While I love our RV travels, sometimes it’s good to get away with my girlfriends. It’s the perfect escape from the everyday grind, offering a time to recharge with your closest friends, share heartfelt conversations, and create memories that will be cherished for years to come. A girls' getaway is all about celebrating your friendship and embracing the joy of being together in a different setting. I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to take two girls’ trips recently.

The first trip was to eastern PA with two of my besties, Stephanie & Holly. Our destination was Peddler’s Village, located in Lahaska, PA, near Doylestown.

It's known for its quaint, picturesque setting and variety of shops & restaurants featuring a mix of boutique shops, artisan galleries, and specialty food stores, housed in charming colonial-style buildings.

Colonial Style shop building - pic by Steph

We stayed at The Golden Plough Inn, a historic restaurant and inn located within Peddler's Village, in a one-bedroom suite. The inn offers a cozy, rustic setting with rooms that blend historic charm with modern amenities, providing a comfortable and picturesque retreat in the heart of the village. Once checked in, we were able to walk everywhere. We’d start each morning at Mama Hawks Kitchen & Coffee for caffeine and some amazing pastries, especially the cinnamon rolls, and they even had blueberry ones that were filled with an abundance of berries bursting with flavor.

The village has many restaurants ranging from casual to fine dining. We ate at three of them; Cock-n-Bull, Earl’s New American, & Peddler’s Café, all with great ambiance, wonderful friendly service, and outstanding food.

Between meals, we leisurely strolled the village enjoying shopping in the variety of specialty stores, from artisanal crafts to gourmet foods set amidst beautifully landscaped gardens and sand sculptures, created for the summer season.

We visited many of the shops with some of favorites being Sticky Situations (where we tasted many flavored honeys and oils), PJ & Jammies (where we bought matching pj’s), & the Cloak & Wand (where we cooled off with some interesting “potions”).

To top off a great weekend, we stopped outside Philly before heading home to visit the fourth member of our BFF group, Kristin, who was unable to make the trip.

My second girls’ getaway also involved two of the three BFFs, this time Stephanie and Kristin. It was a bigger trip with airplane flights and car services to and from the airport, as we traveled to Walt Disney World for four nights. We stayed in a deluxe studio at the Grand Floridian, one of many DVC (Disney Vacation Club) resorts.

As a DVC member I have stayed at many of the various resorts at WDW, most often staying at Beach Club or Boardwalk near EPCOT. It was quite a different feel to be at the Grand Floridian with quick access to the monorail for transportation and so close to Magic Kingdom. Via the monorail we visited the Contemporary & Polynesian (be sure to get dole whip at Pineapple Lanai, we got ours with coconut rum) hotels and Magic Kingdom and EPCOT (you need to transfer to another monorail line at the transportation center) parks.

Stephanie, Kristin, & me on the monorail

Since we opted not to pay extra for the Lightning Lanes (passes that allow you to access a shorter wait line at designated times), we did not ride the bigger thrill attractions with longer lines but managed some short waits for some other experiences. However, we did pay for park hopper passes, so we got to all four parks in three days and some even more than once. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite park as each one is unique with lots of rides, experiences, shopping, restaurants, & lounges. Hollywood Studios brings the glamor of Hollywood’s golden age with contemporary entertainment, from iconic landmarks like the Chinese Theatre and Sunset Boulevard to Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. A favorite of ours is lunch at 50’s Primetime Café where we always ask for Loukili. Just remember to eat your veggies and keep those elbows off the table, otherwise, you might have to stand in the corner or sing “I’m a little teapot”.

EPCOT, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, has two distinct areas, World Showcase featuring pavilions representing 11 different countries & Future World focusing on environmental sustainability and the natural world plus technological advancements and space exploration. I always stop at the Japan pavilion to buy various yummy snacks.

Animal Kingdom blends the thrill of adventure with the wonders of nature by celebrating the beauty and diversity of the animal world through immersive environments and innovative attractions, taking you from Africa to Asia to the past of Dinosaurs and to the Sci Fi world of Pandora. I love walking the different trails where you have the opportunity to see a variety of animals and birds.

komodo dragon on the Maharajah Jungle Trek

Magic Kingdom was the first of the parks in WDW dating back to 1971. Cinderella’s Castle is the focal point surrounded by several lands; Main Street, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, & Tomorrowland. While it is filled with lots of nostalgic rides like Haunted Mansion & Small World, Disney does continue to update adding rides like Tron & a new show at the Country Bear Jamboree. Shopping on Main Street was the best this year with a new villains charm for my bracelet.

This trip we did not stay at any of the parks for the nighttime shows. We did go to the beach at the Polynesian to see the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. This is a great spot to watch from as it has a clear view & they play the music on speakers by the beach. An added plus is you get to see the Electrical Water Pageant that sails across the Seven Seas Lagoon 15 minutes or so prior to the fireworks.

Of course, the other evenings found us at our new favorite lounge, the Enchanted Rose, located in the Grand Floridian, sipping our new favorite drink, Espresso Martini.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip with two of my besties in the most magical place on earth. The only negative, I came home with an extra souvenir, Covid.

Girl Time Escapades

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