Back From Virginia part 4

This next installment starts with the whole reason for the trip: the chocolate fountain! wedding, of course. It was in the chapel of the church and was truly a lovely ceremony. The moms of the bride and groom got bouquets, which was a nice surprise. After the wedding pictures, the reception was in the fellowship hall and was a ‘dessert’ reception. I think you can guess what my favorite part of it was…

The next day, Marv and I hit a used book store before meeting up with Paul and Anne. I scored big time there! I just love finding bargain books! After a quick lunch with Paul and Anne, we went to Poquoson, a small town where Anne’s grandma lives. She had a flat tire the night of the wedding and was unable to come, so had invited us over to meet her. What a treasure she is! Almost 90 and spry as all get out! Her name is also Anne, so I will refer to her as G-Anne (for Grandma Anne) She treated us to another lunch (!) at a local spot and then gave us a tour of the area, where she is related to EVERYONE, since the town was given to the family way back in the day. It’s pretty close to Langley, where she worked for many years. G-Anne has a permanent pass for the base and thought she could smuggle us in for a tour. Apparently not. She tried to get us in at the NASA gate, where we were turned away by the no-nonsense guard. G-Anne tried all her sweet talkin’ skills (which were considerable) on him, but no go. That’s OK…we can tell people we were KICKED OUT OF LANGLEY, which makes a better story…

On Sunday, we went to church with Paul and Anne. This time it was in the big sanctuary. They have a pipe organ and a piano at the front, and a man who KNOWS how to play them both! Wow! I talked to him after the service and asked to see the music for one of the piano pieces. He’s a true artist.

Then it was lunch at Carrabbas! Amazing place! What is very interesting is, I’ve started seeing ads on TV for the chain, but there are NONE in California…as yet, anyway. Later in the afternoon we went to Hollywood Cemetary, which is named for all the holly trees, not movies stars. There were ‘stars’ buried there, but they were from the Civil War. Another amazing place. Such history. Just not enough time to take it all in.

The next day was our last full day in Virginia. Paul and Marv went to Arlington/D.C. for a field trip while I stayed in Midlothian with Anne. My knees just would not have been able to handle all the walking. The first place Anne and I went was to another used book store. Two book stores in one trip! Heaven! I am SUCH a bibliophile…and no, that doesn’t mean I collect Bibles…

Around lunch time, Anne and I got McDonald’s take out and met her daughter Madi at school to share lunch with her. That was so neat! They had a special seating area up on stage in the cafeteria for this purpose, and for kids who had rated special lunch time as rewards, etc. Great idea.

Then I just hung out with Anne at the house until Marv and Paul got back. It was a good time to get to know my daughter-in-law a bit better. All in all a very good day. We all had dinner at the house and watched HGTV. Great family time! Enjoyed it immensely. All too soon it was time for good-byes. If you’re reading this, Paul, (which is highly doubtful, NOT ONE of my blood kin read me) YOU DONE GOOD…I now have another daughter and 2 more grandkids to love. I know you read this, Anne, so you can pass my words on to him…

So ends our trip. Next week I will just natter on about some of the other things about the trip, the prep for it, etc. It will be a long time, if ever, that we get to go back to VA. Very expensive. But I sure wouldn’t mind going back.