I took my sweet time after we were done with training on Thursday the 26th. Cleaning up took a while, and then I had to eat too... more salad at Ruby Tuesday's for a late lunch... then I headed out to Little Creek Rd and found a respectable auto care center for getting my oil changed. They needed it for over an hour, so I took care of a few things while I waited. Across the street was the furniture store that had the dresser I wanted. Went in and purchased it. Then I had some dinner next door at "Cagney's American Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor" with "Old Country Cook'n". Their menu is much like Cracker Barrel, but without the country store. Had chicken and dumplings, and a small scoop of strawberry ice cream. I loved their decor... they had a model train running on an elevated track around the room... and they were big into old movie posters. :) Before returning to get the car, I stopped at a couple of nearby thrift stores too. A busy evening!
The big day was Friday the 27th! I couldn't get off the ship fast enough, even though we were let out early, I was so excited! Went straight to the housing office at my branch a little early for my "pick up the key" meeting. Only had to wait a few minutes, and then I was signing the final form, getting my pool passes, getting the info packet, and walking out the door with my keys. Checked out the house with the agent, arranged for a new toilet seat and for the lawn to be mowed... and then I changed after she left in order to go to Wing King in Virginia Beach to say good-bye to Glen (STG2) who just left the ship for the last time. Hung out for about an hour, then stopped by a Walmart for a shower curtain, bathmat, and things of that nature.
Then it was time to go pick up the U-Haul truck. Deja-Vu - learning to drive on our old 1970s GMC suburban (nicknamed "Blueberry") around the year 2000. Took me a while to get used to feeling out the right place in the lane as I drove with traffic... Thankfully, I used highways instead of I-64 while I went to get the furniture. Picked up the sofa, love-seat and table/chairs (new in box) on Virginia Beach Blvd, then swung by Freedom Furniture on Little Creek Rd. for the dresser. Didn't take long at all... but the guy who said he'd help me unload the truck at my house got confused about what time I needed him... and was unavailable. I picked up a load from my self-storage, unloaded it, then managed to find neighbors to help me unload the big stuff. It was a huge relief to be done with it all (after I returned the truck on time a few minutes later); I got a little emotional as I talked to Mike that night (partly because the Internet wasn't working either), but it made me feel a whole lot better to talk to him. Took a wonderful first shower in my new home, then fell asleep for the first time on a very comfy queen mattress of my own.
Saturday was neat! Spent the morning working on getting the table and chairs assembled. Very easy to figure out, it just took time with there being 5 big pieces. Also sorted out the mess of stuff from storage, looking for dishes... to no avail. Did a lot of sweeping up, and figured out what was wrong with the Internet after I finally called Cox... I typed the code in too early, and I was missing a coaxial cable. Before heading out to stay the night with friends in the country, I picked up another load from self-storage.
Kristin was best friends with my oldest sister back in the late 90s. She got baptized at our church and even lived with us for a while. She recalled watching WENN with us even, so it was easier to tell her about how I fell in love with Mike. :) She and her husband have a beautiful house, way out in the country. Took me about 40 minutes to get there. They were having a photographer come over that evening for new pictures for their adoption profile. I was able to help out, blocking the afternoon sunshine from their faces with a lighting screen. Dinner was an excellent beef pot roast and yummy veggies... and then Kristin and I had a couple fruity drinks on the porch as we talked and watched the sunset. Came inside, had another round, as well as some ice cream as we watched the first episode of John Adams. Sweet fun! Was very tired though... even fell asleep on chat later on!
Sunday we went to their church together (great sermon about the Lord's ultimate power over evil), and then had lunch at a southwestern burrito place very similar to Chipotle, called Moe's. Then I drove home, unpacked the load I picked up the day before, figured out the Internet (because I got a cable at Walmart on the way home), and then made my way downtown for the Norfolk Tides baseball game. Gosh, only $20 tickets, $5 parking across the street... and a beautiful stadium. Much smaller, of course, but I liked the atmosphere much better then at the Majors. It certainly helped that it was a good game... they led 7-2 by the end of the 2nd inning! Final score was Tides 8, Bulls 7, in a nearly-blown save in the ninth. But what fun! I had a hotdog, some popcorn and a big lemonade in a collectible Tides cup. Oh, and it only takes me 15 minutes to get there from home too. :)
Monday afternoon and evening (last night), I worked on getting the coffee table and bookcase put together. Had to get a a screwdriver at the NEX in order to finish... and that ended up taking more time than I thought. Got stuff for washing the dishes, a couple pans for baking, and a garden hose to clean out my very dirty garbage bin sometime. The people who lived here before didn't take care of everything. Had dinner at "Firehouse Subs" at the NEX food-court, and when I got home (around 8ish) I finished up with my furniture.
