Ithacating

This weekend was truly fabulous. My darling dear received an award from his alma mater, Ithaca College (Outstanding Young Alumni Award). Friday afternoon, we gassed up the car and headed northwest for the weekend. Two and a half hours later, we finally made it out of New York City, and began the bulk of the long trip up to Ithaca. We really got going in the dark, so I didn't see much of the scenery, but we happily arrived in Ithaca at our hotel that they put us up in around midnight.

This. Hotel. Was. Gorgeous.

We stayed at the luxurious La Tourelle Inn and August Moon Spa. They do treatments there I have never even heard of. We arrived late, and the innkeeper had already gone to bed, so there were just keys on the table. We got to our room (The Montpelier), and were surprised to open the doors to hardwood floors, a working gas fireplace, a king size bed with a feather pillow-top mattress, and a jacuzzi in the bathroom.

I thought, colleges being what they are, that they would have us stay in a Holiday Inn Express or some such thing. Dear God this room was beautiful.

And, in the closet, they had bathrobes. I have only stayed at a handful of hotels that have those, but nothing makes me feel more pampered than kicking it robe style.

Anyway, we slept like rocks on the gorgeous bed, and woke up refreshed and ready for the day's events. We had the option of a bunch of free stuff to do on campus, but Russ had signed us up for an alumni wine tour.

We arrived after having breakfast at a nearby cafe that served all-organic items, and boarded the bus for the countryside. All of the alums on board were super nice, and many of them recognized my husband, which was cool.

All three vineyards were awesome, and the taster-folk were very accomodating. I had never done wine tasting before, but it was really fun. It was the perfect activity for someone like me, who is highly indecisive when it comes to wines and flavors. This way, I could decide what I liked before I shelled out the cash. Many of the wines we tasted at the various locations were on the sweet side, which was interesting. I am pretty sure I have been buying vinegar this whole time.

We got back to the campus late, which gave us only a few minutes to get back to the hotel and get dolled up for the dinner and awards ceremony. One minute into the drive back to campus, Russ realized he left his wedding band in the bathroom when he took it off to shave. Both of us being a little superstitious, we of course whipped the car around to head back and grab the thing. This was fortuitous, because Russ realized he had left his fly down on the way into the room.

We only missed cocktail hour, which was no big deal since it was a cash bar anyway. Russ was the first award recipient, but the evening's focus was on the up and coming projects for the campus. They are building several new facilities that take into account greenhouse gases and the environment. The business school that they are building will likely receive a platinum environmental rating, making it one of only 17 buildings like it.

Russ graciously received his award, and looked fantastic. He really wears a suit well. His speech was charming, effusive, and appropriately grateful. I was so proud of him.

We headed back to the hotel almost immediately after, but not before stopping at Wegman's for crackers and cheese to pair with our wine. We got back to the hotel and borrowed "Happy Feet" from the front desk for the evening's entertainment. A bit into the movie, I got a call from my mom who is currently transporting my youngest brother to Marshall for his freshman year. She brought Russ a Wii. That's right. The holy grail of video game systems.

Could this weekend be awesomer????