I know you are probably waiting to see my next card creation but I had to take a break from my usual posts to blog a little about a fabulous retreat I went to this past weekend in Palestine, Ohio. Its about an hour or so drive northwest of Dayton...in the middle of nowhere!
Golden Eagle Retreat Center is a remodeled "old" Palestine High School. I believe the center can sleep 60 (maybe more) but our group had 40. I took a bunch of photos (on my iphone)so they are not of the highest quality, but you should be able to get a good idea of what it was like.
First things first...what was the cropping area like?
The crop room was set up in the "gym-atorium" of the high school. We easily had 35 people with plenty of space in this room. The center sets up all of the tables for you! Plus there are 2 annex rooms (carpeted) that can easily hold 8-10 more croppers each or to set up as a "store". Lots of ledges, plus the stage to set up cricut machines, drying areas, etc. (The outlets are sparse so bring an extension cord! )This was my view of the crop room (Hi Dora!) The stairs leading up through the chairs take you to the sleeping area.
At the top of the stairs is the main hallway of the school. Probably where the principals office was.
Another view of the same hallway that shows the doors to our bedroom hallway. Love that it still has the lockers.
When you go through the doors you will be in our bedroom hallway. there are six room that have 2 or 3 sets of bunk beds in them.
Oh the beds....they are soooo comfortable! They have sheets, a blanket, and down comforters! Enough combinations to satisfy the hot or cool sleeper. I dont think I have EVER slept so well in a bed that wasn't my own! The top and bottom bunks have their own outlets to recharge cell phones, use computers, etc. They also have several night lights, a full length mirror, a counter with a large mirror, dresser, hooks on the wall, and alarm clock in each room. You couldn't hear any noise from the crop room in your bedroom...BUT...and this was my only BUT...the hallway and bedroom floors are kind of creeky but I guess that goes with the character of the place.
Although the rooms did not have their own bathrooms, I didnt mind at all. There were 2 bathrooms that each had 4 potty stalls and 4 showers (VERY CLEAN & nice). Each guest is provided with a towel and a wash cloth and there were quite a few fresh bath mats available as well. The lighting was great for your hair and make up (what? make up on a scrapbook retreat? Yes, some people still get all gussied up!)
Below is the view as you walk out of our bedroom hallway. As you can see, the opposite end has another hallway with bedrooms too.
So I know what you are thinking...great rooms, great crop area, but how was the food? In a word HOMEMADE...it was fabulous! 
Every meal was yummy and filling! If you are dieting, this isn't the place to go! From the crop room, you go down stairs and pick up a premade plate from the kitchen line. 3 ladies and 1 gent were our great chefs. Friday night was a pork tenderloin, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and peach cobbler. Saturday breakfast was scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, and a bagel. Lunch was potato soup and a tuna or egg salad sandwich. Dinner was a baked breaded chicken breast, rice pilaf and steamed veggies. Sunday morning breakfast was scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and monkey bread-ooey gooey cinnamon roll type thing! Lunch on Sunday was a chef salad...Oh, and did I mention that each meal was accompanied by water, tea, lemonade AND most importantly a homemade dessert! (The only thing not provided is soda) After eating, you just got up and went back to cropping, our lovely hosts cleared the tables and everything. Everyone brought snacks for in between meals and we even ordered a pizza from a local pizza place late Saturday night. A small kitchen with a full size fridge is located just outside the main scrap room to keep your personal snacks.
If you needed a break from scrapping, there was a beautiful lounge area, complete with a fireplace and a piano on the bottom floor near the dining hall.
We scrapped the day and night away...some til 4 am on Saturday night..and when it was time to go on Sunday at 5, the only thing you had to do was take your personal trash bag to the larger can in the room. We didn't have to break down tables, strip beds, or vaccuum!
Had a fantastic weekend with my Simply Scrapbook ladies but most especially with "Sour-Puss"...LOL!
If your group is looking for a girls getaway weekend to crop the night away, I'd HIGHLY recommend the GOLDEN EAGLE. The cost was $135/person with a minimum of 20 guests. Six hot meals, set up and clean up are included.
