“Virginia is for Bowlers” and other lessons learned on our Eastcoast roadtrip

11 days, 900 miles, and too many guest beds/couches/air mattresses to count.

To celebrate the start of summer and a few family milestones, Scott and I packed up the car last week and began the Great DiGiandomenico-Hicken Roadtrip of 2013.

As much as I love the home we’ve built in Cleveland, it had been a while since we reconnected with family, friends, and the places we came from.

With Scott’s parents celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and my sister celebrating her birthday last week, we figured the timing was perfect for this kind of trip.

So off we went to our first stop – Culpeper, Virginia, where my sister lives.

Cedar Fair’s Kings Dominion, one of our stops while in Virginia

This historic town is a fun place to getaway. I love downtown Culpeper, where you can find a tea room, many antique, wine and olive oil shops, and a new performing arts space. Civil War buffs will also love the area’s driving and walking tours.

Cafes, a local farmers market, and laidback BBQ restaurants make for good eating.  Plus, Culpeper is home to Virginia’s only legal moonshine distillery – Stillhouse Distillery at Belmont Farms.

However, I think one of the nicest things about Culpeper is its proximity to a lot of other great attractions in the region. And for this year’s visit, we decided to take advantage of that with a daytrip to Kings Dominion.

The Eiffel Tower – a classic Kings Dominion attraction and Intimidator 305 – their newest coaster

Before my love affair with Cedar Point began, there was Kings Dominion. This was back when I was a kid and it was owned by Paramount featuring plenty of Hanna-Barbera goodness like Smurf Mountain and Yogi Bear’s Cave.

Now its owned by Cedar Fair so those Platinum Passes we have to Cedar Point come in very handy when we visit Virginia.

Although the park has changed a lot, it was great getting some ridetime on the very first rollercoasters I ever rode, as well as a new-to-me coaster – Intimidator 305.  This coaster-ode to Dale Earnhardt gave Millennium Force a definite run for its money. And it’s soft over-the-shoulder restraints could be put to good use on other rollicking rides like Maverick.

Nothing calms me as much as this view from my parents’ porch

After a busy day at the park, Scott and I were off to the Northern Neck to unwind with my parents for a few days.

There is nothing as calming as sitting on my parents’ porch and taking in their view of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. I love being able to just disconnect and recharge.

My parents know me well, though, and we weren’t sitting around for too long.

Glassblowing demonstration at the Jamestown Glasshouse in Virginia

Knowing my love of the Glass Bubble Project in Ohio City, they took me to the historic Jamestown Glasshouse. In addition to preserving the remains of the original glasshouse, the National Park Service has created a replica and produce unique glass products there every day.

We watched them blow beautiful cobalt vases and bought a handblown double cruet for our dining room.

Celebrating Gabbie’s birthday with Iron Man 3 and bowling at Splitsville.

Of course, the real reason we were in Virginia was to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I can’t really call Gabbie my little sister, because for as long as I can remember she was one of those sisters who always looked out for you even though she’s younger. One of the most loyal, unselfish people I know.

I don’t get to Virginia often for her birthday. But after the fun we had during her movie-and-bowling-birthday-day, I think I’ll be back each year for it!

A quick breakfast the next morning and we were Philly and New Jersey bound.  A layover in Philly gave us a really wonderful day of catching up with college friends over dinner and wandering around the city.

A highlight of our trip was reconnecting with our theatre roots.

Before I got involved with PlayhouseSquare Partners, I honed my love for theatre in Philly – first at La Salle University’s Dan Rodden Theatre, then in the Marketing department at Walnut Street Theatre.

Clockwise: La Salle University Campus, Walnut Street Theatre, and Llanerch Diner filled with memories from our theatre days in Philly

I loved being able to visit La Salle’s campus and see my former colleagues at the Walnut where I was welcomed with my old nickname “A-Bomb”. Scott and I even grabbed lunch at the Llanerch Diner, which was our post-rehearsal, middle-of-the-night dinner spot in college – back before it was featured in Silver Linings Playbook.

