VA Vacay

Since Maria moved out to Virginia in April, I’ve been excited about bringing Brad to see her and their new home.
Personally, I would go to Virginia every week if I could. This trip was, as they always are, super quick.
Still, it was so much fun (even though there were some setbacks)…

Brad and I left Friday evening. As expected, we hit traffic and got there about an hour and a half later than expected. The trip should be just shy of 6 hours, but with traffic and food/bathroom breaks, it always gets extended.

Artie had this bowtie on when we arrived. SO CUTE.

So, I took this photo on Saturday, as we headed to the beach. We were in the car for four hours without ever actually getting to the beach (that damn traffic) and I went MAD. If you follow me on IG, I had this up and deleted it. I never do stuff like that, but I was that angry. Also, it was a lie because we never ended up at the beach that day.

 

Saturday night got better. After naps and showers, we went to Norfolk to check out Field Guide for food and cocktails, and then The Birch for a variety of foreign beers. It definitely made up for the failure earlier in the day. Despite the fact that I wanted to go to the beach, I was also really nervous about the fact that we wouldn’t make it out to places like these, to see new things and try new restaurants. So it totally worked out.

 
 

On Sunday, it was a little rainy off and on, so we headed to Richmond instead of VA beach, and I love Carytown so much!
It’s such a fun place to shop. We started the day with Dixie Donuts and amazing Lamplighter coffee.
One of my favorite moments was at a book store called BBGB, a new shop that wasn’t there when I went last month.
It focuses on children’s books, but I saw some John Green in the window and had to stop and check out any YA.|
The woman who was working was amazing. She was helping a customer pick out another YA read (they were both older than me, proving yet again how important YA is to everyone!) and I fell in love. The customer had finished
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and wanted something new! Brad ended up buying me a signed copy of
Grasshopper Jungle, which has been on my list since it came out. Honestly, guys. I would be so happy to just be surrounded by books all the gosh darn time. Books forever, right?

 

On Monday, we FINALLY MADE IT! We started at Zeke’s Bowls and Beans and had an awesome experience with great coffee. Then we headed to Virginia Beach and I read in the sand and swam in the ocean so much. Oh, to always be by the beach. I truly hope that, one day, I can spend a whole summer at a beach house. Or every summer for the rest of my gosh darn life. The dream, guys.

I can’t wait to go back. It probably won’t be for quite a while, but I’m sure it’ll be awesome whenever we do.

A Weekend Adventure

You see that photo? That’s me, zip lining!
We did it yesterday at the Skytop Lodge, and it was challenging, crazy, thrilling, and one of the best experiences.

I am currently nursing some swollen hands and some achy joints. I didn’t expect to work so many different parts of my body. But it was 
a 3 hour adventure, different courses filled with crazy bridges and ropes and swinging wood planks to get across, culminating with a zip line.
We had to wear harnesses with carabiner clips, and we had to make sure one was always hooked to a line.
I really didn’t know what to expect, but it definitely turned out to be more than that.
Even though I thought I was going to die a couple of times (It wouldn’t have happened, being that I was connected to a wire at all times and would only fall a couple of feet in the air and hang there), and I’m sore, and I haven’t worked out that hard or that much in forever, and it was about 30 degrees, it was a total blast. Something that everyone should experience. I’m a mess when it comes to heights, and I screamed a lot, but it was thrilling and excellent. It’s always good to fight your fears.

Afterwards, we stopped at a cute country store on the way home and ate at Old Country Buffet, which might sound a little gross or weird, but it really hit the spot. All the comfort food you can eat after freezing and working hard? Necessary.

All photos edited with Afterglow.

Did you have a good weekend?
I couldn’t be happier that I asked for the next couple of days off.
It’s been a while since I had a nice mini-vacation, and it’ll be nice to rest my achy joints and bones.

Here’s to a great week!

Trespassing.

Since all I ever really want to do these days is be outside whenever the sun is and take plenty of pictures, my friends have been planning a trip to Concrete City for a while now.

We had the day off (thanks, Veterans and current soldiers, so very much for serving our country) and the weather was comfortable and sunshine-y, so we went today.

Creepy, cool, and super colorful, I’m glad I got to see the place and take pictures.  I have so many more in my folders, but these are a few of my favorites.

Sidebar: I hate how Facebook dumbs down photo quality.