With my last birthday being horrific with the sudden death of my brother, I decided I didn’t want to celebrate this birthday at home. I knew if we stayed home and ate out locally, we’d still dwell on brother’s death and I didn’t want my mom to relive that night.
So we chose to rent a 4 bedroom cabin at the Olgebay Resort in West Virginia, invite my mom, sister and my daughter and her family to join us for a 4-night getaway of food and fun. My mom and I would arrive Thursday, February 3rd and everyone else would come on Friday after work. I pack food and games for all of us to play; and we would celebrate baby Bella’s 1st birthday instead of mine t. hat weekend.
Nice plan. Great idea. Cabins were 1/2 off in winter – so Yipee!
Then Winter Storm Landon approached. It would bring ice and snow on Thursday. Driving that evening would be bad. Hazardous for family arriving Friday.
So we adjusted our plans. Mom and I chose to arrive Wednesday a head of the storm. Everyone else would wait and see what the road conditions would be by late Friday.
The cabin was wonderful! Huge with lots of open space for a 9 year old and a toddler to explore. Plenty of bedroom, sofa, game playing space. It even had a gas fireplace. No steps or stairs!
Mom and I had an awesome 1st night. We waited our Landon, reading, munching, and watching TV. As evening approached, when Landon was in full force, our lights flickered. The TV reception was intermittent, but we had novels to read. Plenty of blankets.
Then, sometime Thursday night, the power went out.
No heat. No lights. No morning coffee!
There was 3/4 ” ice on everything outside. Plus 2 inches of snow.
We called Olgebay’s main lodge via the cabin’s landline phone. The lodge had electricity and heat. They offered us a 1 bedroom suite and regular room with Lakeside views at the Lodge. We just had to get there.
The cabin was about 2 miles from the lodge. We had no idea what the road conditions would be, but moving to the Lodge was our only option.
Mom helped me pack up all our stuff while I de-iced my Subaru.
A snowplow passed out cabin twice – a good sign. The roads were passable. Outside the cabin the road was still icy, but not as bad as it seems when we headed out.
The main road to the Lodge was clear. The Lodge coffee shop gave us free coffee and a Danish each – which made our morning!
The suite we were given was Wonderful! Mom loved the king-sized bed and the views of the snowy hills and ice-covered trees. The deer were EVERYWHERE!
The suite was at least $400-$500 per night and the regular queen room I was given ran about $250 per night. So we certainly got an upgrade from the price we paid for the cabin, even though the spacing and bedrooms were smaller. We didn’t have stove, but we had a microwave and a fireplace. Plus a huge, 10-seat table for game playing IF the rest of our family could make the trip.
Friday, February 4th, proved too treacherous for my sister, husband, and daughter’s family to make it to the resort that day. My daughter and her family ended up catching a 48-hour stomach virus that gave them diarrhea and had everyone vomiting. My husband gallantly decided to stay home so he could care for our dogs and run food and Pedialyte over to our daughter.
And my sister said she could certainly make the trip Saturday if we can add an extra night to our stay to make it worth her while driving 4 hours. No problem there. Stay an extra night – YES!
Mom and I ate dinner at the Lodge Grille restaurant. My sister surprised me by phoning in a Spa session for me for Saturday, as a birthday gift.
I chose a massage.
My mom bought me a pedicure; and bought my sister a pedicure Saturday afternoon once she arrived.
We had my birthday dinner at the Lodge’s fancy restaurant. And we played car and board games Saturday night! Our favorites were: Cadoo, Qiddler, Snap, Apples to Apples dice game, Up Words, and 500 Rummy card game. We each had our wins and losses. But we had fun.
It was a wonderful birthday.
And Oh the Deer were out! We saw at least a dozen or more along the small outside our window – figured Olgebay staff fed them. We also took turns switching on the fireplace, which only ran for an hour at a time lol.
It was a great trip. The beds were comfy. Only oddity we suffered were the key cards which failed constantly. When they didn’t work we had to trek through the lodge and downstairs to the front desk to have them rekeyed. A bit aggravating when you’re tired or when I went from my room to the suite each morning.
Then again, we got our exercise!
So that’s my 2022 birthday adventure. Didn’t get any writing done. But I did get to spend quality time with my 86 year old mom and my sister.
And even though we were away from my home town, where my brother died, we thought of him. We missed him. And we know he’s in a better place.
Rest in Peace Mike – You’ll share my birthday from now on.