Whew! This upcoming weekend, I think I'll take it easy!
Jw
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Weekend in Town... and a few other days
Boy, is it hard to keep up on here! Lots of days I do barely anything worth mentioning, just because work takes so long. And then suddenly, I'm a week behind!
Of note, last Wednesday evening (July 18th) I swam at the pool on base, had dinner at "Mike's Pizza" on Hampton Blvd... my home away from home before I move into my house this Friday. I was done just in time to make it to the showing of North by Northwest at a theater in Chesapeake (about a half-hour away). Mike had let me know about it and he went in Oklahoma as well. Sort of a date night. :)
Also, along the way I listened to The 1920s Radio Network, 99.3 FM, Virginia Beach, for some good old-time radio music. Had discovered the station that Monday, while doing a scan of stations... the Christian station always had some talk-show on; I was giving up on them... and I'm glad I did! I can play a CD any time I want! But a nearly unlimited playlist of great old music? Not a chance!
Friday afternoon we got out late. I went to the theater downtown to see Dark Knight Rises (I enjoyed it) and had Chili's for dinner. I checked into the America's Best Value Inn on Ocean View Blvd for the weekend when I got back. It was raining when I went back to the car, but that didn't bother me... they even had covered parking!
Saturday morning I went back to the Sandfiddler for breakfast, just in time for my 9am appointment at the Pretlow Branch Library, also on Ocean View Blvd. Worked for 3 hours, getting introduced to their system, checking in materials and re-shelving them. After that I tried out the Ocean View Pier seafood restaurant, then went to check out a discount furniture store I found online... and found a few pieces I liked very much. They only allowed holding furniture in the store for 3 days, so I had to return on Tuesday to buy it. On the way back, I looked around at the nearby Norfolk Visitor's Center and picked up lots of brochures for things to do. Back at the hotel I watched Young Lincoln (1939, Henry Fonda) on the bed, then for dinner... another local seafood restaurant in Ocean View... The Ship's Cabin... and watched a big lighting storm out to sea while I ate! Then I crashed back at the hotel and talked with my Darling.
Sunday morning I checked out, and went straight to church, back to Christian Fellowship near the airport. They have coffee and doughnut holes (chocolate ones!), and I had that to tide myself over. Went back to House of Eggs nearby (that Mike and I had tried) for a brunch special... toast & sausage gravy, eggs and hash... for $5.50! On the way to church I had passed a couple furniture places, so I returned that way and checked them out. Ended up getting some things at the Thrift Store... a neat folding chair, some dishes, and a rug for one of the rooms. Went downtown to see the Chrysler Museum of Art, and spent a good couple hours looking at their fabulous two-floor collection. I think it rivaled the art museum in Chicago, it was so neat! Had Panera Bread for dinner for the first time since California! A big avocado-Cobb salad! So very good! Stopped by my self-storage unit to drop some of my purchases off, then I went back to the theater downtown to watch Woody Allen's new movie To Rome With Love, but I didn't like it too much.
Monday, I worked at the library again, just for an hour-and-a-half though. Straightened up a few of the sections of DVDs, even though the staff themselves have given up on them. During the day I bought a queen bed from Walmart, and that evening at Mike's Pizza again, I watched Tangled from the library.
Tuesday (yesterday already!), I took a shower at the gym then went back to the discount factory outlet and purchased the couch and loveseat set and the dining room table with 4 chairs that I had my heart set on from when I first visited. It was the last ones they had of the couches, and the table is new in the box. Good price on everything too. Then I decided to look at a few nearby stores, then had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant (El Rodeo) and then stopped by the COX store in the mall to get Internet set up for Friday. Walmart was just nearby, so I went there too... $19 bookshelves (2), $16 coffee table, area rug, mirror, queen comforter, pillows, clock, trashcan, place mats... I stayed there quite a while! Will have to go back for a few things, but that's okay. :)
Can't wait for Friday!!! Today I ordered a Uhaul truck... and I'm going to get somebody from my division to help me unload it all once I get it there. Yay!
