My Weekend Was - The Greenbrier

***WARNING***

If you have no interest in seeing (probably way too many) pictures of our weekend at The Greenbrier, you will want to skip this post!

It's funny, I have been to The Greenbrier before for the Greenbrier Classic.  You can read about that visit HERE if you want :)  Anyway, I didn't take any photos on that trip because you weren't allowed to have your camera out and about.  This weekend I was snapping pictures left and right (can we say tacky tourist?!?!?).  I realized how much my camera is lacking.  Not that I have any great skill level when it comes to taking photos, but please know that the following pictures were taken with my point and click...and they leave much to be desired.

Our room:

We got lost, but we didn't mind....

(TEN relaxing in grandeur)

Friday evening TEN and I had dinner at Drapers with Barbie and Ken, who were also at The Greenbrier for the weekend.  We did a bit of walking around, and then headed into the Casino.

No pictures are allowed in the casino, but we didn't stay for very long.  I wanted to watch people playing roulette, craps and black jack.  I wasn't 100% sure which game was going to be "my game" yet. 

After a few cocktails, a bit of shopping, and more cocktails we headed off to bed.

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Saturday morning TEN and I walked the grounds before our appointments at the Spa.  We also visited the President's Cottage Museum, and took a tour.  Very interesting!

(the Spring House.  there is a nice little plaque that i photographed with information about the Spring House, but it's a sideways picture...so blogger is not cooperating.  sorry.)

(TEN looking down into the spring)

(this is what he sees!)

(i loved this sculpture made out of golf tees!  couldn't resist posting...even if it is sideways :)

There are some other really neat pictures from our walk, but again...they are facing sideways...so they won't load properly.  Booo....

After our walk we went to The Forum for an Italian lunch treat :) 

I had Baked Gnocchi Al Pomodoro.  It came out with the parmesan, fontina & aged provolone cheeses bubbling, and toasted bread on the side.  TEN had the Sunday Sauce Rigatoni with braised beef, pork and Italian sausage simmered in a red wine marinara sauce.  Both were out of this world!

We did a bit more shopping, and then attended a cooking demonstration by one of The Greenbrier's chefs.  It was great fun, and I ended up buying a set of The Greenbrier's cheese knives.  I've been searching for just the right set...and now I've got them :)

Off to the spa!  I sensed that TEN was a little leery of the spa.  He's had plenty of massages before, but any time I've mentioned a manicure, pedicure, or any other such thing he adamantly refuses.  I'm not sure why?  Anyway, I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  He had agreed to the Mineral Bath Soak.  I had a Mud & Mineral Bath Soak.  I thought this would be a good "step 1" for future spa visits :)

We didn't take our cameras into the spa, but I almost wish I had!  The soaks were in these OLD bath house type rooms.  You walked down the steps into the ground, which was tiled, and water came out from the spring.  It was heated, of course, but so neat!  The time flew by, and I continued to take my time in the women's changing room (showering, blow drying my hair, curling my hair).  There was plenty of the day left, and I didn't want to have to go back to the room before we could do something else.

I did begin to worry that TEN may be losing his patience, so I got myself dressed and headed out to the Spa Lobby.  What in the world was I worried about?!?!?  They had to go back and get TEN (after I waited/shopped for about 5 minutes).  He was having such a lovely time in the men's spa lounge room he wasn't in any hurry!  I couldn't have been happier :)  He went into the sauna, took a shower, and was hanging out in his robe reading the paper.  He met a man who had been there for 6 hours!  He said it was the only place he could go where he could get away from his wife & kids.  I'm not going to lie...that made me sad :(  I told TEN not to get any ideas :-o

After the spa we ran into Barbie & Ken who were enjoying an "original" Mint Julep.  Did you know that the Mint Julep was developed at The Greenbrier?  I had no idea, and I'll tell you what...they were the BEST Mint Juleps I have EVER had.  Hands down.

We all decided to take our Mint Juleps and head to the bowling alley for a friendly game of couple vs. couple. 

TEN and I won.  Not that who wins is important.  But I'm just sayin... :)

After bowling we headed back to the room to get dressed for the evening.  We decided to have dinner at Infusion (in the casino) with Barbie and Ken.  I did a bit more "watching" in the casino before we had dinner. 

I will say, our dinner at Infusion was our least favorite meal of the weekend.  The four of us were in agreement on this.  There wasn't much flavor.  It was rather drab.  And disappointing.  Oh well!  The ambiance somewhat made up for it...

I still wasn't sure which game I was most comfortable with.  I tried craps. 

Every time I thought I had the hang of the game, I was told "no, no...that's not quite right".  I finally gave up.  I took my $200 (or slightly less than), and headed to the roulette wheel. 

I proceeded to loose my next three bets in a row, and called it a day with this game.  There were various other games in the casino, but I decided that I would try black jack.  If that didn't work, I was done...

I have found my game :)  I started out with $200, and I walked away with:

(it should actually be $265.  I think one of the $20's is behind another)

I kept calling this the lucky clam.  I think it's actually a scallop?

We decided we needed a group picture in front of it:

And then it was off to bed!

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Sunday we all met in the Main Dining Room to enjoy the Sunday Breakfast Buffet.  OMG...it was so much food!  And so good.  And I'm pretty sure I dreamed about the buffet Sunday night while I lay sleeping :)

(TEN and I after brunch, before we did one more bit of shopping and then head home)

Overall, an absolutely LOVELY weekend :)  We decided that the next time (yes..there will definitely be a next time) we go we will do a few things differently.  Not that this trip wasn't fantastic, but we picked up a few tips along the way...

T