Yo, We're Here!

After 5165 miles, the eagle has landed! I have to take a moment and thank my unbelievable best friend in the entire free world! Yes, that's right, Sharon Colaiezzi, you are amazing!! Keep in mind that I have not been here since February AND we have had construction going on inside with built-ins and closet organizers built in as well. Sharon surprised us and spent five hours cleaning, scrubbing and making this place spotless for us so we (or rather I) did not have to have a meltdown when we arrived. It took me three hours just to get myself semi-organized so I couldn't imagine how stressed I would have been having to clean too! I don't think the John Deere selling will ever compensate for this gift you gave me!
Okay, on a final note, we hit Waffle House for the seventh time since I don't think there are any near Philly. Since we will be here until July 15, feel free to email me personally or call on my cell. Until then, I enjoyed the journey with you as I hope you did as well. Looking forward to the travel back the northern route! Bye Y'all!

G'day in Willimasburg

I haven't been to Colonial Williamsburg since I was twelve and Bob had never been so I was pretty excited. I had always had it in my mind that I was going to go to The College of William and Mary and be a tour guide in those cool dresses. Instead, I chose the ever popular career of textiles. I BEGGED Bob to let my buy and wear one of the straw and ribbon hats but he would not have it. In any case, the weather was perfect, the hotel (The Williamsburg Inn) was amazing and so we spent an extra day. In fact, we walked over to the spa which was only a year old and the decor was soooo beautiful that we made appointments there and then worked out at the fitness center later in the day. However, I could not get Bob to play croquet with me.
We went to The Blue Talon for both dinner and lunch and then got dressed up and ate at the hotel last night. We met some really great people so it was all good. The most disturbing thing that happened to me was when we were listening to "A Conversation with Patrick Henry" in the little theatre. Dressed as he would have in 17 and 74, he spoke about what was happening in Williamsburg and throughout the other colonies. He then asked for questions from the audience. In one of his answers, he emphatically pointed out that we are all Americans- not hyphenated Americans. "Here Here" rang out from the audience as well as loud clapping. The disturbing part was that I felt uneasy and I shouldn't have. I fear I have been in California way too long where the political correctness has gotten in the way of honest and free thinking. I think I need to "detox" in Philly for awhile and so we are headed home earlier than expected.

Love (of golf) Is In the Air

That's right...there has been a definite "bromance" between Bob and his buddy Vern who flew in from CA to play Pinehurst. I am attaching a picture of the two lovebirds at the bottom of the blog. We arrived at Pinehurst on Sunday at 10:30 so that Bob wouldn't be late for their 1 pm tee time at #6. My husband is such a maniac that we had to get up at 7 am and I wasn't allowed to stop for breakfast for fear of not arriving on time. On Monday, they played (and walked with their caddie)#2 in the morning and if that just wasn't enough, they played #2 again in the afternoon with a new caddie. Tuesday morning was #7 and then they wistfully parted company as Vern had to fly back to Walnut Creek. So sad!
Since I was basically the third wheel, I kept busy by working out at their fantastic fitness center and having multiple spa treatments. The first day was their signature massage which was very gentle. The second day was with a southern "Helga" who gave me a Holly berry back and foot scrub and basically was on a mission to rub all of my skin off. The third day was a lemon and coconut facial which was done professionally but I smelled like I just cleaned the house and then laid on the beach afterwards. My only negative was that she was pregnant and her belly kept pushing up against the top of my head. Kind of a weird feeling!
To any potential visitors to Pinehurst, do not stay at the Holly Inn. Stay at the Carolina or the Magnolia Inn in town. The Holly Inn's carpet was FILTHY in the hallways and, being "carpet savy", it just grossed me out!

Charleston House

I don't know if you knew this or not but the reason I named my corporation Charleston House was because I had always hoped to own a house in Charleston. Well, guess what? We fell in love with this amazing mansion on South Battery and put a contract in on it!!! Okay....just a dream but seriously, we have now fallen out of lust with Santa Fe, Alabama and are now back in full blown love with Charleston! I found this gorgeous inn located across from Battery Park and it is called the Battery Carriage House Inn (rooms 8 or 9). They have wine and cheese from 5-7 and breakfast served either in your room or outside in the garden in the morning. The rooms are well-decorated which is a major factor for me. I definitely cannot say that the decor is good at Pawley's Plantation which is where we are now. (Bob picked this place- yik). It has palmetto and pineapple bedspreads and wallpaper borders. Say no more!
Bob played the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island yesterday and so far, this is his most favorite course. Together, we played Caledonia today but only made it until the seventh hole as it started to rain. The course is very scenic with live oaks and hanging moss, covered bridges and ponds everywhere. Tom, you are right about this course being so beautiful- even in the rain! I told Bob that I don't like golf enough to play in the rain and he was right there with me so we left to go back to the ugly hotel room. We are headed to Pinehurst tomorrow for three days and Vern is flying in to hang out with his buddy. Let's hope it doesn't rain!

From Sea to Shining Sea

Hitting 4000+ miles (too bad we didn't take my Prius!), we finally put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean! Yesterday, Bob cruised through golf in 2.5 hours enabling him to endulge in a massage at The Greenbrier Spa where I was. It is the satellite location for The Greenbrier in Virginia and is complete with peppermint towels placed around your neck when you are finished with your treatments and a mimosa before you begin.
As we drove to Hilton Head, I caught a billboard proclaiming the site tour for the HGTV Green House and took a little detour to see it. It was the one they were giving away online. Unfortunately for us, HGTV was filming it and it was closed to the public because the drawing was this week. "Darn"! for me and "Yah" for Bob.
We arrived at The Inn at Harbour Town at Sea Pines Resort and the hotel is great. We are overlooking Hole #1 on the Links Course and I just watched Bob tee off with his foursome and their caddie. Yesterday, we rode on the extensive arrangement of bike trails on the island. I even took the bike on the beach and rode up and down the packed sand. How weird was that? Cruising down a beach near the water on sand! I am heading out for another bike ride and then we move on to Pawley's Island to both play Caledonia.

Girl Talk

Sorry that it's been a couple of days but we were in Atlanta with Traci and Marco and it was a much needed "girl fest". All of you women know what I mean when I say that. Sometimes, you just need some away time from your husband (and I am sure vice versa). Unfortunately for Bob, he still had to hang with us during the day. I got the feeling we were just chatter in the background. He rode 20 miles while Traci and I went for a 4 mile walk and he read while we talked...and talked and talked. In fact, we were talking so much that Traci forgot to make lunches for the boys for school! Sorry boys...but hey, that lunch we had at Horseradish Grill was awesome!
So we are here in Savannah right now and Bob is back in golf heaven. I have to say he was going through a bit of golf withdrawal..but maybe it was too much girl talk. In any case, he has reconnected with his clubs and all is well with the world. We took a ferry over to the little town of Savannah last night and while we stood on the corner, not knowing what to do next, this over sized man asked us if we needed directions. One thing lead to another and we soon found out that he was a retired Savannah cop who always wanted to give tours- but specifically history of Savannah murder tours. So we were his first guinea pigs. He was great! When he was through, he directed us to eat at this little Irish bar that, incidentally, was shown in "Something To Talk About". It was when Julia Roberts showed up in her robe with her daughter banging on the window at Dennis Quaid while he was having his dinner with his mistress. I didn't even know they filmed that in Savannah. So in a couple of minutes, I am leaving to get my Sulfur Soak and Reflexology treatment. Whew...tough day!

Mecca

We have found Mecca and it is the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama! Well, this is Bob's Mecca- mine is Waffle House. In case, you don't know it, I am a Waffle House freak. Just seeing those eleven yellow letters shining brightly above the highways bring a tear of joy to my eyes. To date, we have been there five times with many more to come.
In regards to Bob's Mecca, the Trail is gorgeous! Yesterday, he played with a nice couple from San Diego on "The Judge". The course was all rolling hills and lakes. Today, he played on "The Lake" at Grand National with three men from Alabama- an active judge, a furniture distributor and a retired guy. He said they were a "hoot" and the course was, again, green rolling hills and a hell of a lot of water. Tomorrow will be the last day on the Trail and he will be very sad to leave Mecca. Poor Bob.

Maybe we should have flown?