Jw
Of note, last Wednesday evening (July 18th) I swam at the pool on base, had dinner at "Mike's Pizza" on Hampton Blvd... my home away from home before I move into my house this Friday. I was done just in time to make it to the showing of North by Northwest at a theater in Chesapeake (about a half-hour away). Mike had let me know about it and he went in Oklahoma as well. Sort of a date night. :)
Also, along the way I listened to The 1920s Radio Network, 99.3 FM, Virginia Beach, for some good old-time radio music. Had discovered the station that Monday, while doing a scan of stations... the Christian station always had some talk-show on; I was giving up on them... and I'm glad I did! I can play a CD any time I want! But a nearly unlimited playlist of great old music? Not a chance!
Friday afternoon we got out late. I went to the theater downtown to see Dark Knight Rises (I enjoyed it) and had Chili's for dinner. I checked into the America's Best Value Inn on Ocean View Blvd for the weekend when I got back. It was raining when I went back to the car, but that didn't bother me... they even had covered parking!
Saturday morning I went back to the Sandfiddler for breakfast, just in time for my 9am appointment at the Pretlow Branch Library, also on Ocean View Blvd. Worked for 3 hours, getting introduced to their system, checking in materials and re-shelving them. After that I tried out the Ocean View Pier seafood restaurant, then went to check out a discount furniture store I found online... and found a few pieces I liked very much. They only allowed holding furniture in the store for 3 days, so I had to return on Tuesday to buy it. On the way back, I looked around at the nearby Norfolk Visitor's Center and picked up lots of brochures for things to do. Back at the hotel I watched Young Lincoln (1939, Henry Fonda) on the bed, then for dinner... another local seafood restaurant in Ocean View... The Ship's Cabin... and watched a big lighting storm out to sea while I ate! Then I crashed back at the hotel and talked with my Darling.
Sunday morning I checked out, and went straight to church, back to Christian Fellowship near the airport. They have coffee and doughnut holes (chocolate ones!), and I had that to tide myself over. Went back to House of Eggs nearby (that Mike and I had tried) for a brunch special... toast & sausage gravy, eggs and hash... for $5.50! On the way to church I had passed a couple furniture places, so I returned that way and checked them out. Ended up getting some things at the Thrift Store... a neat folding chair, some dishes, and a rug for one of the rooms. Went downtown to see the Chrysler Museum of Art, and spent a good couple hours looking at their fabulous two-floor collection. I think it rivaled the art museum in Chicago, it was so neat! Had Panera Bread for dinner for the first time since California! A big avocado-Cobb salad! So very good! Stopped by my self-storage unit to drop some of my purchases off, then I went back to the theater downtown to watch Woody Allen's new movie To Rome With Love, but I didn't like it too much.
Monday, I worked at the library again, just for an hour-and-a-half though. Straightened up a few of the sections of DVDs, even though the staff themselves have given up on them. During the day I bought a queen bed from Walmart, and that evening at Mike's Pizza again, I watched Tangled from the library.
Tuesday (yesterday already!), I took a shower at the gym then went back to the discount factory outlet and purchased the couch and loveseat set and the dining room table with 4 chairs that I had my heart set on from when I first visited. It was the last ones they had of the couches, and the table is new in the box. Good price on everything too. Then I decided to look at a few nearby stores, then had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant (El Rodeo) and then stopped by the COX store in the mall to get Internet set up for Friday. Walmart was just nearby, so I went there too... $19 bookshelves (2), $16 coffee table, area rug, mirror, queen comforter, pillows, clock, trashcan, place mats... I stayed there quite a while! Will have to go back for a few things, but that's okay. :)
Can't wait for Friday!!! Today I ordered a Uhaul truck... and I'm going to get somebody from my division to help me unload it all once I get it there. Yay!
Jw
Monday, July 16, 2012
First Regular Weekend in Norfolk
It didn't start until roughly 9am on Saturday, but that's good enough! I started by picking up a couple things from my self-storage, then by dropping off my whites at a place on Hampton Blvd. to get my ship's rockers sewn on and to get them dry-cleaned. Had a wonderful breakfast at my favorite place, the Pancake House, then went to the NEX to pick up some rifle marksmanship ribbons, a gym bag, a new pair of khaki Capri's and a few other things. After that, I decided on finding the local library near where I'm going to live to get a library card and sign up to volunteer. It's a very new library (opened in 2008), and is very clean and well organized. A bit fewer materials than Point Loma, but they've got lots of computers and a giant kid's section upstairs. I can't wait to get going with them!
