Dinner with Friends

This evening, I had the pleasure of cooking for my good friends from college; Chris, Jim, and John.  I prepared some excellent tenderloins and salmon on the grill for my guests.  Their taste buds were pleased and their bellies full after dinner.    I setup  my friend John (the mojito master) by buying some mint and limes.  I was hoping that he would show us his mojito skills and he sure did.  His mojito's were so delicious.  Thanks John and Dorota, Chris and Loretta, and Jim for the great evening!

Gateway Lodge - Heading home

It snowed overnight!  There was a fresh 4 inches of the white stuff on the ground and everything looked awesome outside.  We had breakfast before finally packing up and checking out to head home.   Casey and I ended up getting home around 1:30pm, the kids were so happy to see us.

Thanks Wendy and Dustin for making the long drive to join Casey and I for a nice get away.  It was so nice seeing you two again.

Thanks Gateway lodge for a great visit.

Gateway Lodge - Full Day

Today was a full day at Gateway Lodge.  We finally got out of bed at 9 am and had breakfast at 10am.  We heard about the Cook's Forest Snowman in the Forest Day so we headed down to check it out. They had a chili cookoff, reindeer rides, ice skating, sled riding, and hot drinks.  There was a pretty good turnout.

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We returned to the lodge to warm up and relax.  We ended up having lunch in the great room and enjoying some wine.

Later that after noon, Wendy and Casey both had massages at the on-site spa.  Dustin took a nap and I read up on various fly fishing casting techniques (like the double haul cast).

We had reservations for dinner that evening at 7pm. It was delicious!  Dustin, Wendy, and I had the 8oz Filet.   Casey had the Salmon.  Dustin ordered a wonderful wine (Earthquake Petite Sirah '05) to pair up with our steak dinners.  After dinner, we all retreated to the great room, where I served some Gluten-Free Peanut Butter pie I brought for the occasion.

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Gateway Lodge - First Night

Casey and I arrived at Gateway Lodge around 4pm.  Dustin and Wendy were already there and greeted us when we got to our room.

We enjoyed each-other's company that evening; sharing wine, food, and stories.  We also got a game or two of pool in.  Check out the photos below:

 

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Cooks Forest with friends

Tomorrow, Casey and I are treating ourselves to a weekend at the wonderful Gateway Lodge B & B in Cooksburg, PA.  The Gateway Lodge is a truly amazing jewel in the middle of the Cooks Forest State Forest.  They have everything you could want for a relaxing getaway from it all:  indoor pool, full day spa services, fine dining restaurant, full bar including a huge wine selection, luxurious rooms, and much more.  

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This will be our third year in a row visiting this special place.  We enjoyed it so much that we asked our good friends Wendy and Dustin to join us last year.  

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I don't need to say how they felt about the Gateway Lodge, they are also going to be joining us there tomorrow.  I will post some photos of the trip when we return Sunday.

P.S. - Thank you Bonnie and Don for watching the kids and letting Casey and I get away, we owe you!