Virginia – An Awfully Big Adventure

NC to FL to VA to NC (again)

Melissa and I went on quite the adventure this past two weeks. Melissa’s childhood best friend’s wedding was in FL and so we decided to make a vacation out of it and since my Grandfather lives in FL, we decided to go visit him as well.

We left on February 12th. We got up SUPER early (I think around 3:30am) to start our trip. Our plan was to drop the boys off with Melissa’s Grandmother for the few days we’d be gone, stay the night, drive to FL, and then come back to NC after the wedding to spend a few days with her before driving home.

Normally I take a family picture as we depart but since it was 4am neither one of us wanted our picture taken. So I snapped one of the boys.

We arrived in NC around dinner time. I had fallen victim to a very bad cold and so I had been loading up on medication during our trip, something I never do since I try to use natural remedies. But since we were traveling I decided this was easier. The natural medicine I wanted to buy wasn’t available so I settled on Mucinex. BIG MISTAKE. In my sickened state I didn’t think to read the labels. Mucinex (the liquid kind) has Sucralose in it. I am HIGHLY sensitive to it. So on top of feeling miserable from a bad cold, I now had severe stomach issues. So when we got to Grandma’s I ran to CVS to get the medicine I originally wanted. When I got back to Grandma’s, I barely ate a few bites of dinner before I headed to bed to sleep off the stomach issues.

We woke up super early (again), said goodbye to Grandma and the boys, and made our way to FL.

Timestamp says this photo was taken at 11:34am on Feb 13. We still had about 5-6 hours to go to my Grandfather’s.

We arrived at my Grandfather’s around 7:30pm. My cousin, Lauren, and her boyfriend were visiting at the same time so we got to spend a few days with them as well. We also had amazing weather while we were there, although, compared to Ohio in February, any temp above 65 is amazing. It was sunshiny and HOT. We loved it.

My Grandfather’s lanai. I could *feel* my Grandmother there. I had forgotten how beautiful it was.

We were spoiled in FL. My Grandfather is a member of a private club so we had access to their beautiful pool (and pool service). I could barely taste it due to congestion but what I could taste was delicious; my FIRST Pina Colada!

My Grandfather took us out for Valentine’s Day.

While in FL we were also able to meet up with Hannia, one of Melissa’s friends from college. She’s from Costa Rica but was visiting her Mum in Miami so she drove over to spend the day with us! We went to the zoo and the beach.

We left Sunday morning to head to Tampa for Jess’s wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL.

Sadly, right before the wedding we found out Melissa’s Grandfather had passed away. So we diverted our trip slightly. Instead of heading back to NC after FL, we drove to VA instead. t was a sad time but it was nice seeing Melissa’s family again and meeting new family members. Also, I got to snuggle one of the cutest babies ever.

I’m ready to be a Mama. Like, right now.

After spending two days in VA we headed back to NC, stopping for a couple of hours in Savannah on the way.

We took the boys to the beach (their first times). They were not fans but it was also super cold, rainy, and windy. We told them they need to get used to the beach and sand because one day (soon hopefully) we will be living near the beach.

It was nice spending a few extra days with Melissa’s Grandmother and visiting a few local places Melissa likes. She took me to her favourite pizza place in NC. It was REALLY good.

We left early in the morning on February 22nd and made it back home to Ohio at around 10:30pm. It was an amazing trip but with all the driving it was exhausting.

14/10 would do it again. And again.

February 23, 2020March 19, 2020 by strongmadchen Categories: Adventure, Family, Florida, Friends, North Carolina, Sick, Travel, Virginia Leave a comment

Christmas Roadtrip

We left on Dec 22nd and spent a few days in Wilmington NC with Melissa’s Grandmother.

Melissa took me to the beach and to the aquarium where she used to work in high school.

More Christmas lights and enjoying some much needed relaxation time.

After Wilmington we traveled to Fredericksburg VA to visit some more of Melissa’s family.

Home at last.

December 29, 2019March 18, 2020 by strongmadchen Categories: Adventure, Christmas, Family, North Carolina, Travel, Virginia Leave a comment

First Vacation

Melissa and I took a few days off work to travel to Virginia to visit her family and see some amazing historical things.

Toby was a little more excited than Rusty.

Nana and Grandpa had a visitor. A beautiful peacock who was trying desperately to get the attention of a lady peacock. Maybe try a dad joke? It worked for Melissa.

We met up with Melissa’s Aunt Tina and Uncle Larry-Keith at their lake house. They took us out on the boat and treated us to a delicious lunch (I ate ALL the shrimps) and ice cream.

Melissa surprised me by taking me to Ferry Farm, George Washington’s boyhood home. They made a replica of the home on the existing foundation. It was AMAZING.