Check out www.haddonfieldinn.com for the sweetest little girlfriend getaway B&B in New Jersey! The Haddonfield Inn is nestled along a quiet tree-lined street of Victorian houses, yet is just a hop and a skip from Philadelphia.
Hip Grandmas are loving Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre’s performance of “9 to 5,” a musical chock-full of bubbly Dolly Parton songs and a stellar cast. The plot is fast-moving, the costuming and actors fantastic, and the orchestra is spot-on. The 1979 setting will take you back to the days of telephones with cords, typewriters, White-Out, and bad boss men with moustaches. The design and sets are incredible, and you will walk out of the theatre with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Get your tickets at www.dutchapple.com, and make a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania!
Disney delivers and delights every time, so check out Disney on Ice for tour schedules of upcoming shows. (http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/) Make magical memories that the Grand Gang will always remember and treasure, just as we all recall those Sunday night Wide World of Disney TV movies. Ahhhh.
Take the Grand Gang on a getaway to historical Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where a stay at the Great Valley House will transport you back to the 1700s. One of the state’s oldest homes, Great Valley House (www.greatvalleyhouse.com) was part of the Underground Railroad, and it’s located just minutes from Valley Forge National Historic Park. Great Valley’s innkeeper Pattye Benson serves up a hearty breakfast in a charming room with an original walk-in fireplace. There’s an outdoor swimming pool for warm weather, and three bedrooms with private baths. Be sure to take a 20-minute drive to the beautiful college town of Bryn Mawr, where dinner at the Verdad Restaurant, with its Latin-influenced Tapas menu, is sure to satisfy all tastes. (www.verdadrestaurant.com)
Continue the historical tour with a side jaunt to Philadelphia, where City Tavern (www.citytavern.com) dishes up delicious and filling entrees straight from the pages of history. Established in 1773, City Tavern is a triumph of tradition that lives on. Eat and drink from pewter, enjoy the authentic costumes of the waiters, and relax with those wonderful grandkids.
Baltimore is a perfect getaway destination for you and the Grand Gang . . . or the Hip Grandma Girlfriends Group. Escape to luxury with a super-splurge stay at the new and fabulous Four Seasons. (www.fourseasons.com/baltimore/) A soaring glass tower on the edge of Baltimore Harbor’s East waterfront, the Four Seasons is an oasis of elegance sure to relax and rejuvenate. Be sure to visit the hotel Spa, where a hot rock massage or a facial is sure to melt away any stress.
Another wonderful Baltimore option is the Hyatt Regency Waterfront hotel. (http://baltimore.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null) A hip and ultra-cool hotel on the Inner Harbor, the Hyatt is within walking distance to the Convention Center, the Aquarium, and other great attractions. The spacious suites are great for Grand Gangs, and the rooms with waterfront views are incredible. The Hyatt’s trademark Plush Grand Beds make sleeping a sweet experience, and you’ll awaken ready to take on Charm City. This contemporary and luxurious property is an AAA Four Diamond hotel, and it’s easy to see why. From the moment you step through the doors, you are enveloped with an easy elegance that’s hard to beat.
Check out www.raintribute.com for tour dates of the Broadway show RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles. RAIN rocks, and it’s a great show for you and the Grand Ones. Replicating the Fab Four down to every minute detail, RAIN astonishes with Beatles songs from all eras. All you need is love . . . and a couple of tickets to RAIN!!
Check out www.hankplayer.com for the coolest stuff for your Grand Boys, Hip Grandmas! With awesome graphics and vintage-inspired colors, Hank Player’s T-Shirts are the hottest thing this side of Hollywood. Soft and comfy (they’re pre-washed to give them a super-soft favorite-shirt feel), these are shirts that your grandsons will choose again and again. Now offering awesome novelty hats as well, Hank Player is the place for grandmothers to shop for their stylin’ boys. And now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Hank Player is giving away two T-shirts to one lucky winner! (Winner will choose sizes, and Hank Player will choose graphics upon availability). Entering the contest is easy: Just sign up for the Hank Player newsletter (on the bottom of their website)! For extra entries, like Hank Player on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/hankplayer) or follow them on twitter
(www.twitter.com/hankplayer)
Good luck!!