By the time I was done, it was much too late to go over to Hampton to see the Mariner's Museum... so I decided to get some lunch at the Willouhgby Inn Seafood Restaurant... and I'm so glad I did! Fantastic shrimp, scallops & trout, with sides... had to wait a while for their cook to arrive, but it was worth the wait. I survived a torrential downpour on I-64 for a mile and a half in order to get there too.
From there I thought I'd explore the coast between Ocean View and Virginia Beach on the other side. "First Landing State Park" and Fort Story lie directly between these two, and I stopped and enjoyed lovely views of the ocean, along with finding a lighthouse from the 1790s! I'll have to go back when the museum is open.
Got a motel nearby, swam in the pool, went out to eat. Chatted at the motel, watched Misty (1961) - my first check-out from the Norfolk library system. The next day I found another great breakfast place (The Sandfiddler), checked out a local church, met a lot of friendly people, then headed over to Hampton (across the bridge/tunnel) for three free hours at the Mariner's Museum. Half of it is dedicated to the recovery of the USS Monitor, and they have some pretty fabulous restored artifacts. They also have a miniature ship collection... all built by one man. If you think the precise historical detail and unbelievable artistic carving and painting isn't neat enough, look through the gun-ports on some of them and you'll see working rudders and wheels. The guy even wound his own miniature ropes! Wow. Needless to say, I'll be going back.
Had Mexican for dinner in Newport News. They had a fresh guacamole cart that came right up to the table as the guy made a big bowl of guacamole! Never had it that way before, and my goodness, was that something good.
It was a fun little weekend... but now it's back to business. This afternoon I went back to the library and found that they're very happy to have me come in and volunteer whenever I can... which makes me very happy. I have an appointment with a librarian this upcoming weekend to learn how this library does things. Yay! :) And then I drove the back-roads back to base and did 1,000 yds at the fitness center pool across from the piers with the carriers. Feels so good!
Jw
By the time I was done, it was much too late to go over to Hampton to see the Mariner's Museum... so I decided to get some lunch at the Willouhgby Inn Seafood Restaurant... and I'm so glad I did! Fantastic shrimp, scallops & trout, with sides... had to wait a while for their cook to arrive, but it was worth the wait. I survived a torrential downpour on I-64 for a mile and a half in order to get there too.
From there I thought I'd explore the coast between Ocean View and Virginia Beach on the other side. "First Landing State Park" and Fort Story lie directly between these two, and I stopped and enjoyed lovely views of the ocean, along with finding a lighthouse from the 1790s! I'll have to go back when the museum is open.
Got a motel nearby, swam in the pool, went out to eat. Chatted at the motel, watched Misty (1961) - my first check-out from the Norfolk library system. The next day I found another great breakfast place (The Sandfiddler), checked out a local church, met a lot of friendly people, then headed over to Hampton (across the bridge/tunnel) for three free hours at the Mariner's Museum. Half of it is dedicated to the recovery of the USS Monitor, and they have some pretty fabulous restored artifacts. They also have a miniature ship collection... all built by one man. If you think the precise historical detail and unbelievable artistic carving and painting isn't neat enough, look through the gun-ports on some of them and you'll see working rudders and wheels. The guy even wound his own miniature ropes! Wow. Needless to say, I'll be going back.
Had Mexican for dinner in Newport News. They had a fresh guacamole cart that came right up to the table as the guy made a big bowl of guacamole! Never had it that way before, and my goodness, was that something good.
It was a fun little weekend... but now it's back to business. This afternoon I went back to the library and found that they're very happy to have me come in and volunteer whenever I can... which makes me very happy. I have an appointment with a librarian this upcoming weekend to learn how this library does things. Yay! :) And then I drove the back-roads back to base and did 1,000 yds at the fitness center pool across from the piers with the carriers. Feels so good!
Jw
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Recharging
I had the enormous blessing of ten days off from the Navy that I was able to spend with my dear friend Julie in West Virginia.
