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.

The Great Getaway of 2015

Hope  you're ready for a virtual vacation, because I took 1000 pictures on our vacation. DO NOT WORRY. You don't have to see them all.

This was our first full-week vacation away from home since our cruise the first year we got married. WHAT!?! How did that happen? {It happened because the full week we both took off work in our second year of marriage was our much-loved staycation.} Anyway. This started out as just a long weekend to visit friends, but our dreams grew along the way, and we ended up being gone eight days, during which time we saw 7 states and 2 countries. We {Ryan especially} needed a break from life and work, and this turned out to be a pretty perfect week!

We left home last Friday morning, after MUCH protest from someone in our house:

But, you know, the show must go on:

So we set out...coffee in hand, and began our 738 mile drive. Destination? Virginia Beach!

You guys, we had the most perfect day to drive. I've never seen anything like it before or since. The weather was superb. We did not hit rush hour anywhere. We did not hit construction anywhere. We did not get lost anywhere. It was so weird. So very not Shaffer. But here is the picture of two people who were NOT complaining about the ease of the trip.

We played games, and I read to Ryan while we were in the car. {He has now heard my entire written book of our first year of marriage - AND he said he liked it, so that's a wife/writer win!}

And here are some peeks at our lovely day. From a perfect sunrise...

...to lovely lakes and rivers...

...to the fun of driving in mountains...it was so perfect.

We drove through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and finally...into Virginia! {Which, apparently, is for lovers. Who knew??}

When we finally got close to Virginia Beach, we had to drive through a tunnel. {An under WATER tunnel.} You can imagine the prayer that went out of me during that excursion.

After eating breakfast on the road, stopping briefly for lunch {we won't discuss that stop as it is not a restaurant we would EVER recommend, and I don't want to be ugly about it on the internet}, and a couple of other quick fuel/coffee stops, we made it to our destination at 8:07 p.m. That was about 2 hours sooner than I ever imagined we would arrive.

We actually stayed with my best friend, Lynnette, and her husband, Mark. I hadn't visited Virginia Beach in five years {I was mid-personal-desert during my last visit} and it was so good to be back and to get to visit with them again!

And guess what?? I MADE A NEW FRIEND!!!

That's Charlie...and he wasn't part of their family last time I visited {or at our wedding, for that matter}. He was my little buddy for my visit, starting with the very minute we walked in the door. Couldn't you just DIE over his cuteness?? I sure could.

So that was the great getaway, day one. All driving, but much fun. Ryan is the best car travel partner EVER.

{Car karaoke}