Girls Trip 2013

Each morning you stay at the lodge the cookie lady comes to your room and leaves you homemade gingersnap cookies.  The lodge was very detail oriented and this was one example.

There was beauty around every corner- literally every corner- it was difficult to not stop and pose for a picture every 50 feet. I did exactly that, I took about a thousand pictures during our stay there.

We always try to pose for what we like to call "Senior Pictures" on our girls trip- because its funny and FUN. Here is one of Vicki's senior pics.

Mom took "senior" to mean something entirely different.  This is Mom's "Senior Citizen" picture. Oh Mom, you are a hoot.

We ate at this restaurant- Devil's Pool and had a blast people watching. We swore we saw characters from the movie The Wizard of Oz everywhere we looked. Long story-so I wont share but Vicki and Mom will know what I am talking about

This is the picture of one of the three churches the lodge has recently built-gorgeous right?

Another Senior Picture

All three of us.  Unfortunately, Lori wasn't able to come along with us this year. She had to stay back and be home with her little baby Elliott but she will be ready to roll with us come next year.

The lobby was filled with little places to play games- Vicki kicked my butt at checkers.  It was fun but I hate to lose and she loves to win -two competitive sisters battling it out at the checker board made for some entertainment for Mom.

Lincoln Log station- I couldn't help but think about how much Grant would have loved this place.

Mom wanted to go on a cowboy wagon ride so that's what we did. We got to roast marshmallows for smores over a campfire, listen to a cowboy play guitar and sing campfire songs to us, and have a marshmallow fight with the kids there.  All was fun-wet (because we got rained on) but FUN.

The next day we went to Dogwood Canyon about 15 miles from Cedar Creek Lodge. We decided to walk the trails (it was about a 6 mile walk both ways) and I am so glad we did. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! We had perfect weather too-and the leaves were falling from the trees which made for a beautiful atmosphere for a nature walk. Loved loved loved this part the most. 

This is Big Cedar Lodge!!!

They had complimentary mini golf

Mom was hilarious. She got a hole in one. So did Vicki, me.....not so much.

Complimentary sand volleyball

complimentary shuffleboard. This was awesome-I'd never played before and I really enjoyed it

complimentary bonfire- Blaine (the activity host) freaked me out though-as he was dumping lighter fluid directly on the fire-he was so close to the flames I was certain we were going to have to see him STOP-DROP-and ROLL.

They say it's haunted- and if you tell this chick that...it will get my mind going-I went on a little mini ghost hunt (alone-because I thought Vicki and Mom were following me but they weren't) only to see and find NOTHING but darkness. 

This was one of the two "cowboys" that hosted us on our wagon ride

This was at the Devil's Pool restaurant.

Mom-getting her shuffleboard on.

This is me..with some stranger- attempting to Karaoke. I believe the song was "These Boots Are Made for Walking"- oh my it was interesting. Fun-but interesting. I was the brave soul in our group of three that got up there and rocked it out. Later Vicki joined me in a tune called "Suds in the Bucket" it was a ton of fun. This was followed up by watching the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate the win that sent them to the World Series...on TV. 

The hot tub was amazing!