Friday, the 29th, I didn't leave until 8:30pm, after the dinner with my division in Virginia Beach. Only got as far as Richmond, but it was good I wanted to stop there... a severe thunderstorm came through and sent lots of bolts flying around, as well as a hurricane-force wind... right went I checked into one of the last rooms at a Best Value Inn across from the airport.
Saturday morning, I got a late start from sleeping in and having a good breakfast at the local restaurant nearby. Figured out on Google where a nearby Richmond battlefield was and round-aboutly got there. I stopped practically dead in my tracks before I got there though... there was a little visitor center on the left and a bunch of reenactors on the right. A sub-group of the Virginia National Guard were directing traffic, and I soon found out from the Park Service that this was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Glendale (part of the Seven Days Battle of 1862). June 30, 2012... and I stumbled right on top of it.
Looked in the museum, which had a great map with lights indicating where the soldiers and battles were. Across the street a unit of Union soldiers held a marching and firing demonstration... and an artillery unit fired a cannon. I got to chat with the artillery men off to the side, tried on one of their wool coats to experience 104 degrees in the sun. Gosh! And when they found out I was military, they invited me to join their group, which meets every month in Petersburg... and helps out with the Monitor/Merrimack anniversary every year in Hampton Roads. :) After this, I went a little north to see Cold Harbor. You could say I had a good time.
Nearly to West Virginia now... about 6pm, I noticed a brown information sign saying "Montecello, Next Exit". Figured they'd be closed, but I tried it out anyway and found to my delight that they stayed open till 7, had one more tour I could just get on, and was free for Active Duty! Wow! It was fabulous to see Jefferson's home. Lots of neat original and reproduction works... loved the wall calender, the bed between the rooms and the working automatic double doors. And what a lovely, green, peaceful place! Saw the tomb on the way down the mountain.
Arrived in West Virginia in the aftermath of the severe storm I had been watching ahead of me for several hours. There was no gas available, I was running out, there were trees and wires down, and to top it all, there was a huge power outage and it was getting foggy. Needless to say, it took me a long time to find Julie's Island. (She teaches at a Baptist School which puts her up on their little summer-camp island in the middle of a river. There's a suspension foot-bridge over to it, and lots of times she sees deer running around. She owns a black lab named Galaxy, and three cats.) So it was a little hot the first couple nights. The power didn't come on until the evening of the fourth.
Sunday, the first day we spent a lot of time at friends of hers house (John and Kris) Found gas at Kroger nearby, ate sandwiches, and entertained ourselves in the evening by singing hymns together... so much fun! I took a good long nap that afternoon, so I was finally catching up! Next day, the 2nd, we went back to her place and went inter-tubing down her river and walked back upstream. I found a clam the size of my outstretched hand... and a weird-looking larvae of a dobsonfly that freaked me out as I picked up rocks. Later on visited Jimmy and Betty (other friends from church) in order to go hiking in the woods behind their place.
July 3rd we watched The Artist in the library and then went to downtown Charleston to watch The Amazing Spiderman. But we were confused about the start time, and ended up seeing the wrong showing, missing the first hour of it. We saw all we really needed to for the story, but it sure felt odd, only at an hour and twenty minutes! On the way back to the house, I thought, gee, why don't we keep driving! So we kept going on 79 north and cut across most of West Virginia, stopping in Clarksburg after some of the most beautiful freeway I've ever seen. We got gas and had some Starbucks Coffee. Yep, we drove 240 miles round-trip for drinks! LOL! When we got close to home, Julie found out from friends that the 4th of July celebration was actually that night! Kept going back to Charleston, and made our way to the riverfront for the West Virginia Symphony and a great display of fireworks.
On our nation's 236th birthday, we went downtown again in the morning, to get some things for the dog at the feed store, and then watch another movie to pass the time... People Like Us won out. Got home in the afternoon, and discovered that the electricity had just been turned back on! POWER!!! We rested in a nice, cool house for the rest of the evening.
On Thursday, the 5th, we went back to Jimmy's house in order to ride horses with him all morning! I had a white Arabian mix named "Doc" with an English saddle, Julie had a paint named "King" with a Western, and Jimmy rode a bay. He has nine in all! They were all very easy to ride, and even though Julie was not very accustomed to horses, we did a lot of trotting, and even some cantering. The trails were great... lots of ups and downs and beautiful woods. It was so fun! Hosed them off back in the stable, wiped the water off with a blade, and with rags. Gosh, they got hot! And then, just as we left, a thunderstorm rolled in and we escaped getting poured on... by the skin of our teeth! Drove over to Walmart on the other side of town in order to pick up food for dinner. The storm had subsided and disappeared along with a stop-sign near Julie's house by the time we returned. Watched Sleepless in Seattle and had a great spaghetti dinner.
