Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Hope and Glory Inn: Our Garden Guest Cottage

In addition to guest rooms in the main house at Hope and Glory, there are also accommodations in the garden guest cottages and in the vineyard cottages.  We chose to stay in one of the six garden cottages located directly behind the inn. Ours was a two-story cottage with a king bedroom and a bathroom upstairs and a small sitting room downstairs.  We also had a tiny fenced patio and a small front porch that faced the gardens. The cottages have WiFi but no televisions or phones.  (These are available, however, in the common sitting area of the inn.) Our cottage was lovely, private, and very comfortable.

The brick path leading through the garden to our cottage. White
azaleas and purple iris were blooming around our front porch.

Loved this coat rack made of old wooden shoe lasts.

This was part of the wall decor in the downstairs sitting room. They must have known we
were dog lovers!

The terrier on the far right looks like the dog I had as a child.  Well, my dog would have
looked like that if he had let us trim and bathe him!

I enjoyed watching the birds that visited this tree beside our patio.

This is the bedroom ceiling.  Unique and pretty--kind of like a garden lattice.

This was such a comfortable bed!

Laying in bed, you look out these doors and feel as if you're in a treehouse.

The view of the gardens and other guest cottages from our bedroom.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

The Hope and Glory Inn: A First Look

In early April 2011, we traveled to the tiny town of Irvington in the Northern Neck of Virginia to do some genealogy research.  While we found some priceless nuggets of information to add to our family history, we also found an absolute gem of a place to stay.  The Hope and Glory Inn is the epitome of charm, comfort, and hospitality.  If you want to get away for a romantic weekend or a couple of days of peace and quiet, I highly recommend that you consider The Hope and Glory Inn.





The inn's main house is comprised of several quest rooms, a large common sitting room, a small bar, the kitchen, and the dining room.  Here's a look inside the main house.


This is what you see as you enter the front door.  Guest rooms are upstairs.

To your left is the front desk and beyond that is one of several cozy sitting areas.

Above the front desk is the event calendar for the week.

A birdhouse replica of the inn is part of the decor.

This entertainment cabinet, made by a local craftsman, also echoes the inn.

Beyond yet another sitting area are the bar, the dining room, and the kitchen.

Beautiful, thoughtful accents are everywhere.



This is just your first peek at The Hope and Glory.  In my upcoming posts, I'll take you inside our beautiful cottage, show you the gorgeous gardens, and offer a couple of suggestions of what to see and do in the area.  See you soon!

Monday, April 6, 2015

There's No Place Like Home


Home in time to celebrate my husband's birthday with our boys

Sadie loved her new collar and her blue crab from Annapolis!




Thursday, April 2, 2015

Snapshots from the Passenger Seat: I-70 & I-68, Maryland

On the way home from Annapolis, we bypassed Baltimore and headed west on I-70 and I-68.  Western Maryland is mountainous and beautiful, and we had great weather for our drive home.  Here's a bit of what we saw.

Keeping us company was this fuzzy blue crab we bought in Annapolis for our dog, Sadie.



Lots of steep hills along the way!







See the gorilla?



Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland, Maryland

We watched, but we didn't see any animals.







A lighthouse in the mountains.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Annapolis, Maryland: A Final Look

We spent a wonderful five days in Annapolis.  Would we like to return one day? Most definitely!  I want to see Annapolis in the Spring when the lovely gardens are in bloom and lots of boats and ships are in full sail in the bay.  I want to explore some of the smaller towns along the Chesapeake Bay and see more of the parks and nature preserves in the area.  My husband needs to try out some more running trails and play at least one round of golf.  We need to spend more time gazing at the water, and we need to watch the sunset on the bay.

Until then, here are a few parting shots of Annapolis.



















Sunday, March 29, 2015

Annapolis, Maryland: Spring Is In The Air

Spring To Do List in front of a store on Main Street

Flowers!

Shorts!

Flowers

Sailing Lessons in Annapolis Harbor

Flowers

Ready for a Ride

Flowers

The Easter Bunny and his Eggs, and. . .

Flowers!