Virginia Beach

The next couple of days of our vacation, we went to Jamestown and then to some historical sights in Richmond. I was ready to be done with the learning (I'm a great teacher, I know!) so Doug and I escaped down to Virginia Beach a day ahead of his family. The last time we went to Virginia beach was in the off season. Here are some pictures of us then.  This was from earlier in 2008 BEFORE I started a blog.  Aren't we so young!

We really enjoyed ourselves that time, so we were really looking forward to it this time. We were able to get a reservation at one of the THREE Marriott hotels along the beach for a somewhat decent rate with Doug's government discount.

We went ahead and ate at the same place we had eaten at during the off season. It's this restaurant that is on the bottom floor of the Hilton hotel.  You can request a seat outside and you're facing the ocean and about 20 feet from the beach.  Apparently their menu prices change in the off season.  Last time we went it cost us $30 for two meals and an appetizer.  This time it cost us more than twice that much for basically the same stuff.  I think our next visit will be in October like it was last time.

The beach was great.  Doug and I both sat and read on the beach after dinner.  I finally was able to finish the last book of the series, Hunger Games.  I really enjoyed that series!  We then walked and collected lots of shells.  We don't really spend too much on souvenirs, but we do like to collect shells and put them in decorative glass jars.  Doug fed the seagulls goldfish crackers.  Here are some pictures from this last trip.

So anyways, Doug's family joined us at the beach the next day.  I taught Lexi, Doug's little sister how to boogie board and then we built a sandcastle together.  I was also able to meet my sister and her kids who actually live in Virginia Beach for lunch that day as well.  Overall it was a lot of fun.  I love the beach!

Monticello

So my in-laws came into town a couple days after school let out, so Doug and I went on vacation with them.  They were staying in Richmond with Doug's Aunt Leslie so they could visit with grandma as well.  Doug's grandma has had a tough time with her chemo, so she's been staying with Aunt Leslie, who happens to have a husband who is a doctor and is a nurse herself.  She's been taking EXCELLENT care of grandma.  Doug and I went ahead a got a room at the Marriott down the street to escape the crowd at Leslie's.

Here's a picture of me and my pal, TJ at the visitor center.

On Monday, our first day in Richmond, we drove to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.  I thought the price was a little steep at $22, but I guess it may be worth it if you're a history buff.  We started our tour at a pretty nice visitor center located down the hill a ways from the actual house.  We watched a little 15 minute movie about Jefferson, browsed the shop, and then jumped on the bus to the house for our tour.

We took a tour of the actual house first, then the garden, and then went UNDER the house for a tour. It was a little lame that we couldn't take pictures inside the house because "not all of the objects in the house are owned by the historical society, blah, blah, blah." but the tour was pretty informative.  I will try NOT to give you a history lesson, but I learned a few cool things.  Thomas Jefferson designed and redesigned Monticello himself.  He was not a professionally trained architect, but he did read a lot of books on architecture.  It took him over 40 years to build his house because he kept on changing things.  Many of his ideas came from his trips to Europe as an ambassador for the United States.

Doug's sisters posing under the house.

As we we continued around the property, I decided that Jefferson PREACHED a lot of really good ideas, but didn't really LIVE them.  For one, he was a REALLY bad spender and was in terrible debt.  He loved books and had quite the collection, but sold them all to the Library of Congress to get out of debt.  He then decided that he "could not live without books" so he went into debt again buying more.  When he died, his family had to sell Monticello and all of his things to pay for his many debts.

Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom that was the basis for the first amendment of the Bill of Rights which gives us freedom of religion.  I had always assumed that Thomas Jefferson was a religious man, but that was not really the case.  He was a free-thinker though and believed that religion should be a choice.

The garden tour was okay.  There was this lady telling what seemed like exciting stories, but I had hit my mid afternoon nap time and was dozing off a bit as she told stories and walked us around the grounds.  Jefferson himself said that he was opposed to slavery, but he had over 200 slaves that ran his property at Monticello.  He actually fathered a couple children with one of his slaves. 

The part of the house that I actually enjoyed the most was UNDERNEATH it.  There is actually a big tunnel the runs under the house with rooms off of it.  Here Jefferson's slaves were able to take care of the happenings of the house above from below.  There were actually dumb waiters from under the house that brought up food and beverages.

After taking all of the different tours, we took some pictures around the outside of the house.  We focused on the side of Monticello that is featured on the back of both the two dollar bill and the nickel.

Here is a picture of me at the reflecting pool with Monticello in the background.

Here is a picture of Doug and I at Monticello.

To be completely honest, I wasn't exactly THRILLED about touring an old house during my vacation time, but now I'm actually glad that I did.  It was a cool experience and now I'm just THAT much smarter.

Memorial Day Weekend

Doug and I drove down to the Cumberland area to visit with some friends over Memorial Day weekend this year.  It was a last minute sort of deal, so we didn't even leave until Saturday.  Doug has recently upgraded my computer, so we gave our old computer to the friends we were staying with.  There are actually some Americans that do not have a computer OR the internet.  It was their first desktop computer and it was fun teaching them how to use it.