Movies, movies, movies at home! On Friday, we relaxed. Little sore from the horseback ride... so after a hot breakfast at home again, we watched The Perfect Man (Hilary Duff, believe it or not), Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and then later on with a friend who came over because she had no power, The Prince & Me, and The Nanny Diaries.
Saturday morning Julie and I took off for a mini road trip south on 77. The New River Gorge Bridge, built in 1977, is the world's largest, single-span, steel bridge, and the second highest in the US, at 876 feet. After looking at the bridge, we drove the one-way highway down the switchbacks to the river, crossed on a lower bridge, then went swimming in our clothes because it looked so nice and it was so warm. We took the long route coming back, and stopped for dinner at La Carreta (authentic Mexican in Charleston).
That night, we played a bunch of rounds of the Origins game with Julie's two friends who were staying over because of the weather. I didn't think I'd do very well, especially after the first couple hands. The point of the game is to guess the correct origin of a word or phrase while coming up with a bogus one yourself to hoodwink the other players. If you're the person reading all the options, you get points if no one guesses the right one. Later on, however, I scored the maximum 5 points in one hand on the word "hogwash", and ended up winning overall, beating Julie by one point. :)
It was very sad to leave her the next morning, but I waited until after young adult Sunday School at the church. She walked me out to my car and hugged me goodbye. What a miracle trip! It was so very nice!
In Lexington, Virginia, on the way home, I stopped by the VMI campus and saw the George C. Marshall museum for a few hours! Even though it is small, it's very interactive, and tells full story... WWII Army Chief of Staff, Red Cross president, Secretary of Defense, Recovery Plan for Europe, Nobel Peace Prize. And they had a used book sale too... I bought "I Saw Paris Fall" from 1940. Didn't get to the VMI museum in time, but I was able to see Stonewall Jackson's home and cemetery. Lee is buried at the Washington and Lee University there as well, but that and many other things were closed for the day.
But now, back to the Navy, to Duty, and to Norfolk.
Jw
Friday, the 29th, I didn't leave until 8:30pm, after the dinner with my division in Virginia Beach. Only got as far as Richmond, but it was good I wanted to stop there... a severe thunderstorm came through and sent lots of bolts flying around, as well as a hurricane-force wind... right went I checked into one of the last rooms at a Best Value Inn across from the airport.
Saturday morning, I got a late start from sleeping in and having a good breakfast at the local restaurant nearby. Figured out on Google where a nearby Richmond battlefield was and round-aboutly got there. I stopped practically dead in my tracks before I got there though... there was a little visitor center on the left and a bunch of reenactors on the right. A sub-group of the Virginia National Guard were directing traffic, and I soon found out from the Park Service that this was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Glendale (part of the Seven Days Battle of 1862). June 30, 2012... and I stumbled right on top of it.
Looked in the museum, which had a great map with lights indicating where the soldiers and battles were. Across the street a unit of Union soldiers held a marching and firing demonstration... and an artillery unit fired a cannon. I got to chat with the artillery men off to the side, tried on one of their wool coats to experience 104 degrees in the sun. Gosh! And when they found out I was military, they invited me to join their group, which meets every month in Petersburg... and helps out with the Monitor/Merrimack anniversary every year in Hampton Roads. :) After this, I went a little north to see Cold Harbor. You could say I had a good time.
Nearly to West Virginia now... about 6pm, I noticed a brown information sign saying "Montecello, Next Exit". Figured they'd be closed, but I tried it out anyway and found to my delight that they stayed open till 7, had one more tour I could just get on, and was free for Active Duty! Wow! It was fabulous to see Jefferson's home. Lots of neat original and reproduction works... loved the wall calender, the bed between the rooms and the working automatic double doors. And what a lovely, green, peaceful place! Saw the tomb on the way down the mountain.
