VA Day 2

Day 2 of my Virginia vacation was awesome, plus a crushing blow.

We started the day with breakfast at "Bob Evans".  Katie & I were determined to dine at BE on our last x-country road trip, but only managed Cracker Barrel before we left the midwest and Bob Evans land.  My breakfast was good, and the biscuits were quite tasty.  Bob doesn't hold a candle to Cracker Barrel in the cheesy gifts area though.

Our next stop ended in disaster and disappointment!  Right across the highway from Bob Evans has always been my next dream stop: the strip mall location of "A Soldier's Life: Civil War Museum".  Somehow, in 6 years of visiting F-burg, I've never made it to this little museum.  And I was determined that this was the time.  Sadly, the Visitor's Bureau reported that the museum had closed/moved down by the James Monroe House, aka World's Saddest Museum.  The Visitor's Bureau told Cara that "he didn't get enough traffic, sometimes he only had 2 visitors a DAY".  She thought 2 a WEEK would have been a success.  Well, he also didn't have all his exhibits back up and was "focusing on his vintage photography".  Damn it.

We rallied after that disaster, and headed up to Mount Vernon:

Lovely.  The estate is beautiful, the mansion is beautiful and it was an interesting place to tour.  Granted, GW didn't have as many interesting inventions and whatnots as at Monticello, but the rooms have been restored to their original colors and decor and I really loved it.  I'd move into George and Martha's bedroom in a heartbeat.

The Perfect Hostess Gifts

for our Virginians, who sorely miss their favorite Pacific NW Products.  I brought with me:

Yep, you cannot get Tillamook Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheddar, Red Vines and Oh Boy Oberto! Cocktail Pep.  The Virginians were thrilled to get a taste of home :-)

PS good news!  We went to the Tillamook website and and discovered there are a few places in VA where you can buy the XS cheese.  So yay!

ETA: I made mac & cheese for dinner tonight.  OMG it was so good.  I outdid myself and Cara & Tony may follow me home on the promise of a regular meal of m&c.  :0

VA Day 1

not really anything too exciting to report.  Cara had to go to a work meeting today somewhere in Podunksville VA.  So Pooh  and I were left to our own devices for the day.  We contemplated going to the Luray Caverns (I know, they  are amazing), but somehow that didn't happen.  Instead, we did a tour of about 60 miles around Winchester VA and tracked down every thrift store in the area.  So I got a little inventory and did see a lot of lovely scenery and some amazing Civil War era towns.

Pooh was a good sport.  He cheered when I proclaimed "hells no, I'm not paying $5.00 to go in the Winchester Court House Museum" (aka up the stairs to the 2nd floor).  And spent a lot of time doing this:

We have big plans for tomorrow!  Bob Evans for breakfast, The Soldier's Life: Civil War Museum, then Mount Vernon!  They should be ready to ship me home after that whirlwind of activity.  But we still have much more to see...

Yay! I'm in VA~

I am safely arrived in Virginia!  Tony and Cara picked me up at Dulles, which proves what good children they are, as traffic is horrible in DC. 

We  are going to the Luray Caverns tomorrow morning (Tony and I are going, as Cara has a meeting), and have plans to go to the Smithsonian, Mount Vernon, the Civil War Soldier's Museum/Bob Evans (both in the same strip mall lol) and maybe up to New York for the US Open.

But whatever we do, or even if we do nothing, I'm loving seeing my Fred & Irene.

Irene(s) Update

A bit of news on the "Irene" fronts:

1. Hurricane Irene has passed through Virginia, and Cara reports that Fredericksburg escaped unscathed.  To her and Tony's delight I'm sure, she says Williamsburg is under water...so they are spared my planned trip to Colonial Williamsburg.  Next time, you two are doomed.

At the urging of Southwest, I moved my departure date to tomorrow (Monday) so I shouldn't have any delays in getting to DC.  I'm excited for my week in VA!