While we were in the area, we decided to go strawberry picking at Higson's Farm.  Doug went there as a kid and has some very fond memories.  While we were driving there, Doug scared me by suddenly putting on his brakes, pulling over, and running out of the car.  He came back with this!

Meet Turtle... I didn't know that it was in Doug to be rescuer of turtles, but apparently it is.  He picked him up and returned him to a nearby stream safe from cars.

Minutes later, we arrived at Higson's Farm.  We had been wanting to go here to pick strawberries for a while, but I believe the family that runs the farm is Seventh Day Adventist or something, so their Sabbath is on Saturday.  Since our Sabbath is on a Sunday, it makes it hard to get in on a normal weekend.  Thank goodness for four day weekends!

Here are some pictures of Doug and I while we're picking strawberries.  This isn't the most flattering picture of me.  Doug usually wakes up a full hour before me and by the time I was awake, he was up and ready, rearing to go.  I wasn't going to let him go strawberry picking without me so, I just left with him at that moment.  I'm wearing what I wore to bed the night before.  I haven't showered, brushed my hair, put on make up, or do any of the other stuff I usually do to make myself public friendly.

 

Not many people these days drive yellow cars.

Weekend Adventure

In an attempt to try to be interesting people and do interesting things, Doug and I went to the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.  We got a great deal on tickets and decided to go for it.  It was tons of fun and I totally recommend it.  We took on secret identities, underwent training, and then went on a top secret mission.  Unfortunately though, they didn't allow photography, so our experience was picture-less.  We got t-shirts and free key chains that say, "Deny Everything."

We walked around for a little while in DC.  I really can't understand why someone would want to live in a city.  I just felt unsafe the whole time.  Maybe I was still in spy mode... We walked to Chinatown which is right around the corner from the Spy Museum and ate had some authentic Chinese food.  (Is it authentic if it's in Chinatown and not China?)  Every single time we ordered something off the menu, she would respond, "Anything else? ...anything else? ...anything else?" in her accent.  My sesame chicken was really good.  Doug's noodily swamp of chicken something or other made my stomach turn just looking at it.

I'm already planning all of things that I am going to do this summer.  I have a to do list on my phone.  Some ideas include staying in a Bed and Breakfast in Berkeley, WV; going camping at New Germany State Park; driving Skyline Drive and going to Luray Caverns; seeing the baby leopards at the National Zoo; and maybe a trip to somewhere outside of the states... I started the paperwork for a passport, not because I have plans, just because I WANT to have plans.  Also included on my to do list is making my house more homey by doing things like painting and maybe buying a few decorative items.  I'm seriously thinking about offering babysitting or tutoring in exchange for someone to tell me how to decorate my house.  That's right... just tell me how to do it.  I'm indecisive and the amount of decisions that I will need to make might kill me.  I just want it done.

I just need to the weather to warm up soon.  Spring, where are you?

Hawaii Vacation

SEE, I said I would blog about my vacation.  Warning!! It is a LONG post!

Well, we arrived in Hawaii on a Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the day settling in at my sister's house and catching up.  My sister is a GREAT cook, it's always a treat to have her cook for you.  It was nice and relaxing and helped us recover from the long plane ride.

Tuesday - We went to Waikiki in the morning and did the touristy thing... posing for silly pictures, buying souvenirs, eating shave ice.

The trees were pretty neat looking there, so Doug took advantage of a photo op.

We were walking down Ala Moana Blvd in Waikiki when this guy sticks a bird on my shoulder. He was charging $10 for a picture, but told us afterward.  We didn't have any cash on us.

This picture cracks me up every time I look at it!  Doug really thought that the bird was going to bite off his ear and the homeless looking man holding our camera was going to run off any second.

Doug LOVES shave ice and jumps at ANY opportunity to eat some.  

 

 I just like turning my tongue different colors!

After walking around Waikiki for several hours, we decided to hike Diamond Head, this huge old volcanic crater that has a great view of the island.  It was really windy, but a lot of fun!

Wednesday evening, we went a a "fancy pants" place called Roy's.  I had swordfish.  It was awesome!  I didn't take pictures because it was TOO fancy.  Seriously, the waitress put the napkin on my lap for me.

Wednesday - Seriously the best part of my day was waking up to this picture below.  Doug is always an early riser, but he claims that all children annoy him.  Bekah's two boys were up and about getting ready for school and Doug was reading them a story.  He actually... had a smile on his face...

We hiked Maunawili Falls Thursday morning.  I already blogged about that here.  Here are a couple pictures that I didn't post before.

This is what happens when Doug holds the camera for 30 seconds of our hike.

Doug forgot his walking stick at the waterfall by accident, so he made another one (it was WAY cooler) out of a fallen piece of bamboo.  Everyone commented on it on our way back. 