Arrived in West Virginia in the aftermath of the severe storm I had been watching ahead of me for several hours. There was no gas available, I was running out, there were trees and wires down, and to top it all, there was a huge power outage and it was getting foggy. Needless to say, it took me a long time to find Julie's Island. (She teaches at a Baptist School which puts her up on their little summer-camp island in the middle of a river. There's a suspension foot-bridge over to it, and lots of times she sees deer running around. She owns a black lab named Galaxy, and three cats.) So it was a little hot the first couple nights. The power didn't come on until the evening of the fourth.
Sunday, the first day we spent a lot of time at friends of hers house (John and Kris) Found gas at Kroger nearby, ate sandwiches, and entertained ourselves in the evening by singing hymns together... so much fun! I took a good long nap that afternoon, so I was finally catching up! Next day, the 2nd, we went back to her place and went inter-tubing down her river and walked back upstream. I found a clam the size of my outstretched hand... and a weird-looking larvae of a dobsonfly that freaked me out as I picked up rocks. Later on visited Jimmy and Betty (other friends from church) in order to go hiking in the woods behind their place.
July 3rd we watched The Artist in the library and then went to downtown Charleston to watch The Amazing Spiderman. But we were confused about the start time, and ended up seeing the wrong showing, missing the first hour of it. We saw all we really needed to for the story, but it sure felt odd, only at an hour and twenty minutes! On the way back to the house, I thought, gee, why don't we keep driving! So we kept going on 79 north and cut across most of West Virginia, stopping in Clarksburg after some of the most beautiful freeway I've ever seen. We got gas and had some Starbucks Coffee. Yep, we drove 240 miles round-trip for drinks! LOL! When we got close to home, Julie found out from friends that the 4th of July celebration was actually that night! Kept going back to Charleston, and made our way to the riverfront for the West Virginia Symphony and a great display of fireworks.
On our nation's 236th birthday, we went downtown again in the morning, to get some things for the dog at the feed store, and then watch another movie to pass the time... People Like Us won out. Got home in the afternoon, and discovered that the electricity had just been turned back on! POWER!!! We rested in a nice, cool house for the rest of the evening.
On Thursday, the 5th, we went back to Jimmy's house in order to ride horses with him all morning! I had a white Arabian mix named "Doc" with an English saddle, Julie had a paint named "King" with a Western, and Jimmy rode a bay. He has nine in all! They were all very easy to ride, and even though Julie was not very accustomed to horses, we did a lot of trotting, and even some cantering. The trails were great... lots of ups and downs and beautiful woods. It was so fun! Hosed them off back in the stable, wiped the water off with a blade, and with rags. Gosh, they got hot! And then, just as we left, a thunderstorm rolled in and we escaped getting poured on... by the skin of our teeth! Drove over to Walmart on the other side of town in order to pick up food for dinner. The storm had subsided and disappeared along with a stop-sign near Julie's house by the time we returned. Watched Sleepless in Seattle and had a great spaghetti dinner.
Movies, movies, movies at home! On Friday, we relaxed. Little sore from the horseback ride... so after a hot breakfast at home again, we watched The Perfect Man (Hilary Duff, believe it or not), Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and then later on with a friend who came over because she had no power, The Prince & Me, and The Nanny Diaries.
Saturday morning Julie and I took off for a mini road trip south on 77. The New River Gorge Bridge, built in 1977, is the world's largest, single-span, steel bridge, and the second highest in the US, at 876 feet. After looking at the bridge, we drove the one-way highway down the switchbacks to the river, crossed on a lower bridge, then went swimming in our clothes because it looked so nice and it was so warm. We took the long route coming back, and stopped for dinner at La Carreta (authentic Mexican in Charleston).
That night, we played a bunch of rounds of the Origins game with Julie's two friends who were staying over because of the weather. I didn't think I'd do very well, especially after the first couple hands. The point of the game is to guess the correct origin of a word or phrase while coming up with a bogus one yourself to hoodwink the other players. If you're the person reading all the options, you get points if no one guesses the right one. Later on, however, I scored the maximum 5 points in one hand on the word "hogwash", and ended up winning overall, beating Julie by one point. :)
It was very sad to leave her the next morning, but I waited until after young adult Sunday School at the church. She walked me out to my car and hugged me goodbye. What a miracle trip! It was so very nice!