Take a Winter Getaway to New York City, Hip Grandmas, and enjoy all that the Big Apple has to offer! The best lodging in mid-town Manhattan is to be found at the renowned Omni Berkshire Place. (http://www.omnihotels.com/findahotel/newyorkomniberkshire.aspx)
Conveniently located on Madison Avenue, just steps from Broadway, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and more, the Omni Berkshire is the perfect landing place for you and the Grand Gang. Spacious rooms and suites are clean and comfortable, and the Grand Ones will be ever-so-happy in this kid-friendly luxury hotel. Newly renovated, the quietly-elegant Omni offers various packages for family fun. (And it makes for a grand girlfriend getaway, as well!) There’s a peaceful and relaxed ambiance within the walls of the Omni, despite the hustle and bustle of the city outside.
Be sure to enjoy dinner on-property at The Fireside Restaurant, where creative cuisine, classic comfort, and cocktails await. The surf tacos are the best appetizer this side of the ocean, and the Fireside’s trademark dessert will send you over the moon. Remember Yodel’s, those chocolate cake rolls from your childhood? Well, the Fireside’s chef whips up his own gourmet version of Yodel’s, coated with sumptious dark chocolate and rolled with cherry cordial. Sweeeet.
So bring your Grand Ones to Omni Berkshire Place, and enjoy all the glitter that the city has to offer. It’ll be a getaway that the kiddos will never forget. Some of the cool family-friendly packages now available include:
Remember Shrinky Dinks, Hip Grandmas? Well, check out www.creativityforkids.com for the coolest Shrinky Dink kits, including the new Princess Castle that will be sure to tickle pink your Grand Girls. Another new product from the award-winning Creativity for Kids is the PaperMaking Kit, with which the kiddos can learn the art of papermaking
A great destination for Hip Grandmas and their Grand Gangs is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a city that’s chock-full of history and great attractions. Not far from Hershey (home of the sweetest amusement park on Earth), Harrisburg will easily keep your families entertained for a week, if you have the time. And if you have the time, the place to stay is Staybridge Suites (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/staybridge/hotels/us/en/harrisburg/mdtcs/hoteldetail), located next to the Pa. State Farm Show Complex.
Clean, comfortable, cozy, and uber-cool, Staybridge Suites is the perfect place in which to stay while visiting Pennsylvania’s capital city. Pets under 50 pounds are welcome, as are kiddos of any size, and the amenities are awesome. 24/7 Fitness and Laundry Room, a yummy complimentary Breakfast Buffet to start the day off right, The Pantry convenience store that’s open 24 hours for your cooking and snacking needs. Each suite has a fully-equipped kitchen all ready with pots, pans, dishes . . . every necessity in order for you to whip up meals for the Gang. Triple-sheeted beds, flat-screen TVs, available cribs, board games upon request at the front desk, a heated indoor pool, outdoor BBQ grills, windows that you can open for fresh air in your suite, free morning newspaper, free Wi-Fi, a business center, a well-lit work desk . . . Staybridge Suites in Harrisburg has it all!
Bring the family in for the Pennsylvania Farm Show, taking place next to Staybridge Suites during the week of January 7th-14th (http://www.farmshow.state.pa.us/) This is the state’s 96th Farm Show, and it brings 400,000 visitors each year to view the exhibits and bridge the gap from farm gate to dinner plate. With 6000 animals and thousands of exhibits, the kids are sure to be well-educated and happy. Admission is free; parking is $10.00. But hey! You can save that $10.00 bill, Hip Grandmas, because Staybridge Suites offers a free shuttle.
From Previous Pa. Farm Shows:
