginia!

 Oh yeah... Nashville we're almost there!

 WE MADE IT!!! 

Check out these sweet accommodations. This is one of the reasons why I love Wyndham. After a long day of  driving it felt good to relax and get comfy in spacious accomadations.  

 On to the next day. There's a Trader Joe's on the other side of town that we did the bulk of our shopping. Best stuff when away to indulge in, so I think! Next on the list booze. It is a girls trip with no husbands or children. Onto to Gracies! Not sure of what wine to indulge in, just ask. The staff at Gracies is awesome!! They can guide you to a new choice of wine or to a standard favorite, plus the place is just inviting, complete with chandeliers!

 Then a stop at Kroger's for all the stuff that Trader Joe's did not have and beer.

 How fun is this baked cake. It surely did evoke a chuckle in myself, so I had to share.

Now onto to the pool....

Ventura California You're One of My Most Favorite Places

I was able to book Ventura, Ca for a whole week on discount points- amazing- so I grabbed it and decided upon a solo vacation. My flight was awesome, I got in at night, picked up the car, and hit the highway to go find the resort. I found it without any issues- until I got there. I forgot to call ahead to say I'd be late checking in, and the office closes at 5. My phone only works when it wants to, and now was a time it chose to not. So I paced a little bit, then came upon a solution. I drove to the hotel down the street (which was like walking straight into an 80's time warp) and told them of my dilemma. They let me use the phone to call the after hours check in line, and the issue was solved. Perfect! Now to go check out my room.

The resort is small and quaint. It sets right along the water, 

and I was lucky enough to get a room with a water view- oh yeah!!

These are pictures of the studio side of the room. It's so cozy, I want to call home and the family to pack our things and meet me out here. I want to call this place home!!

 This is a view of basically the whole studio minus the bathroom.

This is the one bedroom side that is attached to the studio. I was glad to have it, because I couldn't reach the internet signal from the studio side for some reason, but it came in nice and clear from this room.

After getting settled in for the night. I awoke ready to explore.

 Here's some pictures I took from the Pacific Coast Highway.

I ended the drive in Malibu, then turned around to go grab some dinner from the convenient grocery store right down the street from the resort. 

New Year's Eve in the Pocono Mountains

After getting lost for what seemed like forever in the dark of woods of the Pocono Mountains, I finally found Wyndham. Thank Goodness!!  I think my brother, who gave me directions, took humor in telling me to go right, when it should have been left- ugh- brotherly love!!

When we arrived, everyone else partaking in this vacation is already settled in their rooms. This time, there's so many of us, we needed six! After a quick snack, we headed down to the activity center for the party the resort puts on to celebrate New Year's Eve. 

It turned out to be so much fun. They had a velcro wall- great idea- I might need one for my house. The kids put on a velcro suit and jumped against the wall and stuck! Face painting, snacks, party hats and blowers, music- good times!!

Kids fun is done, now back to the main party room to watch the ball drop with the rest of the family. 

Next day breakfast feast- and birthday feast for me- are planned in another room. Here's some pictures.

 My parents

 Kids enjoying cocoa while waiting for pancakes to cook. 

Uncle Tom, Peyton, and Aunt Gen enjoying some quiet time on the landing.

 Uncle Jerry and Aunt Peggy are ready for breakfast!

Breakfast is done. Time to hit the pool. Which we forgot the camera so there's no pictures to share- sorry. It's a really nice pool and rec center. The resort has a craft room, a cafe, an arcade, a gym to play basketball, and  of course the pool and hot tub.

After trying to tire the children out, we headed back to play some board games and partake in lunch. Again we used a different room. Each family had a meal to provide, so we shuffled from room to room. I forgot half the stuff I was supposed to bring, so I was thankful we had keys to the other rooms so we could see what was in their fridge that we could make for lunch. Thanks for picking up my slack everyone!! Most of the adults were out doing something, so it was me and a bunch of kids that enjoyed the relaxing afternoon. It turned out to be beautiful weather wise, not to cold, and no snow. Big boys played lacrosse on the grounds, some of the others went for a hike along one of the trails. The rest of us, played board games.

 Aunt Lisa and Autumn waiting for the contents of the oven to finally be done!

 Mary, Mia, Jack, Maureen, and Aunt Nancy, taking a break between games and lunch.

 Aunt Nancy and Peyton.

 After games, the kids wanted to try out the tub. We dubbed it "the lobster pot"! 

We had them out on swim suits and in this picture they are roll playing that they are the lobsters!

 Aimee and Olive

Now time for my birthday presents- oh wait- I mean dinner with everyone. Aunt Gen made hoppin'jack, and everyone else cooked something- I don't remember because I called not it for dinner! I'm in the orange sporting my birthday presents, thanks everyone for all the goodies!

 #3 wearing the big boys snowboarding stuff and playing with their lacrosse stuff.

 Any minute he should be getting tackled by the belongings owners for reclaiming!!

 Hello- hello - anyone their??

 Not sure where the phone and the stick come in, but I think it's a funny picture!

 #3 and my nephew Mitch, again with the big boys stuff! The big boys got dressed to go snow boarding, went to the mountain, which is literally a few minutes away from the resort, got in line to buy lift tickets, and it started pouring rain. Needless to say, they came back to the rooms, that's when these two looted their stuff.

It turned out to be an awesome weekend away. I'm totally a Wyndham fan. I love being a timeshare owner for so many reasons, with the #1 being, how easy it makes scheduling fun times with family and friends. Thanks Wyndham for providing awesome accommodations for my birthday weekend!