Georgia On My Mind

All I can say is WOW, what a resort. We had first-class treatment the entire time we were there (well, except the airplane, but we weren't really expecting that). And when I say first-class, I mean first-class.

"Let me introduce you to your butler, Liz, Mr. and Mrs. Rude." Liz took us on a tour of the Lodge before showing us to our room. Once we got to the room she offered to unpack our luggage and iron our clothes (we declined for fear they might kick us out once they saw our no-label attire we had packed). She also offered to draw a rose-petal bath, arrange any activities we were interested in, arrange transportation or pretty much do anything else we could think of. We gave Liz a large tip and promptly dismissed the idea of a butler from our minds. Some people I've talked to said, you didn't take advantage of it? Um, no. I couldn't wrap my mind around someone doing those type of things for me (oh, and I didn't want to have to tip her the entire time). Never thought I'd say this, but apparently I'm cheap. Or is it just that I didn't want to treat someone that way (you know, the way "Mom" is treated like a butler every day???). Sorry Mom.

Derek and I enjoyed a nice lunch on the terrace of the Oak Room overlooking one of the golf courses. Our server, Chelsea, was fantastic. She was so personable and gracious. After lunch we were so tired from the flight and the hour and a half drive that we ended up taking a nap. That evening there was a welcome reception and dinner for the meeting that Derek was attending. The food was incredible and the wine was flowing freely into my glass. There were passed hot hors d'oeuvres, my favorite were the bacon-wrapped scallops (sorry Jen, I know how much you hate bacon, but it was yummy!). They also had fried lobster that looked like little chicken tenders. The guys said they were delicious, but I couldn't figure out how to eat it without making a huge mess, so I passed on it. I also had some caviar. I was the only extra person that evening - there was one other spouse who came along for the trip, but she had her 1-yr-old with her. Poor thing. But I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

The following day I slept in and watched television all morning. That is something I never do. Then I headed over to the beach club via shuttle (the Cloister which is the affiliated hotel is 7 miles away) where I enjoyed a delicious crab cake sandwich. I spent some time reading by the beach, walked around the resort's pool area for a while and went shopping in the Surf Shop. It was a bit chilly so I didn't stay as long as I had planned. I caught a ride back to the Lodge along with another spouse. Unfortunately she wasn't included in any of the events because her husband was doing the sound for the meeting and wasn't an attendee. I don't think she had any complaints though. The valet had us get in one of the golf carts which I think both of us were questioning in our minds about taking back the 7 miles to the Lodge. She went ahead and asked and it turned out that he was taking us to a driver. By then we were both cold so it was nice to have the heated seats in the jaguar that drove us back. Derek and I walked around a bit and took some pictures before dinner. These are a little dark, but show you the Lodge:



Wednesday evening we had a Vintner's dinner in the most amazing dining room I have ever set foot in. First we were able to tour a room that held the table that was used during the G8 Summit. It wasn't the actual room since they completely rebuilt the hotel a couple years ago, but there were pictures of all the world leaders who attended. The table had flags carved into it where each leader sat and their names were engraved on each chair. But the dinner was incredible. Even the soup was delicious - butternut with maple creme. It was a four-course meal (and we had already had hot passed hors d'oeuvres at the reception) with wine pairings. Derek selected the sea bass which melted in your mouth and I selected the beef tenderloin and shrimp. Yummy. I was stuffed. Here's a picture of the hallway in the Cloister outside of the dining room and G8 room (we went back the next day to take pictures, but they were having a meeting in the rooms):


Thursday I headed back to the Oak Room for lunch before check-out. Derek was still in meetings. I walked up and there was Chelsea. She said, "Mrs. Rude, I haven't seen you since Tuesday!" See what I mean? Very personable. There was no reason for her to remember my name. She was my server once again and was so sweet. She saw that I was reading during lunch and she came and asked if it was too loud where I was sitting and if I'd like to move. I declined, but thought that was so kind of her. Then after check-out, I went to the porch to finish my book while I was waiting for Derek. She must have seen me outside and she brought me some iced tea. When Derek was done we headed over to the Cloister and the Beach Club to take some more pictures.





I guess the only other thing I failed to mention that was we were staying in one of the rooms which housed King Abdullah of Jordan during the G8 Summit of 2004. So here's some pictures of our room:





So, I didn't take advantage of the many activities that I could have and some have questioned that. But I think we can all agree that at this point we are all holding on a little tighter to our money. And when the cheapest option at the spa is a 30-minute mineral make-up application for $90, I think you'd hold on to your money too. I enjoyed the time I had to relax and I am thankful for that. And for the fact that we only paid for my three meals...

But I will tell you the highlight of my trip was sitting at the Jacksonville, FL airport on Thursday evening with one of my best friends from college, Cara, and her two kids. We haven't seen each other in almost 7 years which is way too long! So Cara, thanks for meeting up with us! We hope to see you over the holidays. And can you believe, but we actually were able to meet up with Stacey and Jason this weekend as well. They were in town for a wedding shower. So I got to see both of my Freshman suitemates in one weekend. We had a lot of fun at dinner guys - can't wait to do it again! Maybe next time we can ALL get together. :-)