Ate our way through Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina

We just got back from vacation. We drove approximately 1100 miles. And you know what? We have a beautiful country. I am so glad that our GPS (named Stella) took us on back highways instead of the interstates. Our main surprise was on Highway 29. Going through New Jersey there were so many shops, taverns and businesses catering to cowboys. Rodeo signs were everywhere. You normally think of New Jersey as an industrial state with big cities. It seemed like we had been transported to Texas via New Jersey. It was fun and made the drive very entertaining.

I have put on a lot of weight this trip. We ate lunch with my son at the university cafeteria. They have really good food at UNCSA. The university has a chef on staff to feed the kids. My son told me that if you ask the chef for something special he will have it for you the next day. I have chef at home and ask for the same and all I get is funny looks ;-)

We had fried chicken in a little town in Virginia. It was awesome. I hadn't had fried chicken in a very long time. Maybe that is why it tasted so good. We spent the night somewhere in Lynchburg, VA at the Summerfield Suites by Marriott. The breakfast buffet had these wonderful sausage patties. Funny how you find delicious things where you least expect them. My husband ate 2 sausage and egg bagels. Breakfast was enough to tie us over until we arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Va. We were going to attend a wedding. Now the Ritz-Carlton is definitely not our normal stomping grounds. We were able to get the "wedding rate" for the night. I guess for once in my life I can say I stayed at the Ritz. Our rooms were very pretty. In the bathroom they have robes for you to put on after a shower. I had to take a picture of my hubby wearing the robe for posterity.

The wedding ceremony and reception were held at the Congressional Country Club in Washington, DC. I loved the simplicity yet elegance of the wedding. I think that when you put too much hoopla around, it distracts from the most important thing and that is the bride and groom. The setting itself was so beautiful, it did not need additional fluff. The couple looked like models out of a magazine. The groom is my husband's cousin.

The dinner was very elegant.

I took pictures of the table setting.

The molded butters. You can make these for a special dinner, especially with the holidays coming up. Get silicone ice trays that have special shapes. Coat the mold with cooking spray and fill with room temperature butter. Scrape them flat. Put in the refrigerator to harden. A few minutes before serving, un-mold them on to a plate or individual bread plates if you are only entertaining a few folks. These were shaped as the dome of the Congress Building.

And my very favorite thing, the candy bar. The couple put out these sweet bags that you could fill up with all sorts of candy. I wanted to dive in. I filled one up for my husband and one for myself and these were the snacks we ate during the rest of our drive.

I loved this idea. You can do it for any occasion. Just take any glass bowl or goblet and fill it with your favorite candy. There were gummy bears, M&M's, Starburst, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, etc. Get some clear plastic scoops and let your friends get high on sugar. What a sweet ending to a wonderful day. I wish the happy couple lots of love.