Va in a weekend

Is it appropriate to take a vacation to recover from your vacation?? I think I need to. Lucien was in town with his mom, Irene, so Jeff went up to Roanoke several days before me to hang out with him. He only comes over about every 5 years or so and I'd say tickets from Switzerland aren't cheap.

Thursday, it took me longer to get ready than I thought it would and by the time I slept, dropped off the dogs, and ate and got gas..it was about 5pm..which puts me in Roanoke around 8pm. However, the traffic gods were not smiling down upon me that day and I got stuck on I40 in Greensboro. Blech. All the signs said "Left lane closed 2 miles again, Merge right". So..everyone merged..and 2 miles ahead..the RIGHT lane was closed..so we had to merge left. Who's the genius who screwed that up?? Did they not teach them that the left hand makes an "L" if you hold it up?? Anyway..

So...around 7:30, Jeff calls and says they're going to a Salem Avalanche game since this was Irene's first trip to the states and she'd never seen a baseball game before. There was no way I was going to make it up there in time to see the game, so I met them later at Macado's and stayed out way too late. I got in bed around 1am..knowing I had to be up by 5am to meet Ronnie and Misty by 6 so we could leave for Williamsburg. Jeff didn't get in until around 2:30am..so I don't think he slept at all. We were late leaving..so we met them in Fairview? Fairfield? Something like that..just off if I81.

Jeff slept most of the way..but I'm glad he did, cause we had a long day at Busch Gardens ahead of us!! It was awesome!! We were there on the grand opening day of their new coaster, The Griffon . The line looked like it went on forever, but we were through it in 45 minutes and waited a little longer to make sure we got the front row. As of right now, it's the tallest, floorless divecoaster in the world at 205 ft....with a 90 degree plummet. It was simply...wow. My only complaint was that it didn't last as long as I would've liked and that I had to get off. I could've ridden it all day long. The rest of the day was filled with the Big Bad Wolf, Apollo's Chariot, the Emerald Beat show and The Curse of DarKastle. I didn't get to ride Loch Ness, Alpengeist, Roman Rapids, Escape from Pompeii or Corkscrew Hill. The lines were too long or we were eating..lol.

We tried to eat at the Festhaus, but the park closed at 9 instead of 10, so we missed it and had to run to try to catch another ride before it closed. I was running behind Ronnie and Jeff but lost them in the crowd and took a wrong turn..so by the time I got to the right place..they'd already ridden it..twice. I was pissed...mostly b/c I disappeared and Jeff didn't appear to care about where I was or what happened. I got over it though...it was a stupid thing to be mad over. So..after a sweaty day at the park, we left to get food and find our hotel. I passed out after a yummy pizza and horrible service. Ronnie and Misty left to go back home while Jeff, my, Lucien and his mom stayed at a craphole of a Travellodge...but hey..it was a place to sleep.

The next day was spent in Colonial Williamsburg. I hadn't been there in ages, so it was neat to see it all again. I loved watching Lucien's mom though. It was like watching a little kid since she was experiencing this for the first time. Her first cole slaw, her first barbeque, her first tea/lemonade drink, her first porkrinds and moonpie.lol. It was just fun. She even rode The Big Bad Wolf the day before..though..I think she was tricked into getting on it. For dinner, we drove to Virginia Beach and had dinner at a little dive called Harpoon Larry's. It doesn't look like much, but the food is incredible! We walked on the beach and down the strip for awhile..then drove back to the hotel and passed out around 1:30 am

Sunday, we went to Richmond to visit some Civil War sites..Cold Harbor and Tregedar Iron Mill were the only ones we got to see, but they were very neat. Cold Harbor is a 1 mile walking trail through the woods where the soldiers dug neck high trenches overnight with bayonets and are all still very visible. There's rifle pits and covered trenches and some 2000 union soldiers are still buried there. The iron mill is the site of the Richmond Battlefield Park visitor center. We drove by the state capitol...but that's it. I wish we'd had time to go to Petersburg or see one the cemetery's..but we still had to make the drive back to Roanoke. We stopped here and there along the way and got back around 11:30 that night. We all stayed up talking until almost 2 and then again, passed out.

Monday..we slept in. I went to my parents house while Jeff made the journey home to pick up the dogs. I stayed the night since I couldn't face a 3 hour drive so soon after spending the weekend traveling. On my way out of town Tuesday, I stopped to see Grandpa for a couple of hours. He's doing well! He's getting around much better than he was although he did seem lonely. I was his first visitor that day that wasn't poking at him. Before me, he'd had visits from the nurse, the physical therapist and the housekeeper..but none of them just sat to talk. He told me about his war experiences and what he remembered.....which is quite a bit. I'm glad I stopped by, even if it wasn't for long.

Since I've been home, I've tried getting someone out to fix our septic line and haven't had any luck. Jeff found the break today and tried to fix it but was having problems and then it started raining. I'm hoping he can fix it so we don't have to pay someone..that's expensive! We also went to see Pirates: At World's End...great movie..even if it did drag on in some places. There seemed to be some unnecessary stuff in there..just filler and fluff to make it 2 hours long. Orlando Bloom was possibly the hottest he's ever been...and Johnny Depp..always yummy. The next big one I can't wait for is Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix...and I have to work opening day!! Poo. Just as well..it'll be packed and I hate sitting in the front row....and matinees are cheaper.

Anyhow..I'm back at work now and sitting here alone since no one else wanted to work apparently. I should've brought a movie. I still have to help Jeff find a ceremony speech since he got talked in to officiating in Patrick's wedding next weekend. They're having a Star Wars themed wedding and he told Jeff to bring up Star Wars and the way of the Samurai in a non religious format. How Jeff's going to pull this off in a week..I have no idea...and I don't even get to see it because I have to work!! In case you're wondering...he got ordained off the internet. So, since I've updated you on the past week...I need to go find Star Wars wedding ceremony speeches. May the force be with you!