Quiet Morning

In the stillness of the night, snow quietly entered to cradle a sleepy neighborhood in a blanket of warmth. Not until early morning did I realize the gift of late autumn snow nature presented. My leaf-strewn neighborhood was transformed into a wonder-filled, peaceful scene. I captured that tranquil image, digitized it with the app, MobileMonet, and created a #haikuforhealing/#haikuforhope.

From this image poem, I designed a music collage with the app, PicPlayPost. The music complemented the scene and let the day start with a sense of contentment to embrace the day giving a nod to my one little word for 2019. You can see the music collage on YouTube or below.

Switching my thoughts back to an amazing Thanksgiving/birthday holiday at Hotel Hershey, I started the holiday season with autumn's glow and good cheer. The experience brought out the child in all of us as we celebrated the beginning of the holiday season with my granddaughter.

May the spirit of the holidays bring hope to all!

Now, I am traveling over to Elizabeth Steinglass' site, the host of Poetry Friday, to enjoy some poetry magic. Liz has an original poem about a short word that is so important. 

Autumn's Glow

The countryside was awake with the glow of late autumn. Stillness surrounded except for the intermittent chatter of children playing in the gardens. The landscape was regal in its color of golden-brownish hues and fresh air was plentiful. Inhaling the scent of autumn mixed with the hint of chocolate from Hotel Hershey provided a euphoric sense of contentment. 

With autumn in the air, my 2-year-old granddaughter and the family made memories at the sweetest place on the East Coast. Wide-eyed and energized with excitement for each new experience she saw, Sierra strolled Hershey Gardens overlooking the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. There she found a hall of trees exquisitely decorated for the holidays, a tropical butterfly room filled with brilliantly-colored butterflies and exotic moths, a children's garden, winding paths, and huge trees, one named Sierra Redwoods which delighted her.

Sierra Kathryn standing next to Sierra Redwood

All of this countryside beauty, the warmth of family, and so much more provided the perfect setting for my birthday and Thanksgiving celebration of life. What more could I ask for? Plenty of chocolate surrounded me, a massage therapist at the spa awaited my arrival, and interesting delicacies were plenty. It was a picture-postcard holiday with family. 

Sierra, summed up her feeling with a hilarious statement, "I'm going to party all night!" (...and that she did until the adults were more tired than she.)

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While we visited Hershey when my adult children were young, we never experienced the full Hotel Hershey experience. During this trip, I found Hotel Hershey to be a true historic treasure, rightfully named 2018 "Best Historic Resort" by Historic Hotel of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. Lovely accommodations, beautiful views, gourmet food, an amazing museum of historic facts, memorabilia, and story, and plentiful activities allowed me to make delightful memories that I will cherish for years to come. Will my granddaughter remember this holiday? Perhaps, not every part but her digital photo album will provide a look back at a wonderful family memory. 

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#TravelTuesday is approaching so I am moving over to Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life Tuesday. Join me in celebrating a slice of my life. Then, look for my Abundant Autumn Gallery of Artistic Expressions to arrive on social media.