A Great Birthday Long Weekend ...

Now everyone in my family may not agree with that opening title as I was sick with a stomach bug for 4 of the past 5 days BUT none the less I had a great birthday as I leap into my last year of the decade.

The week itself started out great with Kris getting her citizenship finalized .... FINALLY. But that also may have been the day when I contracted whatever it was I had. We had lunch at a sandwich shop that we have been to many times but by my birthday Wednesday I was not feeling great. I did wake up to some beautiful sunflowers and a gift of a great bottle of port. Not that I would have the port for breakfast but .... no I did not.

Since I was not feeling great the girls waited until Thursday to cook me a great meal. And they really did all the cooking. Grilled lamb chops, some with fresh rosemary and others jerked; fresh asparagus and; sweet potato fries. It was delicious. Laura topped it all off with a nice carrot cake - always my favourite. They also treated me to some new hot sauces, I am well stocked now, some of my favourite chocolates and Kris and Sam found me some plates that I just love. It was a great evening but not the end of my birthday celebrations .... according to my wife.

On Friday morning I was told to have an overnight bag packed. Laura came home early and we grabbed our bags and got in the car and she said we were heading to Paris! Ok, what she really said was head towards Upperville and we ended up in Paris, Va. In Paris there is a little inn called the Ashby Inn. It is somewhere Laura and I have been reading about for a couple of years and wanted to try so she booked us a night at the Schoolhouse there and reserved a table at their famous restaurant. It was good fortune to that she did it for this birthday as their chef, who has really revived the restaurant, is leaving shortly. We had a great meal, nice cocktails, good food and good wine, on the outdoor patio overlooking the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains.

The next morning, a nice sleep and a great breakfast at the restaurant. Everything was great.

A big thank you to my girls for cooking a great meal, and cleaning up after, and of course to my wonderful wife who helped them out with organizing things and with cleaning up and of course with
setting up another wonderful birthday trip to a fantastic local inn with great local chefs.