Where did the last 10 days go? It seems like we just got back from the trip we took to Lewisburg, but it’s been a while now! So, it turns out, the Greenbrier resort is in White Sulphur Springs, WV, a few miles from Lewisburg. The Greenbrier is one of those pretty high-end resorts that reminds me of where Daddy tried to put Baby in the Corner. It’s not a place I really understand, but they have really pretty grass, so why not?
Front of the GreenbrierThe Springhouse at the Greenbrier
Emily and I decided to go and walk around the place and enjoy the beautiful views and take a tour of the declassified bunker that was built into the mountain during the Cold War. The bunker was called Project Greek Island and was built to allow government to continue to exist in the event of nuclear war.
The ugly wall paper false wall hiding the blast door of the Greenbrier bunker
The bunker itself is not all that notable, but the tour given by staff is well worth the cost of the tickets. There was so much secrecy and Cold War intrigue in its construction that simply seeing the structure without the story would be to miss the real gem.
Greenbrier Clubhouse
We had a lot of fun walking around the grounds as the staff prepared for the Greenbrier Classic. We spend a few moments indulging our fantasies of wealth and importance and the state of the world during the Cold War. I think the Greenbrier is exactly built for that…a place to get away from reality and ponder things. The cool part for us, at least, is that we didn’t have to pay to stay in the hotel or eat at the restaurants. We were able to escape for a few bucks for the cost of the bunker tour. And even better was leaving with my savings in my pocket, my wife at my side and a reservation back in Lewisburg!
I get picked on from time to time and usually by my wife. Oh I know, some of you who know her well would never believe it, but it’s true…she picks on me!
Ahhh…Jergens lotion!
So the other day, were were both complaining about “winter hands” so I went to the store and started sniffing for the right lotion. I don’t like hand lotion much but bleeding knuckles suck so I suspend my dislike for the winter months. Still, I don’t want to smell like a girl. So I popped the lids on some and did the sniff test. The scents were all over the place…some were stinky or girly or reminiscent of the southbound end of a northbound moose.
Finally, I happened upon a bottle of Jergens – original scent. I knew I had my lotion! I love this stuff! It instantly transported me to my childhood where one of my relatives had Jergens in her house. As a child, that smell was one of luxury. I have no idea why but that’s how I viewed it. I look back on it now and it’s silly, but my child-brain kicked in and it didn’t matter…I wanted to enjoy that luxurious feel in my home. And sure enough, Jergens lotion is great! It doesn’t stay oily and it works well on winter hands! So I told Emily my story using those words and she has been picking on me ever since! I don’t even care though…I am living a luxurious life!
There is a second part of the life of luxury I live…
The other night I was preparing to jump in the shower around 11pm. It was a “work night” and pretty typical of my usual routine. I cranked the water on, waited for it to heat up and jumped in. I had my washcloth all lathered up when all of a sudden, water shot everywhere except out of the shower head. I looked and the flexible pipe broke where it attaches to the wall. We have long had a cheap low-flow shower head on a junky flexible hose that had a mind of its own. It finally broke which didn’t make me sad. Breaking at 11pm made me sad as neither Emily nor I had gotten a shower and we didn’t want to be unshowered for work the next day.
Well that sucks
I decided I would just go to Walmart for a replacement. It’s the only place open at 11pm. They had a wide assortment of junk but I spied one shower head that had a metalish hose rather than an all plastic hose…sold! They didn’t sell any hoses without the head but I never liked the hose or the head we had anyhow. Surely, the metal hose has to be better than the plastic one that broke.
Ahhh, the life of luxury!
So here is the luxury part. I didn’t realize it until I got home but this was not a low-flow shower head. It was an “EcoSpa” and had green ink on its packaging. It wasn’t until I got home that what made it “eco” was the “water-saving pause switch”. Talk about worthless. I saw “USA” on the package when I grabbed it too…I was feeling pretty good …until I got home. It was packaged in the US of A. Talk about a whole bunch of marketing crap! Anyhow, I feel bad having a water-wasting shower head, but I have to tell you, the regular flow shower head is super nice. I didn’t realize how pitiful the other was until I installed this new head (at, oh, about 12:15am) and grabbed a shower. Talk about luxurious!
Please don’t judge me for using all these highfalutin things. I promise to ask Emily to use the pause switch when she shaves her legs…