Okay, if you don't know by now, I hate flying (thus the idea for this trip). Well, today was a toss-up between crying in the passenger seat or crying on board a plane holding a stranger's hand. We knew it was going to be a rainy day but we figured, "aw, what the hell" and proceeded to drive the three hours to Prattville, Alabama to start the Robert Trent Jones Trail. After 30 or so minutes of "southern" rain that we haven't seen in 17 years, the BEEP BEEP BEEP of the Emergency Broadcast System kicks in on the radio. Yup, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms coming directly at us. Hmmm, Bob is now driving since I abdicated my position for second-in-command and he and I just looked at each other expressionless and kept driving. Every few minutes the EBC message kept coming on and now we could barely see through the windshield! Pull over! We parked, walked through a puddle of three inch rain and ran to the closest brick restaurant we could find. Drenched, we sat down and waited it out. Sharon called on my cell phone right in the middle and I was reprimanded by the waitress telling me that lightning passes through the cell phone and can kill me. Is that a Southern tale or is that true? I need to snope that. Wow, black skies, 60 mph winds and fat rain! When we finally thought it had passed, we jumped back into the mix only to skirt the storm. After many deep breaths and prayers, we made it!

Sweet Home Alabama

First and foremost, the A/C has been fixed! Whoo Hoo! Funny though, after the rain in Houston and now in Alabama at night, it has yet to go above 85. I guess there should be no complaints on our part. Our last night in New Orleans, we went to Emeril's Delmonico restaurant and it was one very different meal. Being the ultimate carnivore, Bob ordered the rib-eye (man food) but I created a memorable meal of a crawfish appetizer, oyster salad and Delmonico's famous blue cheese potato au gratin. The waiter looked at me kind of funny but, hey, that sounded just too good to pass up.
We arrived in Gulf Shores, Alabama to both play Kiva Dunes golf course after we took a car ferry across the Mobile Bay. The course was a links course and we ended up having this old guy, Jim from Arkansas, catch up and play with us on the back nine. Let me describe Jim to you. Picture a 74-year old Popeye from Arkansas and that is Jim- complete with that smushed up face and old tattoos on both forearms. He was a kick but boy, that man could talk!!! Believe it or not, I beat Bob with my handicap on this course (so now I like golf!)

Let The Good Times Roll- NOLa

Yesterday, was Houston. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo and they are a must if you are staying in a major city. Look them up online! They are designed with a nautilus theme and are very clean and very reasonable. Not too much else to say about Houston except my Hitler husband made us get up really early to drive to Houston as well as New Orleans to avoid the noonday heat. Actually, he was pretty smart since it was completely tolerable. Pray that part is there tomorrow!
We are now in these really cool lofts in New Orleans that I found online instead of your typical hotel- concrete floor, modern amenities and bathrooms. They are the size of a one bedroom apartment in SF. Very hip- (so us- kidding) Walking the French Quarter, we stopped in for a Mufaletta and Oyster Po' Boy sandwich and Bob was in heaven. He said that the Po' Boy was one of the best sandwiches he ever had in his life! I arranged to have a Haunting/Voodoo tour at 8 at night and off we went. Although I thought the two hour tour was fascinating and filled with history, Bob pretty much wanted to stick a fork in his left eye, he was so bored. Okay, so I can't win on everything. We have to say that New Orleans was so dead that we had a hard time trying to find a place to go afterwards- then again, this is Sunday. From what we are told, it is slowly coming back but they lost about 160K of their population. After spending limited time in Houston, I have a feeling, the refugees just stayed there.

A Blanket in Hell

You are probably thinking, "Arlene, what is a blanket in hell?" Well, I forgot to mention while we were in West Texas, the comment made by the lone mechanic who fixes "foreign" cars was that when someone from West Texas dies and goes to hell, they ask the devil for a blanket. Well, that is how damn hot it is here- even in Austin!
I would really like to tell you some fantastic news about the car but I just can't since there isn't any. I have to say that if you are an Inifiniti driver or if you ever were to buy an Infiniti, the customer service is off the charts fantastic. The Redwood City guy arranged the Austin guy to take us in but unfortunately the part has to be overnighted and of course, it's Friday. I decided to have the Austin guy arrange the part to be sent to the New Orleans guy and it can get fixed on Monday. Keep in mind though, we are driving to Houston tomorrow (3+ hours) and then New Orleans on Sunday (5.5 hours)without any A/C. I bought those little motorized fans but Bob just looked at me and and said we should have stayed in Austin until Monday but, I really want to get out of this hotel. I feel like I am staying for a conference. It is too big and also very outdated and they charged an arm and a leg. To top it off, the massage wasn't too good AND Bob almost died on the golf course. He told me he was getting heat stroke since he forgot his hat, didn't eat anything and it was 98+ degrees outside. He said he grabbed a towel on the back nine, wet it and became an Arab for the rest of the course. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that!