In Lexington, Virginia, on the way home, I stopped by the VMI campus and saw the George C. Marshall museum for a few hours! Even though it is small, it's very interactive, and tells full story... WWII Army Chief of Staff, Red Cross president, Secretary of Defense, Recovery Plan for Europe, Nobel Peace Prize. And they had a used book sale too... I bought "I Saw Paris Fall" from 1940. Didn't get to the VMI museum in time, but I was able to see Stonewall Jackson's home and cemetery. Lee is buried at the Washington and Lee University there as well, but that and many other things were closed for the day.
But now, back to the Navy, to Duty, and to Norfolk.
Jw
Virginia, With My Husband
Tuesday, June 19, was check-in day, but I was done by nine. Found The Pancake House, for a great breakfast place, and then later on, a local Italian place after checking out all of our military housing options. Returned to our final choice in the afternoon to meet with the manager. A very busy day!
Wednesday also done early after urinalysis. Got the lease at the housing office in order to review it at the hotel. Sort of a low-key day... took a look around Ocean View and the Willoughby Spit before returning to the housing office to sign the lease. Got take-out Chinese and brought it back to the hotel for a quiet night.
Thursday's Indoc didn't last too long, emptied the car into a public storage locker nearby on the way back to the hotel. Had Popeye's Chicken for lunch, then the evening on Virginia Beach... aquarium, walked on the beach, got fingers and toes wet in the Atlantic, rode on a Ferris Wheel at the theme park, got a stuffed penguin (named him VeeBee) by throwing darts at balloons, had seafood on the pier.
Friday went through Hampton Roads to visit Yorktown on the peninsula. Stopped at a great little diner on the way back. Lots of traffic!
Saturday we visited Fort Monroe on our way to Historic Williamsburg. Did it on recommendation from a friend, and didn't realize how long it would take. The place has been visited by nearly everyone... Robert E. Lee was stationed there, McClellan came through during the peninsula campaign 150 yrs ago this year, Abraham Lincoln visited, and Jefferson Davis was imprisoned there. Other notables... Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there, and Pershing came through too. And it was the nation's artillery school before Fort Sill.
Good grief! And then we realized we were on our way to a place you just can't see everything even in a full day. So, we did our best and will indeed return. I loved the courthouse, the parish church, and the George Wythe House best. The last house we toured had mostly original furnishings, so there was a period tour guide who acted as if we were visiting the family.
Sunday morning, the 24th, we found a different breakfast place near the airport. Turned out it was a good thing we went right to the zoo, since it only took us an hour-and-a-half. Kind of small and outdated, but the giraffe and tiger exhibits were the best ever! Came back and packed Mike's carry-on, got some fried chicken to go, then dropped him off at the airport.
Wednesday also done early after urinalysis. Got the lease at the housing office in order to review it at the hotel. Sort of a low-key day... took a look around Ocean View and the Willoughby Spit before returning to the housing office to sign the lease. Got take-out Chinese and brought it back to the hotel for a quiet night.
Thursday's Indoc didn't last too long, emptied the car into a public storage locker nearby on the way back to the hotel. Had Popeye's Chicken for lunch, then the evening on Virginia Beach... aquarium, walked on the beach, got fingers and toes wet in the Atlantic, rode on a Ferris Wheel at the theme park, got a stuffed penguin (named him VeeBee) by throwing darts at balloons, had seafood on the pier.
Friday went through Hampton Roads to visit Yorktown on the peninsula. Stopped at a great little diner on the way back. Lots of traffic!
Saturday we visited Fort Monroe on our way to Historic Williamsburg. Did it on recommendation from a friend, and didn't realize how long it would take. The place has been visited by nearly everyone... Robert E. Lee was stationed there, McClellan came through during the peninsula campaign 150 yrs ago this year, Abraham Lincoln visited, and Jefferson Davis was imprisoned there. Other notables... Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there, and Pershing came through too. And it was the nation's artillery school before Fort Sill.
Good grief! And then we realized we were on our way to a place you just can't see everything even in a full day. So, we did our best and will indeed return. I loved the courthouse, the parish church, and the George Wythe House best. The last house we toured had mostly original furnishings, so there was a period tour guide who acted as if we were visiting the family.
Sunday morning, the 24th, we found a different breakfast place near the airport. Turned out it was a good thing we went right to the zoo, since it only took us an hour-and-a-half. Kind of small and outdated, but the giraffe and tiger exhibits were the best ever! Came back and packed Mike's carry-on, got some fried chicken to go, then dropped him off at the airport.
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