After our hike, we randomly starting driving to try to find a place to eat.  After running into TWO construction zones, we happened upon a place right on the beach called Buzz's.  It had yummy crab sandwiches and there were blowfish hanging from the ceiling.

See!

We walked across the street to Kailua Beach Park and walked the beach for until the evening.

Thursday - Doug went into work for a while and I lazed around the house.  We tried the whole find a beach by just driving toward the ocean again and failed horribly.  We ended up in some ghetto neighborhood and needed to call my sister at work for directions.  Luckily, she was able to lead us here...

I played in the sand and read a little while Doug read a lot.  It was very relaxing!

Friday - I've blogged about Doug's salt water aquarium here. While we were in Hawaii, he wanted to see some of the fishy life up close and personal.  He forked out $$$ to go on two scuba diving excursions.  We are not scuba certified, but they gave us a little class on how to get by and were able to take a supervised dive.  Doug has a history of some serious seasickness, so he made sure to take some non-drowsy Dramamine, but unfortunately it was not enough.  We got all suited up by the time we were to our dive point he was too sick to even get off the boat.  I went ahead a went because we were paying so much to go and Doug had to sit on the rocking boat for several hours puking while we were on our dives.  Needless to say it was NOT a good experience for him.  Don't mention it if you talk to him.

Pre-boat - All geared up and ready to go!  He was just being goofy at this point... he wasn't actually sick yet.

Saturday night, we went to the Paradise Cove Luau.  It was a lot of fun!  He got to throw spears, get our faces painted, watch a great show, and eat some yummy food!

The whole tribal face tattoo thing was Doug's idea.  I was a lot of fun!

 Saturday - We went to Lanikai Beach and hung out with Bekah's family for the morning. 

Kate then joined Bekah and I at the mall where we all got mani/pedis and went shopping.  Bekah bought me an AMAZING purse and some awesome red shoes.  She knows I'm a cheap skate, so she spoils me.  ...I don't mind one bit!

This is the day after my bad sunburn.  My skin is so red and swollen!  When he went to do the mani/pedi at the mall.  They did a pomegranate scrub on the legs before my sunburn had shown up. OUCH!  They did this foot scrub thing that tickled so much, I couldn't stop laughing.  I'm not really cut out for this fancy stuff, but it sure was fun!

Sunday - My sister and her family took us to breakfast at Turtle Bay Resort.  It was SUPER nice and the food was amazing.  The boys did a little Easter Egg Hunt afterward.

 I found this color filter feature on my camera.  Doug is colorblind and only sees the color yellow.  I call this picture, "Dougy Vision"

It was breezy, but you could feel the heat radiating off of my skin!

After breakfast at Turtle Bay, we went to Shark's Cove, which is a beach nearby that is surrounded by sharp lava rocks.  Fish get washed inside the cove and can't get back out again.  We saw some pretty neat creatures.  It helped Doug feel a little better after the scuba diving fiasco.

Monday - Monday morning, we hiked another falls near Waikiki called Moana Falls.  Doug and  I are LOST fans and were really excited to see part of the set near our hike.  We actually just saw the scene a couple episodes ago where Whitman locks Kate and Sawyer in the cages again.  It was so awesome to see it in Hawaii and then see it on TV a few weeks later!

Taking a picture in front of Moana Falls.  It's over 100 feet tall!

...and people say everything is bigger in Texas.  Have they been to Hawaii??

Here's the LOST set that we saw a few episodes ago.

After hiking the falls and stalking some LOST sites, we drove up o the North Shore to spend the rest of the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We got to make kissing fish and headbands.  There were tons of things to do, but unfortunately we couldn't get to everything.  We ended the night with an awesome show by the students of BYU-Hawaii.  It's one of the biggest attractions on the island!

The picture I didn't post before... :)

 Final Scene of the show at Polynesian Cultural Center

Tuesday - We had a flight to catch in the early afternoon, so Doug and I had a lazy morning and met my sister for lunch.  Doug went to go visit Jon, Bekah's husband at work, and Bekah and I went shopping!  We picked up lei's for my whole class and I walked around Target with 25 leis around my neck.  It's always a good time when I get to hang out with my sister. 

We flew back home Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Dulles Wednesday morning. 

 

Here is a picture of my class with their lei's.

Hawaii was awesome!  I hope to be able to return again soon!

ALOHA!

Maunawili Falls

Doug decided to go into work today for a little tour of the Hawaii branch of the division he works for.  I'm enjoying a quiet relaxing morning that will hopefully rid me of the constant headache that I've had since yesterday.  We really are enjoying Hawaii.

Here are pictures of our Maunawili Falls hike yesterday.

Weather Forecast

This picture basically sums up the Honolulu forecast for the whole 9 days that we'll be there.  Hawaii and it's crazy weather!

We're all packed and ready to go.  We have a layover in Atlanta and then we'll be heading straight to Honolulu on a 10 hour flight!  Don't worry, my whole carry-on bag is dedicated to snack food and Doug's is a dedicated laptop bag with several seasons of Criminal Minds for us to catch up on.

See you in 9 days!