Underground and Overheated!

Well, this morning we started out okay with a million senior citizens grabbing breakfast at the beautiful Holiday Inn Express located a mere 40 minutes outside Carlsbad Caverns. I thought, "Wow- we better get to the place fast or we will have to wait in line with everyone else" but then again, we were on the "strenuous" tour and I doubt women in walkers would tackle me for position. Seriously, when we got to the site, there was barely anyone there which is kind of great since there are no lines.
I went here 31 years ago after I saw a story on Carlsbad Caverns on the Frosted Mini-Wheats Cereal box and proclaimed to my parents that THAT was where we had to go on our next vacation. Believe it or not, my parents actually set up a trip that included Carlsbad Caverns, Painted Desert, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and White Sands. So here I am 31 years later dragging my claustrophobic husband to the greatest caverns in the world!
We did a specific tour where you used candlelit lanterns so you could see what it was like for the 1890's tourists. Our guide was so passionate about the caverns which made the tour even more interesting. Put it this way, Bob even agreed to walk the mile and a half self-guided tour after the special tour because this place is beyond belief. This is a man that I had to promise sex to to get him to go into California Caverns outside Sonora!
Okay, so now we are finished and are starting our 7 hour ride to Austin, Within one hour, we stopped at the Flying J Restaurant/Gas Station in Pecos, Texas (top 100 of 2008) and had an amazing lunch of "All-You-Can-Eat" salad bar of lettuce, green peppers, and Thousand Island dressing - and that was the extent of it. Starting the car, we heard a "WHOOOSH" with white steam blowing up from the hood. Not good! If you were anywhere near us, you would have thought we were going to kill each other! I am not good under stress and Bob hates asking for assistance!
Keeping that in mind, I asked the front desk at the Flying J where to go with a f*ucked up Infiniti and we were provided directions to the Chevrolet dealership (only dealership in town- Buy American!). They looked at Bob and said, "We don't do imports but there is one guy in town that might." So we drive there. He tells us he is booked for two weeks straight but it is the A/C so, it will be uncomfortable, but you can drive it. So off we go to Austin, calling the Infiniti dealer that we just paid $1100 to last week to fix the A/C before we left and he arranged for the Austin dealer to fix it tomorrow morning.
We just got here at 9:30 PM looking like two wind-blown rats- matted hair and stinky, sweaty white trash. Pray that tomorrow is a good day!

Heaven......we're in heaven!

For every woman that has ever gone away for a spa weekend, THIS IS IT! John Roberts, the owner of Watercourse Way, recommended this place as his most favorite place in the US. That comment and the drool from Gayle's mouth while she was describing her "getaway" there with her daughter, Casey, was enough for me. This was my first visit to Santa Fe and this Japanese inspired spa. There are only a few rooms on-site and all of them are nestled in among the Japanese landscaping so you truly feel like you are in Japan. At "Ten Thousand Waves", we spent 85 minutes in the private baths and then had an hour and a half of massages! Say no more! The evening was topped off with a recommendation from the spa for a local Udon noodle place (Mu Du Noodles) that was exactly what I was wishing for.
On a final note, we both fell in love with Santa Fe. In fact, this entire morning before we drove to Carlsbad, we spent with a realtor. Very interesting perspective on living here........but don't worry, we are not ready just quite yet!

Chickens and Trains

After both of us playing Sedona Golf Course and enjoying the "resort" course with the red mountains in the background, we drove out to Albuquerque. En route, we just HAD to stop in Winslow, Arizona for a photo op standing on the corner. We ended up eating in this local hole in the wall and it was off the chart incredible. I felt like Rachel Ray on $40/day-always ask the locals for good places which is what we have been doing.
At dusk, we finally made it to our exit and, let me tell you, we were not in the nicest part of town. Bob kept grumbling about picking this crappy place and how we are going to get killed and why didn't I look to see where it was. Well. okay, how could I do that when I have never in my life been to Albuquerque? We were in this trashy neighborhood when we spotted this hacienda and wooden gate. Yup, here we were!
It was only an 8-room B&B built in 1790 and was an old stagecoach stop. When you walked through the gate, we found an envelope with our names and misguided directions to our room. We went to a room that we thought was the right one and it was completely charming. Of course we found out in the morning that we slept in the wrong room all night. This one was smaller and was truly an old west Spanish room with a claw foot tub and attached shower head. A woolen Navajo blanket was on the bed and the walls were old adobe. We broke into another bottle of chardonnay from Tolosa and sat outside and read under the outside lights when we heard it.... a huge train whistle and a large freight train passing through, what seemed to feel like, our room. Remember Joe Peschi in "My Cousin Vinny" when he couldn't sleep or "I Love Lucy" when Lucy's bed was moving across the room? Well, that's what it was like. I knew the rooster's had to crow in the morning...it was inevitable and, yes, that was our wake up call. Well, that and the 5:15 train.

