More Summer Fun

I love Chinese food!

Well what started out as a trip to Virginia and a visit with friends soon turned into just a trip to Virginia.

I was so excited to be going "home" to Tyler to see all of my friends and family. And I felt so lucky that I was also going to be going on a week long trip to Virginia alone with my hubby. So I headed off to Tyler with the girls and dog. About three hours into the trip, out in the middle of nowhere, my check engine light came on. Ok, for those of you who really know me, you know that I tend to FREAK out quite easily. So, needless to say I freaked out. Ok, my car is about to blow up! That's the most reasonable thing right? Or something is about to fall off and I[m going to be stranded with a dog the doesn't listen and two little girls out in the middle of nowhere. It was about 105 that day and I knew we would all die before Jason was able to get to us to save us. Jason said, "Just keep driving." So I did. But, I was waiting for something scary to happen so that didn't make the next 5 hours very enjoyable. Not to mention, it's a felony apparently to leave a dog in your car even for a very short period of time , so taking bathroom breaks was quite an effort and a joy. Oh yes, it was just wonderful.

Well we made it to Tyler safely and nothing blew up. Whew! Thank goodness. Momma and Daddy were there and Amanda, Cole and Sadie. That is always fun but I was done in from the car situation. We had a great time visiting and then I was off to Virginia. I met Jason in Houston and we flew together to Virginia. Ahh. Peace. No worries. The car would be fine for a week and the girls were happily visiting both sets of grandparents and having a blast. The flight was unusual because we had to fly around thunderstorms which took us along the coast of Texas. It was amazing to see the Texas coast from the sky. When we got to Virginia I was in my happy place, a cold hotel room with room service and maid service. Wow. I think I may have visited heaven. My plan was to relax , read and lay out by the pool--yes for a week. I deserve it. Right? Well, as we drove into the city from the air port I saw the Virginia Holocaust Museum and I decided that I was going to visit it. The first night we enjoyed some fabulous takeout on the pool deck at the hotel. The weather was so nice that night. Such a change from the hot south Texas days. It even started to rain a little. Like I said, heaven.

Did I say already that Jason was in school every day that we were there from 8-6pm? Ok, so I was all by myself. No problem. I was going to be brave. Something that I used to be all the time but have lost so much since marrying Jason. He does so much for me and I just let him. Anyway, the first day I went to the Holocaust museum. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. I learned so much and stayed there for hours. By the end though, I was running out. Too much death and bones. I had had enough but I am so glad that I went. Great museum.

On Sunday, I decided to try to walk to Carytown. This is a fun area for shopping and neat little restaurants. Everybody said I should go so I took off----on foot. Ok, after walking 26 blocks I found out that I was still 15 blocks away. Did I say 26 blocks uphill? Yeah, that is very important. Oh yeah, and I was in some very questionable areas. Thank goodness for texting. I was texting Jason in class the whole time. I hadn't eaten in hours. I didn't have any water and I thought I might start crying. Jason googled me directions and supported me until I got over my episode. Oh yeah, then it started raining. Oh yeah, and I was carrying my huge black leather purse with everything I own in it except water and food. Not a good day. So I went back 26+ blocks to my cold hotel room and read.

The other places that I visited were the civil war museum, Hollywood cemetery and the James river. It took me the entire week to get brave enough to go to the cemetery by myself. Jason and I had run there one night after he got out of class but it was closed. Great! Now I would have to go by myself. So after two more days I finally got out of bed and decided to go. I would take the hotel shuttle though. I grabbed my camera and cell phone and headed down stairs. There were about 8 bellhops looking so busy but the shuttle was no where to be found. I asked one to call and he said it would be about 10min. Ok, I will wait. !0 min 15 min where's the shuttle? Out of 8 workers no one seems to know where the shuttle is so i decide to just walk. It's only about 3 miles. So armed with my pepper spray I take off for the cemetery. By the time I get there I am covered in sweat. My hair is dripping and I have big rings under my arms. Great! I had to go into the office for a map. I was a little embarrassed but fortunately the lady offered me some water and warned me that the cemetery is 2 1/2 miles of walking. Great! Well, at that time I was excited and ready for it. Lots of beautiful tombstones dating back to the early 1800's. Mostly civil war graves. John Tyler, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were some of the famous people there. It was really beautiful and perched right up on a hill overlooking the James river. really pretty. Worth the walk. Well, maybe not. The walk back was horrible. I thought I was going to die. The humidity had to be about 200%. I was texting Jason the whole was back asking him to have me some water and a sandwich for when I get back. I was on the verge of tears once again and he was mad at me for walking. I think by the time I got back to the hotel I was dehydrated because I got a little crazy. There was not a sandwich waiting on me and I hadnt eaten all day. Jason didn't understand my text. Please have water and sandwich for me. I guess I wasn't clear enough. So I started crying and asking him why he didn't have a sandwich for me. Then I got mad because he still didn't seem to know what he did that was so bad. I tell you, I almost died out there that day. Why did no one care and why did I not have a sandwich to eat when I got back? Well, after a few bottles of water and some food I was rational again and we were able to laugh about it. Wow, a woman needs to be fed.

Jason and I had lots of fun together though. Every night when he would get home from class we would go explore. We ran together three nights. That was the most fun. He would be tried from the day and I might have been in bed most of it just reading and relaxing so I would tease him and run hard until he quit. It was really fun being silly. I am never silly anymore and I think we needed that. I have a hard time relaxing when I feel like two little lives are in my hands. We ate lots of good food for dinner and enjoyed walking down the cobblestone streets.

Virginia was a lot of fun and I'm glad that I got to experience it with Jason but I was so ready to get back home with my baby girls to Corpus Christi. I need routine. It's how I function best.