A walk down South Street gave me a chance to pick up a couple comic books from Atomic City Comics where my love of comics was rekindled years ago and try out Brauhaus Schmitz – a fantastic German bierhall and restaurant.

Delicious smoked trout sandwich, spaetzle and Freigeist Gose at Philadelphia’s Brauhaus Schmitz

We ended our trip in New Jersey to celebrate Scott’s parents’ 40th anniversary. I’m very lucky to have Bob and Betty Hicken as my in-laws. Not just because they’ve always been fantastic to me, but also because they set such a great example of marriage for Scott.

In honor of their anniversary, Scott and his sister Laura surprised them with a dinner at The Red Lion Inn, where Scott’s parents and grandparents both dated.

As we sat at dinner, I thought about how excited I am for his parents and grandmother to move out to Cleveland soon. Because no matter how much fun we had at the different places we visited during our vacation, it’s the people – our parents, sisters, friends – that made this trip so great.

And we’d have fun with them wherever we are.

The DiGiandomenico and Hicken families

This year, Scott and I gave each other a trip to Rochester, Minnesota as our anniversary gift.

Sure, it may not sound very sexy, but we had good reason: the inaugural Fabletown and Beyond Convention.

Although our shared love for comic books is no secret, it may surprise some that my favorite title doesn’t feature cape-donning superheroes.

Ever since I got back into comics 8 years ago, Bill Willingham’s Fables is the only title that’s kept me enthralled the entire time.

Going strong for 10+ years with a few spin-offs and a novel to its name, the intricate world that Willingham and his collaborating artists have built has never disappointed.

As @CLEYogi can personally vouch – it’s a very effective gateway into comic books.

Mike Oeming, Adam Hughes, David Petersen, Matt Sturges, and Conor McCreery discuss the ethics of storytelling – just one of the engrossing panels at Fabletown and Beyond

So when Willingham announced a convention dedicated solely to mythic fiction like Fables, Mouse Guard, and The Unwritten AND we learned it was taking place around our fourth wedding anniversary, Scott and I had a feeling this roadtrip would be the perfect gift.

At some point during the weekend, Fablescon managed to exceed even the mythic-sized expectations we had set for it.

Mark Buckingham – the wildly talented artist of Fables and the convention’s guest of honor – set the mood for the weekend with a plucky, touching, and musical keynote:

The weekend overflowed with enriching and entertaining conversations around mythology, the challenges of storytelling, and a couple of Barbarians.

We added a few books to our reading list like Kill Shakespeare, Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, The Mice Templar and Matt Sturges’ upcoming Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse.

And we had just as much fun outside the panel rooms at the Kill Shakespeare Bar and rooftop pool party (I don’t think Scott will ever recover from playing volleyball with Buckingham and Gene Ha).

So…this happened. (In his best Bane voice, Conor McCreery narrates a pushup showdown between his Kill Shakespeare co-creator Anthony Del Col and a Fablescon team member)

With the help of dedicated volunteers, friends and colleagues, Bill Willingham set out to create a different type of comic convention.  And it was, in all the right ways.

There was a generous camaraderie between Fablescon’s guests and attendees more so than I’ve experienced at other conventions.

It broke down the barrier that the printed page has a habit of creating between a book’s artists and fans and will make reading these stories much different and more rewarding in the future.

Because we HAD to get a photo of Traveling Hulk with Mark Buckingham, the dapper and delightful guest of honor

Unfortunately, as we learned at the closing panel, this may have been the first and last Fabletown and Beyond.

Not for lack of interest (it sold out), but because putting on a convention like this is demanding. As a fan, I want to see Willingham get back to the projects he had to put off during Fabletown prep. Namely, there’s an upcoming collaboration between him and Frank Cho I’m very excited for.

Even though I would LOVE to attend more conventions like this, if this was our only Fablescon, the cherished memories will be enough.

The bar menu Brad Thomte gave us featuring my Hex on the Beach and Bloody Mary Quite Contrary puns didn’t hurt either.

If you want to read a recap of Fabletown and Beyond that put it much better than me, check out Timothy Callahan’s When Words Collide on Comic Book Resources.