From House to House to House

Friday night, we went to the Hearst Castle's Evening Tour and if you had never been, it is a MUST! They have volunteers dressed in period clothing and the view overlooking the Pacific with the lights shining on the roses and jasmine and palm trees surrounding the outside casitas is amazing! What a great treasure we have in our own backyard! From there, we drove to LA so that Bob could play the LA Country Club and I could hang out with carpet friends from Palos Verdes.
While Bob played, I went with Judy and Richard to the Pasadena Designer Showhouse which was a 10,000 square foot spectacular Mediterranean 1920's Colonial Revival. No problem....I would sell my soul to live there! Very well done!
We then went to Crustacean, which is the sister restaurant of the one in SF while we waited for my beloved to join us. While we were drinking, Vanessa Williams and Rick Fox (ex-Laker Husband) walked in with their entourage. Remember LA people always need entourages because they are SOOOOO self-important. They had their six-foot seven year old little girl and were celebrating her First Holy Communion. Throughout the night, Rick and child kept hovering around us and I wondered if he wanted our autographs? In any case, the dinner was great and when we went to the valet, they all came out at the same time the same time that we did. Bob was standing next to Vanessa and of course, he was oblivious because, why would he care- he's not a girl, right?
When we got back to Richard and Judy's, Judy began to bake these cupcakes at 12:30 AM. Now, I should mention that across the street from Crustacean's, there is a cupcake place called Sprinkles where, I kid you not, there was a wait of about an hour to buy cupcakes. You just know that their PR person has promoted the crap out of this place so, typical LA, people HAVE to be seen waiting in line. Okay, these cupcakes were good but no way would I wait an hour for them- life is way too short to wait for cupcakes! Crazy LA people!
So, we are now in Sedona and tomorrow is golf D-Day for me! Ugh! Wish me luck!

Let's get it started!!!!!

Off we go...and with only one averted catastrophe! Driving down 101 near San Miguel, I started to dose (while driving- always a good thing) and then happened to wake up and look out the back window to see my bike break free! Yelling, "The bike is loose" to my sleeping husband, I swerved over to the left side of the highway to pull off. Luckily, no one was killed by a flying bike and we were back on track.
Listening to Grady's gift CD of "Traveling Music" (Thanks Grady- we laughed at the first song)and drove outside to San Luis Obispo to the Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort which was recommended by the Means. Totally cool, laid back place. After an hour and a half bike ride to Avila Beach (a hidden gem), we reserved an hour in the hot tubs. They have these funky old hot mineral spring fed tubs located on the side of a mountain and you can reserve them for an hour- privately.
Today, we hit a fantastic little winery called Tolosa which makes a No-Oak Chardonnay that we drank last night at the bar. Great little place in San Luis Obispo. We avoided the dreaded "Jean and white sneaker" crowd at Pismo and hit Cayucas. Damn, what a treat to have the weather above the normal HMB 59 degrees!

Our Itinerary

Leave May 1, 2008- San Luis Opispo, Los Angeles, Sedona, Albuqerque, Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Gulf Shores (Bobby Jones Trail), Birmingham, Atlanta, Savannah, Hilton Head, Charleston, Pawley's Isalnd, Pinehurst, Williamsburg, Hot Springs, Annapolis, arrive in Philly on June 2nd.

Welcome to our trip!

Okay, here we go! I have been challenged by Pam to set up a blog so that you can partake in the activities of Arlene and Bob as we travel across the country. The question that everyone seems to have on their minds is are we going to kill each other? Good question as to which my husband always replies, "There are always airports close by." So, I guess I should start by giving you our itinerary so you can keep up with the Flicks on our tour of the golf courses and spas. You can guess who will be going to golf courses and who will be going to spa treatments. Hmmmm.