Wine'ding Down in VA

Virginia is my hometown so, naturally, it's easier for me to love. But if I were from Mars or Montana, I think I could safely say I love this state. It's not just because it perfectly combines beaches, rivers, mountains, valleys, forests and lakes, and it isn't just because it boasts beautiful architecture and enriching, established and fine universities and academic institutions. The farmland is lush and gorgeous and the skyline along the Shenandoah is stupendously stunning, yes. The truth is, Virginia is a space that is full of many wonderful and fine things including my all-time favorite: The harvesting of that tender, darling grape. (Did someone say WINE?)

Yes, in fact, Virginia is for wine lovers and, since young Jefferson was vibing out his vineyard at Monticello, farmers have been working hard to work the region in honor of that special sauce! Over the past 10-15 years, Virginia's wine region has actually and finally taken off and received, well, a level of legitimacy that Danny and his dad, squashing grapes in the backyard tub still aren't getting. This month and this week, in particular, we'd like to celebrate Virginia's work for the wine-loving and we're doing it at W xyz!

If you pop by W xyz bar at aloft Chesapeake anytime between now and the end of March, we'll be offering specials on Virginia Wines by the glass. And? If you book a stay with us between now and March 31st, we'll go ahead and throw a bottle of Virginia's finest in your room, chilling and waiting for you after check in.

We invite you to getaway and come stay and play with us all Spring, in fact, and we encourage you to check out some of the region's better known wineries and vineyards. Because, like it or not, this state is filled with a lot of fabulous and, well, we'll drink to that!

PS: For more great travel info on all that Sweet VA has to offer, hit these informative and darling sites:

http://www.virginia.org/
http://www.virginiawine.org/
http://www.chesapeake.va.us/

-QoV

spring break aloft

Spring Break. Like a sandwich at noon, if you remember, it always came at just the right time and it satisfied, relieved and reminded us: Breathe! Be! Free! Whee!

Being school aged is less than fabulous for a million reasons, but for built in time off, well, it's kind of the bomb.com. And so, I've decided. I'm bringing back the Break. I'm bringing back the ritual, the timeline and? The time off to travel, get free and go gather up some fresh creative juices and juju to take into a blinging new season.

Since it's my first Spring Break since 2001, I've decided to keep myself organized and go ahead and stick to a theme: Exploration. I'm going to go on a giant aloft Hotel exploration safari, and trek out into the abyss of the US to check out a few of our newer but no less shinier and sparklier hot spots. Because I'm organized and anal retentive, I had to make a list to keep my chi in check.

So, here it is. Find me at any of these locations over the next few weeks. I know we've never met, but I'm sure you'll recognize me. I'll be the gal in the I Heart Queens shirt with the aloft logo stamped on the backside of my skirt. Spring Break aloft! Here I come!!!

Point 1: aloft Chesapeake Hotel (Chesapeake, VA)

Point 2: aloft Richmond West Hotel (Richmond, VA)

Point 3: aloft Arundel Mills Hotel (Hanover, MD)

Point 4: aloft Bolingbrook Hotel (Chicago, IL)

Point 5: aloft Charleston Hotel (Charleston, SC)

I couldn't squeeze in more than that without turning my vibe upside down. But be assured: I will be at one of these joints, I mean it. I'll be recharging, refueling and remixing like no other. Find me splashing, sassing, sipping, meeting, mixing and mingling. Find me if you can. Globetrotting. Aloha style.

C'mon, already. Let's do this, kiddos!

a: bloom

Ah...March: A schizophrenic month, caught between two worlds of Winter wornout and Spring seduction, it teases, taunts and even terrorizes without care or caution. A minx of a month, March's unreliability and frequent sketchiness should have rendered it useless, inconsequential and irrelevant. But then, the fair mistress carries a trump card in her back pocket and March, the menace that she is, will always wield her potential when the pickins' get slim. She can't help it. She knows it. We'll always love her a little. She had us at hello. She's got us with one word: SPRING.

Promises imply possibility and, kept or unkept, they are powerful. I already feel charged and revived at the thought of the backyard, green and glowing. I remember last Spring and Summer and get all nostalgic, just knowing how close I'm getting. aloft is a bright and bold space and, like the warmer months it seems to favor, it blossoms under the gaze of the brighter sun. Remember the live music on the backyard patio on Fridays at 5? Remember the way you'd roll out of bed the next morning, trot down to re:fuel for a refreshing Izze, a muffin and maybe a latte and then make your way, ever-fluidly, to Splash for a morning swim? Remember how wonderful it was to finish up and plop outside in the sunshine for a quiet, lounged out moment on one of our swanky, smushy and simmering chaise's?

Even if March is always a mystery and even if she's only hinting at memories and make believe moments that haven't yet happened, I'd like to remind you: At aloft, we keep our promises and we believe in bloom. We? Feel SPRING in our bones. So? We invite you not to forget the fun, the fabulous and freedom of our space. Spring forward and let us fill you with the beauty of a new season.

Come out, come out little bud-lings. Come live life aloft.

http://www.aloftchesapeake.com/

http://facebook.com/aloftchesapeake