Cape Henry

Last Monday was our last day in Virginia Beach, and we took it easy that morning {again}. Lynnette and I did a little shopping at Cato, and it's possible the capsule wardrobe grew in that outing. After lunch, Mark and Lynnette took us to see one of my favorite things: lightouses!!

There are two lighthouses at Fort Story, and we were able to climb one of them: the Cape Henry Lighthouse. 

The Cape Henry Lighthouse is located at the "First Landing," where the Jamestown settlers arrived. It is said to be one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the US, dating back to the late 1700's. It looks out over the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and my goodness, did we ever have a magnificent day to explore it.

 It was 191 steps from the ground up to the base of the lighthouse and then up to the top of the lighthouse.

Did I mention I'm petrified of heights, and I'm claustrophobic?

But I made it to the top, and the view was spectacular!

And as you know, what goes up must come down.

Made it! All 191 steps and the scary ladder included!

And after our lighthouse tour, we looked at some of the other memorials at the First Landing site.

Ryan recreated one....

We looked out over the water one more time...

 And then it was time to say goodbye {to the lighthouses}.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping...

And then Mark and Lynnette took us to Bubba's for seafood. Ryan wanted real, fresh seafood. And it was, indeed, delicious. Even I liked it!

And then....we went to their favorite coffee shop: Cafe Moka. It was delightful.

And so was our last day in Virginia Beach. :( We spent one more night at Mark and Lynnette's, and we were sad to say goodbye to them when early morning arrived.

Walking through Williamsburg

For our Sunday in Virginia Beach, we visited Mark and Lynnette's church, and after church, they took us to Colonial Williamsburg, about an hour from where they live.

{PS: Here was our church look. Since I took a picture, I thought I should post it.}

Anyway, on the way to Williamsburg, we had lunch at a place Mark and Lynnette wanted to show us: Taste. And it was indeed tasty!

After lunch...on to Williamsburg we drove.

If you don't know, Williamsburg used to be the capital of Virginia, and the Colonial area preserves the 18th century appearance and is complete with a cast of people who recreate life in that time and pieces of history for an interesting way of learning about American history. You can purchase tickets to tour buildings in the city, but we didn't do that. We just walked the streets and observed the history and the beauty! Peek into our day?

A stunning church still in use today:

Ryan REALLY wanted this hat. I think it looks striking on him. LOL!!

This was more our style:

Character in action on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg:

Thank goodness coffee existed in colonial times! {Although I doubt it was served with little cardboard cozies.}

Photo opp!!!

Ryan's new friend.

A couple of in-character boys playing in the street:

Recreating an Olan Mills type pose. HA!!

This is as much as we get into tree climbing:

I lost some weight.

How many are in this picture??

 

Sunset. Stunning.

And on our way home...a stop for pizza, followed by the Colts game on TV! It was a truly beautiful day. I was so thankful!

Virginia Beach, Baby!!

Ryan had never been to Virginia Beach before, and as I mentioned yesterday, I'd not been there for five years.{For a fun throwback time, here is a post from my first view of the ocean five years ago.} So we were pretty excited about our trip and the chance to see a new section of the ocean!

Our Saturday morning was pretty low key. We hung out at Mark and Lynnette's house, bonding with their dogs, Belle and Charlie. Please excuse my bedhead. I feel we are good enough friends that I can post this picture.

Please excuse Ryan's bedhead, too.

 So fun, those two little doggies!!

Mark had some things to do at home that day, so we hit the beach scene with Lynnette. It was a bit cool for beach water, but it was PERFECT weather for just walking the sand and seeing the sights. Wanna peek?

{She actually took us to TWO beaches: a lesser populated, more natural beach, and the big touristy oceanfront beach area.}

These pictures are from the first beach, the lesser populated one. We kicked our shoes off and walked through the sand for a while, listening to water slap against the shore and feeling the perfect breeze and the sun. Heaven on earth.

After we went to the first beach, we took a break for lunch. We tried The Shoreline Grill - a restaurant attached to a hotel by the boardwalk, and although it was chilly by the water, it was too pretty to eat inside, so we ate on the patio. Ryan and I were complete pigs, but lunch was so good!

And then we walked up and down the boardwalk....here's a peek at our fun!

{Crashed a wedding....}

{And a quick remake of a picture in 2010}

After our beach fun, we went home to meet up with Mark, and they took us to a BBQ place Guy Fieri once visited: Whitner's BBQ. I was so full from lunch, I didn't eat much, but it was so good!!!

With full bellies, we went back to Mark and Lynnette's to play with the dogs and watch TV!

Beach day = success. I was so happy to see the ocean again. It seriously makes me happier than it should.