Wow...what a trip we had to our new retreat in North Carolina on the outer banks... right on the ocean. Lisa Bongean was as dynamic as ever and we all had a blast. 50 of us gals, stitching, sewing, shopping, relaxing, site-seeing... it was simply a trip I will ALWAYS remember.
We arrived on Sunday and played around the area for awhile until we could check in at the retreat house. It was so cold!!!!! SNOWING! When I left our hotel to bring the car and trailer to the front of the hotel to pick up the other gals.... I thought it was raining. Once I walked outside - giant snowflakes were falling. Needless to say... I was quite shocked and my sweatshirt was NOT warm enough...brrrr was it cold! The whipping wind did not help. We were all glad to hop in the car with the HEAT on. So... off we went... for our final hour of driving .... then we stopped for lunch after hooking up with Amy and Lisa and went to this really good restaurant they said was great. YUM... I had catfish! ssssssssssssssoooooooooooooo good.
We finally made it to the retreat house and unloaded box after box after box after box after sewing machine, sewing machine, sewing machine, sewing machine...ha...do you get the message???? Needless to say... we were pooped. It was still freezin' cold outside and the wind was brutal...however, we all seemed to still be sweating!
Then...there were the BIG, 8' LONG TABLES that we had to take to the 3rd floor. I swear they weighed 100 lbs. each and would NOT fit in the elevators. After bringing 2 or 3 of them up 6 flights of stairs... I said..."that's it... I'm calling the rental agency and seeing if they can help us". They hopped on it like a bunny...soon two strong fellows showed up and helped us. Table after table...and let me tell you...they were big and strong and they were so winded when finished. I gave them a great, big tip and told them they deserved every penny of it. Such nice guys!!! They were our HEROS.
So... we got busy setting up the classroom, vendor stores, snack bar, kitchen..... I think I finally fell into my bed and fell asleep around 1:30 am. OMG... such hard work.
After about 4-5 hours of sleep...back up again and finished up .. we had gals that we knew would show up early...they were so excited... and they did and it was wonderful to meet everyone.
Monday was a meet-n-greet.... we didn't have class...we knew everyone would be tired from flying and driving so we just had a fun afternoon and evening... then Tuesday the classes began with Lisa.
Take a peek at some of the photos Lisa took...
Lisa's Blog
Also Visit on Facebook with - Heather Parsons-Lynn - and scroll down the many posts she has about the retreat along with eeeewww and ahhhhhing over the pictures.
So.... we had to end the wonderful week and say our goodbyes. Gosh...that was so hard... tears all morning... such a super, wonderful, fun, silly, group of new friends we have all made. They came from as far as California, Oregon, Washington and way up in the New England states. It's just so wonderfully fun to meet women from all over the country and to visit with them, hear their stories, laugh with them, cry with them.... you just can't imagine how good my heart feels right now.
As we were cleaning up, packing the car... it was hard work but I just kept remembering the wonderful gals and the fun we had and it made each heavy box and every step I had to take feel like a feather. I was on Cloud 9 (as Amy put it so sweetly) and I still am.
If you have never participated in a group retreat for an extended period of time, you MUST put that on your bucket list. It's simply one thing you must do.... there is nothing like a group of gals that love the "needle and stitching" - such oneness together!
To those of you that attended, Heather, Vicky, Wynette, Amy, Lisa and I thank you very much for making our week... "THE BEST WEEK EVER!" We hope your memories will last as long as ours and that we see you again VERY soon!
Hugs to all... and "keep stitchin'!"
Gloria, Vicky, Heather, Wynette, Amy, Lisa
