Longaberger! Longaberger! Longaberger!

Phew... 7 hours each way on a bus with my mother. But it was SO worth it to go to the Longaberger factory! WOOHOO! It was great. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, it ended up being more!

We got on the bus at 5am. I had to drive 90 minutes to get to the bus, so I was up at 0215. We drove and drove and drove and drove the whole 7 hours out to Dresden, Ohio. RAIN. Ick. We all put on rain coats or put up our umbrellas and went anyway. Dresden is a great place to find retired baskets, liners, protectors, etc. We had some lunch in a cute little coffee house that served wonderful soup, and sandwiches on croissants. Mom and I then began our mission. I wanted to find a business card basket, and she wanted a divided spoon basket - both retired. We did it! We found our baskets at reasonable prices. (and of course, more stuff...)

Back on the bus to go to the Homestead where we would have dinner and entertainment in the Crawford barn. There were country singers (some hot guys with great voices) and everyone had a good time. Finally to the hotel for some sleep.

Sunday, we had a lovely tea at the Homestead in a beautiful, Victorian Tea Room. Then it was off to do a little shopping, and then to the Make a Basket Workshop. I made the basket shown on the left with the green band!! It was SO much fun. We all wanted to just keep making baskets all day. More shopping... and we visited the Home Expereince, which is fairly new, where baskets are displayed in a home setting to show you how you can use them and decorate with them. They also have a room that has all of the baskets that they currently offer. You cannot buy current baskets there - except for the special Dresden baskets. For all others, you must go through your consultant.

That evening, we had dinner at the Longaberger Golf Course. It's too bad it was dark, and we couldn't see the grounds, but the building was beautiful, and the food was amazing.

Monday we started early with an 8am appointment at the home office. The building is shaped like a Medium Market Basket, which was Dave Longaberger's 'main' basket. Apparently, he got started with this basket, making them for the women of Dresden. At the home office, we were given a presentation about the Collector's Club by Michael Kennedy who was instrumental in designing the new Giving Basket that is part of the collector's club.

Back to the Homestead for the factory tour and signings. I now have two family signatures on my Blossoms basket, Jeff and Jerry Longaberger. Then... (it was one packed weekend!) back on the bus to go to Eschman Meadows for lunch.

Tami Longaberger's home was amazing. It was beautiful inside and out. Lynn Longaberger greeted us and gave us a wonderful surprise. Tami would be visiting us during our stay. We had a delicious salad/soup buffet, and Tami did come! She was the most gracious, lovely woman I've met in a long time. She spent quite a bit of time with us, signing, chatting and posing for photos. It was a truely unforgettable experience. (So, my Blossoms basket now has 4 Longaberger family signatures on it!)

My mother and I are plotting how we can save up the money to go out there again...