THANK YOU to everyone who made Fabletown and Beyond such a wonderful experience

It doesn’t matter where we are, Scott will always ham it up for the camera (and that’s why I love him)

Some blogkeeping: Today’s the last day of the L’Amour du Vin giveaway. You can enter here until 11:59 tonight and I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

I have an addiction. To my cellphone.

Whether it’s checking my email, refreshing news apps to see if there are new articles to read (regardless of whether or not the topic interests me) or checking Twitter and Facebook for the nth time today, I spend almost every moment I’m not doing something (and some moments I am) with my hands on that touchscreen.

I know it’s not an unusual – or new – compulsion to have (my similarly unhealthy WebMD obsession gave me this guide to smartphone addiction).  But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

So, seeing how disruptive my phone habits had gotten, I turned my cell off on Friday night and headed out of town for a bit of a social media getaway.

Enjoying a glass or two at Johnson Estate Winery, New York’s oldest

Our destination was Westfield, NY outside of Chautauqua. The area had come highly recommended from Alicia @ Poise in Parma, who had visited the Chautauqua Institute last year.

Despite the area’s reputation, though, for providing a tranquil escape, I could feel the withdrawal setting in as we headed out.  I mean – between FourSquare and Instagram alone – I think I actually use my phone more often when I’m on vacation than at home.

I feared that not having my phone for two days on a scenic roadtrip was going to be too difficult of a test.

However, I had the support of Jen, Kimberly and Alicia – a few of my other social media/smartphone addicts with me, a pile of books and board games and a weekend full of plans to keep me from suffering from withdrawal.

If you’re looking to escape, the Captain Storm House B and B is picture-perfect

The 8 of us took over the Captain Storm House Bed and Breakfast, a beautiful Queen Anne revival house whose rooms were reminiscent of the house in CLUE.

Fitting, since our Friday and Saturday nights were spent playing board games like Apples to Apples, Say Anything, Marry-Date-Dump and a childhood favorite Fireball Island.

After throwing together a homemade waffle bar, we set out on Saturday morning for a tour of some of the area’s wineries. We enjoyed Noble Winery’s beautiful fall foliage against the backdrop of Lake Erie, as well as some interesting historic cellars like the one at South Shore Wine Company.

While I didn’t think some of the wines stood up against those from our trip to Geneva, I enjoyed the white and ice wines at the Johnson Estate Winery and picked up a bottle of their spice wine to savor over the winter.

Samplings at Southern Tier

Our last stop for the weekend was Southern Tier Brewing Co. It was my first visit to the brewery and after I sampled a bit of their brews, it was the highlight of the weekend’s sight-seeing.

I picked up a couple of bottles of Mokah and Choklat and took advantage of a nice buy 2, get 1 free sale on Back Burner. I love Barley Wine ales and can’t wait to break into those.

All of that beer got me in the mood for Cleveland Beer Week kicking off this Friday and running through the 27th (because you know you need more than just 7 days to fit in all of the great beer events!).  Fortunately, Cleveland Food and Brews posted a helpful guide for Cleveland Beer Week on his blog.

Now I just need to narrow my list down! No easy task though I know I’ll at least be starting things off with Fat Head’s Victory brunch and Lilly’s Big Bang Theory-inspired chocolate and beer pairing on Saturday.  Bazinga!

Ohio’s Fall foliage and a picnic welcomed us back from the weekend

As Scott and I enjoyed a roadside picnic on our drive home from New York, I was happy to realize I only thought about tweeting 2 times the entire weekend. Instead I focused on having a fun time with friends without being constantly distracted by my phone.

Now that I’m home I’ve noticed my “smartphone rehab” was much-needed and that I’m not constantly checking my phone as much as I did – in fact it’s sitting very comfortably at the bottom of my purse right now.  But while I’m not hoping for a relapse, I wouldn’t mind another excuse to getaway again.

Do you think you’re too dependent on your phone or social media?  If so, what do you do to try and break the habit? (I could use all the tips I can get!)