Nemacolin

Peter and I got an awesome deal for a 2 nights stay at Nemacolin so we decided to make the trip! We figured if we were ever going to go, then this would be the time since we got a great price. The downside is that many of the winter activities were over and the spring/summer ones hadn't started yet. We looked online, though, and saw that there was still plenty to do.

This was the view from our balcony on one side...

..and this was the view on the other. As you can see, there were grey skies when we arrived. Unfortunately, it didn't change much during our weekend. We didn't let that stop us from having a good time though. :)

Apparently mini golf is not in high demand on cold and windy evenings. Good for us because they just opened the course and we could play for free!

The course was quite beautiful and had several tricky holes.

I think this was before I started winning because Peter's still smiling here...

There were a lot of water features throughout this course.

My ball is green and on the course. Peter's is yellow and in the water. :( This is when things really started going downhill for him, haha.

We played 2 games of mini golf and I won both times! It's really just dumb luck for me because I just drop the ball and give it a whack. It drives Peter crazy!

After mini golfing, we explored as much as we could. We found a rock climbing wall, off-roading excursion, a ropes course, some mansions that we drove past, a closed clubhouse, and other great stuff.

We retired to our room for the evening since it had gotten dark and too cold to be outside. We ordered some room service and hit the sack early.

The next morning we had breakfast at the Autumn Restaurant. Peter had a Farmer's Omelet which he said was delicious and I had a Blueberry Muffin with a Bowl of Berries. Both were quite yummy!

Then we explored some of the inside lobbies, etc. They were all beautiful.

Then we drove all around the grounds and looked at the golf course, etc.

We also visited the Auto Toy Store with a bunch old cars and motorcycles.

They even had this old gas pump, too.

This was a petting zoo, but because of the gloomy weather, no one was out there so we couldn't get in. It was pretty funny because as we got out of the car, all of the animals approached the fence and started making lots of noise. They must be well acquainted with people. :)

The Wildside opened at 11 so we spent 2 hours there before lunch. We played pool. I lost miserably.

We played video games and ski ball and laughed like two kids as we tried to beat each other with each game.

We even went bowling and I started with a strike! Just like mini golf - dumb luck!

I actually won! I am pretty sure this is the first time I've won against Peter in bowling. :)

We saw this cool water garden on our way to lunch. It was so peaceful and quiet. We had lunch at The Tavern and then went back to our room for a nap. I rarely nap these days, but slept for over an hour and it was glorious. I have to remember more often that vacations are to catch up on sleep and rest, too.

The sun actually came out in the evening so we decided to drive around again to look at the animals and other outdoor areas.

I can't believe they have zebra, lions, bears, and buffalo at Nemacolin. We didn't see any of the bears or lions, though. :(

We did get to see the zebras and buffalo, though. :)

Happy to have the sun out, no matter how brief it was!

That evening brought more rain and eventually the power went out. Peter and I just settled in to watch a movie and 30 seconds into it and there was a total blackout. The power flickered at different points throughout the day, but this time it was out for good. We went to the lobby where they were handing out glow sticks and there were candles lit everywhere. Some places had more light than others and our room actually had one light that worked. After about an hour, we decided that we were just going to call it a night since they didn't anticipate the power to be restored until after midnight.

Sunday morning we at breakfast at Autumn again and then went for one more round of free mini golf. This time Peter won! There was a crazy family who let the kids run throughout the course like a bunch of wild banchees so it was difficult to actually play without a kid running through the course we were on or having them hit balls and move ours, etc. Kind of frustrating but oh well. We then checked out, spent the last of our tokens at the Wild Side, and headed for home. We stopped at Panera for lunch and Peter even let me go into Target for a bit!

By the time we were home, my allergies were driving me nuts so I took another nap. So sad to be feeling crummy, but thankful for a fun weekend away with my hunny. :) Tomorrow starts another crazy week, but I'm thankful for this weekend.