A sister vacation remembered

This weekend I will see my sisters. No, it’s not the yearly sister vacation, but we will be together at my niece’s wedding. I haven’t seen my sisters since last summer and I can’t wait to be with them, even though this trip is going to be a very short one for me.  I am hoping we can plan the next sister vacation while we are together, and I hope we can do one before this year is over!

I came across a few photos from our 2008  sister vacation in Colorado.

This is us, ready to begin our whitewater rafting adventure. From left to right, front row are Jason, me and Linda. On the back row are Gary, Bonnie and Pam. Our guide for this trip was Kemper. He is Pam and Gary's friend and always ready to go rafting!

Since it was nearing the end of the season, most of the rapids were considered Class 3s, somewhat tame compared to the wild waters in the spring!

That's me and Jason jumping in! The water temp was about 45 degrees!

Oh, yeah, I had fun!

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Sister Vacation, Part 2

I published a story last week about my visit to Phipp’s Conservatory In Pittsburgh, PA with my sister peeps.

Well, we did a lot more than just that on our yearly vacation together, but those sisters of mine wore me out and I’ve been just too pooped to write!

I tried to upload our Dance Heads DVD on You Tube, but it will not convert  to MPEG, so the world may not ever see our amazing performance!  But, embarrasing as many of them are, here are some of the pictures:

We rode the Rollo Coaster at least three times. I could scratch that off my bucket list, but have decided that I want to ride it again when I am 80!

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A visit to Phipps Conservatory

My sisters and I have lived far away from one another for a number of years. Now that our kids are grown up and on their own, we make a point of vacationing together at one of our houses every year.  This year, we met in western Pennsylvania for our yearly sister vacation.  Because this year’s vacation was at my sister Linda’s house, and because she lives not too awfully far away from the town we grew up in and where one sister still lives, we spent several days in the old hometown, too.

I  enjoyed seeing Linda’s new house. (Well, it’s not new to her, but it was the first time I had ever been there.) She sent her hubby away or maybe he volunteered to vacate the house for our visit! (Our husbands don’t care to hang around for the four sister act, although I can’t imagine why.) It’s a nice house and now I can visualize Linda in her kitchen or at her computer. She made a Pepper Steak dinner our first night there and she has promised to send it to me so I can post it on this website. (Super easy and super good.)

We spent one afternoon at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. This is a beautiful steel and glass Victorian-style greenhouse located in Pittsburgh (at Schenley Park in the Oakland section of town).

What a wonderful place! It was built in 1893 by Henry Phipps as a gift to the city of Pittsburgh.

From the front. A sustainable perennial garden, requiring minimal water and fertilizers surrounds the front entryway.

A sustainable perennial garden, requiring minimal water and fertilizers surrounds the front entryway.

Once inside, the structure is divided up into different botanically themed “rooms.” The best way to tour it, according to our docent, is to start at the Palm Court and only make right turns. So, that is what we did. And, it was a rather smart idea, since we would have surely gotten lost a number of times had we strolled through it willy nilly.

There are something like 17 rooms and additional outdoor garden areas – Palm Court, Serpentine Room, Fern Room, Orchid Room, Outdoor Garden, Stove Room, South Conservatory, Tropical Fruit and Spice Room, Discovery Garden, Tropical Forest Conservatory, Sunken Garden, Desert Room, Japanese Courtyard, Victoria Room, Broderie Room, East Room, Aquatic Garden, Botany Hall…

An exhibition of  artwork by Hans Godo Frabel is currently on display throughout the conservatory. His glasswork is extraordinary and is so artfully interwoven into the gardens.

I believe this photo was taken in Palm Court. You can see several beautiful glass masks near the base of the palm.

I believe this photo was taken in Palm Court. You can see several beautiful glass masks near the base of the palm.

We ended our tour with a trip into the gift shop where Pam, bought each of us a glass teardrop shaped necklace followed by a visit to the cafe for a late lunch.

Of course, there is so much more to write about the sister vacation. Those stories are coming! But please view these remarkable pics of Phipps Conservatory and please visit there if you are ever near Pittsburgh, PA.

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