2. Our other "hurricane" Lois Irene :-) spent the weekend with Jon and Lorraine.  I went over for dinner last night (fresh crab from Lopez Island--what a treat!) and she was having a pretty good time.  J & L's neighbor Bert came for dinner with his mom, who also has dementia, so it was kind of cray-cray.  But Julie is as sweet as Lois is salty so it was an interesting contrast.

I went over this morning to take the twins birthday shopping and out to lunch, and Lois was definitely ready to go home, and crabby that I wasn't there to take her to Seattle.  I reminded her that when she is home, she wants to be anywhere else and she's always complaining no one takes her anywhere (not true btw).  That argument didn't cut any ice with her, but Lorraine is really good at putting up with her crankiness when Jon and I get fed up.  As Lorraine pointed out, HER parents drive her crazy and Jon manages them like a master, so it's all about that family dynamic.

Off to start packing my grip!  Will check in with my adventures in VA!

East Coast Apocalypse!

It certainly seems as though the gods are conspiring against my vacation in Virginia!  First the earthquake and now Hurricane Irene.  Southwest strongly suggested I change my trip plans, so now I'm heading east on Monday rather than Saturday.

Hopeful Irene will have moved on by the time I board my flight.  I like Denver but don't really want to spend an extended period of time in the airport there.

I Remember Mama

I am home for a couple of days before I head off to the maelstrom of freak geological/weather events that is the East Coast...

I had a nice week in Seattle, although most of my entertainment plans didn't pan out (the zoo parking lot was completely full, and other miscalculations).  Mom and I drove up to The Cabin to visit with B-Z, Bob and the kids/babies, and that was a lot of fun.  The babies are getting SO big!  Carsie is scooting around everywhere and pulling himself up on anything handy.  Hadley is a 4 year old dynamo, Maddie was super cute in her braids and flouncy skirt (I didn't check to see if she had on underpants, but probably not), and Allie -- cutest thing EVER.  The parents are a delight as well.  Mom was put to work placing stickers on campaign flyers, which she did well.

Whenever I spend a week helping care for Mom, I'm awed at the love and devotion of my sibs who take care of her on a daily basis.  While she is (thankfully) still able to dress, bathe and feed herself, it's an exhausting task to keep her occupied, to answer the same questions over and over, and to make sure she has her meals when she wants them, etc.  You guys are the BEST.

Anyway, I was thinking about all the good things I remember about Mom:

1. Lois was an only child, with two parents who thought she was the greatest thing ever.  When she'd enter a room, her dad would proclaim "THERE SHE IS!" and she owned the room.  She was always the person who was the center of the action.
2. Super artist, craftster, florist.  Mom could take a stick, 2 rocks and some moss and create a beautiful arrangement.  She sewed beautifully, I remember her knitting complex Aran and color projects, her Christmas decorations were always fab.  And she painted in both oils and watercolors, drew and sketched beautifully and sold many paintings.
3. Great cook.  Her potato salad, mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes: Legend.  And no one could bake a pie as good as Mom's.  Her apple pie is still my idea of the perfect breakfast.
4. Amazing storyteller.  This lady could tell a joke like a Vegas entertainer, including accents if needed.  As someone who is completely incapable of telling a joke, this talent awed me.  
5. Hostess with the mostest.  I remember my folks giving fabulous cocktail parties, the kind you see on "Mad Men" with pitchers of martinis, cigarettes galore, broadway show tunes on the stereo and people all dressed up.  So cool.
6. Snazzy dresser.  Back in the 60s, I used to LOVE going through Mom's closet, with her boxes of matching shoes and purses, hats, dresses etc.  Her glove drawer!  Her hanky drawer!  Her jewelry box!  All scented with her signature "Hope" perfume.
7. Voracious reader of hard-boiled detective novels.  You couldn't convince her to read anything "Literary" but she did love her Robert Parker, Elmore Leonard, Tony Hillerman crime novels.  

Those are just a few things I remember about Mom.  While she is unable to do most of these things now, she's still our Mom.  And every day I was there, she told me how happy she was that I was there.  And I made sure to tell her how much I love her.