Reflections After The Trip

Now that I’ve hit the highlights of the Virginia trip, here are some “side issues” that I wanted to write about. God was very, very good to us, and I want to acknowledge that.

I was very concerned about keeping my luggage to a minimum. Since you are now charged for each bag you check, I wanted to be sure and get as much as I could in my checked bag and then hope the overflow would fit in my carry-on. I was amazed at just how much I was able to pack in my suitcase. I more than enough room for my stuff, and was even able to pack all those books I bought for the return home! I had thought for sure I would have to ship them. But Marv and I were able to split them up between our 2 suitcases and get everything else back in as well.

I was also very concerned about boarding Harper. Not about the cost, which wasn’t cheap, but about leaving a very loving and sociable cat in a cage for a week. Foothill Boarding is the BEST PLACE!! The room for the cats was light, airy, CLEAN and the cages were all multi-level. We checked out the place beforehand and were able to reserve a 3 level cage for Harper. When I took him in the morning before we left, the woman in charge, Karen, impressed me so much with her warmth and obvious love for animals. She assured me that Harper would receive extra love from her while I was gone. That eased my mind so much!

Since this whole trip was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, we knew our credit was good enough that we could put things on our cards and pay it off over time. Lots of time! We have always been careful with credit card use, and I thank God so much that we have a good credit rating!

While we were gone, 2 of our friends lost a parent. One friend lost her dad, the other lost his mom. We were able to get home in time for both funerals.

So all in all, the blessings abounded, as they always do. I still fret more than I should. I still worry about stuff I have no control over. In other words, I’m still human. But God made me human and loves me just the same! ♥

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.

Back From Virginia part 3

No, that picture is NOT of my little toesies…I don’t do red, at least not on my toes. I went with a nice pearl color. I had never had a pedicure before. The morning before the wedding, the whole female gang went to have their nails done. My fingernails aren’t worth dealing with, but “the mothers” of the bride and groom were treated to a pedicure. What a nice experience! I wouldn’t mind having that done on a fairly regular basis. It’s become increasingly difficult for me to do my toenails anymore, since my knees and back conspire against me. But it was such a pleasure to soak my footsies in the hot water and then have them smoothed and lotioned and the nails filed and painted while I just sat there in a VERY nice chair that had massage capabilities.

Lunch was with Paul and Anne at a local Taco Bell and then it was back to the hotel for a nap. Love my naps!! Then Mr. Garmin led us to the church for the rehearsal and dinner afterward. Beautiful church! Lots of stairs, though. Found out later there was an elevator! The rehearsal went well and then it was time for the dinner in the fellowship hall. Paul had REALLY wanted a Pirate Wedding, and of course, Anne being a SANE person, said no. But she had a surprise in store for Paul…a Pirate Rehearsal Dinner! The wonderful company of Oriental Trading (love them!) had all the supplies needed for such a thing. And a local bakery did the pirate cake. AND Paul and Anne gave presents to everybody! Did not expect that! Marv and I got beautiful scripture mugs and something to put in them: coffee and tea!  

The next day, Marv and I did some sightseeing. We didn’t have to be at the church until 6pm, so that gave us plenty of time. We went to the Museum of the Confederacy, which was right next door to Jefferson Davis’ house when he was the Confederate President. So much history in such a time of turmoil for our nation! Very sobering to consider.

One of my main objects while in Virginia was to find some “tourist souvenir stuff” to take back. I really wanted postcards, too. NOT TO BE FOUND! In the museum they had lots of very high priced things, but I was looking for a Walmart or some place like it that had that stuff. NOT TO BE FOUND! We went to a Cracker Barrel for lunch and there was a store connected to it, but again, it was all very high priced and not necessarily “Virginia”, just normal boutique type stuff.

Then it was back to rest up for the wedding!

Next week’s blog will be from Fresno, so it will probably be something easy for my brain to handle, since I will have been run ragged by then….♥

Back From Virginia part 1

Well, as you can see by the photo, my baby boy got married. This pic was taken by Marv. I don’t want to violate any copyright laws, so those will be the only pics I show over the next few weeks while recounting our trip. Unfortunately, that means there are NO pics of Marv and I together. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to have someone take our pic with Marv’s camera, but there you go….The only pics of the two of us were taken by the wedding photographer. There were lots of people taking pics at the wedding, but none have Marv and I together. *sigh* Hindsight is indeed 20/20.

BUT…it was a great trip! Too much to do and see in too little time. And way too expensive to do again any time in the near future. I had a little notebook that I wrote in each day with the highlights of that day, and that’s what I will base these next blogs on. 

I’ve decided to drop the Monday posting, after the one on the 23^rd. The whole purpose of that was to get myself to focus on at least one positive during a week’s time. And I’ve done that now to the point where I don’t have to really talk about it each week. So unless I get a LOT of feedback on it, next Monday’s post will be the last. I intend to incorporate thankfulness in the Friday blogs. As the saying goes, “Each day is a gift from God…that’s why it’s called The Present.”

Now…about the trip:

Paula took us to the airport, which was a HUGE favor! Didn’t have to worry about leaving the car in long-term parking and paying big bucks when we got back. That also meant she could just drop us and our luggage off right in front of the terminal.

I was really not looking forward to going through security. I knew my knee would set off the alarms and I figured it was a forgone conclusion that I would be taken aside to have a female agent really check me out. I had worn pants that were loose enough that I could pull up the leg to show them my scar to prove the operation. Guess what? NO PROBLEM! I told the agent right away that I had a metal knee, I went through the x-ray machine, and that was it! After all that worry, the rest of the trip was a piece of cake!

When making the reservations online, there was a general “problem” box that we checked for me, which included difficulty with steps or stairs. We didn’t realize that meant there would be a wheelchair waiting for me at each plane change. That came in VERY handy in Atlanta, which is a HUGE airport. We would have been lost if it wasn’t for that. The gal who was wheeling me (at a very fast pace, I might add) knew exactly where the gate was and got us there after winding around all over, down an elevator, and included a ride in a tram train. I know we would have been able to find our way eventually, but the distance of that walk would have been very difficult for me.

Since we were flying a red-eye flight and knew this would be a LONG trip, we had specified aisle and window seats. Aisle for me and my tiny bladder (sigh) and window so Marv could lean against it and maybe sleep a bit. For some reason, known only to the airline, that was ignored and the long flight from LA to Atlanta had us both in middle seats in different rows. I hadn’t figured on getting any sleep anyway, but I REALLY hate being boxed in by people on either side. But we got through it. We started out for the airport on Tuesday at 3:30 pm California time (and this was after Marv had worked a full 8 hours) and arrived in Richmond on Wednesday at about 9am Virginia time. That’s almost a 15 hour trip any way you look at it.

But at the end of this tunnel was seeing my boy again, and getting to know my new daughter-in-law, and oh yes…IHOP!!

To be continued next week…♥

PS--when I went to post this, I discovered that Blogger had changed a few things. I HATE CHANGE. Just wanted you to know that...