On Our Way To Seaford

      On December 17 our daughter flew in from Los Angeles to spend a few days in Columbus before she, our son, Tom and I drove 505 miles from Columbus to Seaford, Delaware,

…to spend Christmas with my 98-year-old mother. 

    The plan was that we’d drive in from Columbus on Friday, December 21 and meet up at my mom’s house with  my daughter’s husband and children, who flew in to Baltimore from Los Angeles on the same day that we drove  and would arrive in Seaford later that evening.
     Another of my daughters and her husband would fly in to Washington D.C. on Sunday, December 23.  They had planned to spend the day visiting the national monuments and driving to Seaford that evening.

     Unfortunately, their plans were thwarted.

…and so they arrived in Seaford earlier than expected, which wasn’t a bad thing for the rest of us.
       Anyway, those of us in the Columbus group set out on Friday morning in in a cold, windy rain.   

       As we’d have to drive  through the same part of West Virginia as Tom and I and some friends had passed through a couple of weeks previously on our way to Pittsburgh (see post from 12/19/2018, "Going To Pittsburgh), 

...I suggested that we stop for lunch at the same West Virginia restaurant as we’d stopped at on our way to Pittsburgh, the Glassworks Grill in the  Oglebay Park Lodge.  And so we did.

      Oglebay Park Lodge 
   

    The Glassworks Grill

     We found a nice table by the window,

…with a lovely view of Oglebay Park .

     The food was as good as we’d found it to be last time.

     Tom had the Grilled Chicken Salad,

…while the rest of us had the vegan Impossible Burger,

…served with different sides and toppings. 

      I had mine with a side of home-made kettle chips, which were really good.

     In the lobby of the Oglebay Lodge there’s an awesome bakery,

…whose wares we found irresistible,

…so we each procured one of the sprinkle-topped cream doughnuts, which were divine.

     About five hours later we reached Baltimore,  at which time we stopped at our usual dinner spot along the way,

…a Greek restaurant called Hellas,

…known for their yummy crab cakes,

…though the Chicken  Marsala was also very good,

…as were the Chicken Kabobs with tzatziki  and pita.

     It had been a year since I’d seen my mother and, as has been the case every time I’ve seen my mother again after a long separation,  I was amazed at how good she still looked and how strong she was,

…how much she was still enjoying life,

…how nice her house still looked,

…and how her cat family continues to grow.  My mom  now has five cats, only two of which would hold still long enough for me to snap them.

       As soon as we arrived my mother entreated  us to  have a snack, a drink, or to dig into the stock pile of cookies, cakes, candies, and Christmas goodies delivered by friends, neighbors, or members of her church, where she still goes to Mass every morning.
       We partook  of some of the goodies,

..then relaxed for a while,

...until a little later in the evening when the children arrived,

...and the fun began.

     To be continued...