Christmas at the Homestead

Old Fashion Christmas
without the bickering :)

We all showed up at The Homestead just in time for high tea. Getting rooms together was a rather crazy experience. My brother-in-law had to return to the front desk three times before finding two room close together so the parents could be close to the boys. Seems room numbers like 1553 and 1551 can be in completely separate wings, only close if you could fly out the window.

Dinner in the Main Dining Hall was formal attire so everyone took this as a chance to dress up. Three course meals were often inconsistent at best. Dad's tomato salad would be perfectly ripe and flavorful while mine was mealy, too chilled, and watery cellulose. The next night, my asparagus in the salad was overcooked, wrinkly, and limp while my sister's was grilled goodness. The red meat dishes all came out overcooked. My nephew seemed to pick some good things with the grits and BBQ entrée. I did think the shrimp cocktail appetizer was perfect but all the dessert, particularly the weird yule log, were lack-luster.

Breakfast was salvation! This has to be the best spread I've ever seen anywhere. Yards and yards of every type of fresh fruit, croissants, biscuits, fish, waffles, bacons, sausage, ham, grits, oatmeal, cold cereal, on and on and on. There were pancakes made to order with all sorts of additions - bananas, strawberries, chocolate chips, topped with whipped cream. Eggs and omelettes made to order. I've never seen such selection with such good quality and flavors. I loved the biscuits and gravy, mango, and raspberries - not all mushed together, of course! Country ham was great one morning but dry the next day. Given such a large spread and sooooo many serving trays to keep filled, I can forgive the smaller inconsistencies of breakfast. I did tended to eat too much.

We had some leisurely days. One stroll up to the rather snow barren ski slope did turn into a quest for my younger nephew to bring back the largest snowball he could find. My sister and I went to the Spa for some relaxation. My massage turned into a Zen practice of zoning out surroundings. Some moron designed the Spa right below the gym and weight room so loud thump, thump, thumps can be heard and felt from above with the occasional THUD! Slight giggle thinking of a guy falling off the treadmill or some waif girl dropping a heavy weight. The indoor pool was steamy-warm and amazingly beautiful. Lots of nice moments - playing with puzzles, grandpa buying a round at the soda shop counter and everyone picking out a treat at the golf pro shop, dinner dancing, walks around the grounds and nearby areas, and ices skating struggles. The ride home was funny with my folks fighting over the CD music, humming out of tune, and drifting off to napville as needed. All in all, a good way to spend the holidays with minimal stress.