east coast swing, second movement

day 3 arrived and not only were we still speaking to each other, we were still laughing and telling stories and enjoying our audio book.  the plan for the day was a leisurely one.  we'd be making our way up to my folks in northern virginia, but we'd me making a pit stop at the other willises (brinn and fw) for a birthday party.

since that pit stop would already alter our normal driving route, and i knew the likelihood of my being in greensboro, nc again in the near future was slim to none, we may have gone just a little further out of our way to visit the guilford courthouse national park. what was most interesting to me is that it was a revolutionary war site.  most of the historic sites i grew up visiting were civil war, so it was a nice change of pace.

the rain made a full exploration a non-option (which matt probably appreciated), but we followed the driving tour and made a few quick photo stops.  it did not, however, diminish our need for food.  and this is where greensboro, nc became one of my favorite places EVER!  thanks to yelp, we went hunting for the big burger spot.  it took a couple of tries, some alternating sweet and stern talking to the gps, and an absolute refusal to be thwarted, but it turns out this tiny, tucked-in-next-to-a-gas-station burger joint was a hole in the wall to match all other holes-in-walls.  i mean, they have a french fry menu (in addition to their burger menu), and this would easily fall in my top 5 burger/fries nationwide.

time to get a move on though, so onward we went to buena vista, va, where we re-joined colby and julie at brinn and fw's home for georgie's birthday carnival.  fw's mad building skills coupled with brinn's mad creativity were on full display, and even though our morning activities made us a little late, we still enjoyed some chicken-catching, funnel cake, and good company.

after getting our fill of some experimental shaved ice flavors, making plans to see the willises at christmas, and bidding adieu, we continued on to ashburn.  our late arrival ensured that most of the family was already asleep, so i got matt settled in and we called it a night.

day 4 dawned with some new realizations.  the first was that we weren't seeing a lot of 'dawn' anymore. our later and later bedtimes made for later and later wake up calls. ah, finally, a vacation!  the second was that matt and i had survived three full days of continuous and close quarters, and we were still having a blast!  i wish i hadn't been so shocked by this, but i've lost friends as a result of traveling together, so i'm a little paranoid.  but our time on the road was somehow perfectly balanced by conversation, dashboard drumming, audiobook listening and critique, and site seeing.

with the impending doom--i mean, rain--i suggested we push our dc day to day 5 and opt for my last minute back-up plan.  he was curious and interested when i suggested luray caverns as a great 'inside activity', and after spending the waning morning hours with my darling nieces, back into the car we went!

another couple hours of good conversation and we were just outside front royal, va,  visiting the fourth largest cave system in the country.  though i have visited many times, it never fails to impress, and matt repeatedly praised both my idea and the caverns themselves.  it also provided him some phenomenal opportunities to play with his new camera.  so much so that we ended up in three different tour groups.  apparently we were having too much fun and continually found ourselves at the back of one group as the front of the next was coming up behind us.  we did ultimately find a synergistic group with some kindred spirits - which made taking non-self portrait photos a lot easier! ;)

after returning to the surface, we made our way across the parking lot to the car and carriage museum that has never ceased to seem random and weird. but, admission is free and boys like cars, so i hung in there while my traveling companion perused the wood and chrome mobility machines.

a few photos and a few miles down the road later, matt asked me about the 'ice' place i'd mentioned.  i couldn't believe i'd almost forgotten but i was back in rita's territory.  i quickly referred to my rita's app, identified the most convenient location, called mom to let her know we'd be late for dinner (at which point she asked me to pick up a couple of pints), and spent the next hour on the road, mouth watering,praying for pineapple-coconut.

i was out of luck.  but fortunately there is always a good second choice at rita's. i teamed up with a store employee to educate matt on the art of ice and custard, and he made his selection.  i'm not sure it was quite the earth-shattering experience i had led him to believe it would be (and that my roommate and other friends have all enjoyed), but i'm sure that somehow it's his own fault.  regardless, i was satiated.

my family had opted to hold dinner for us, so when we arrived back at the homestead, we got to spend the rest of the evening enjoying their company.  it was one of those nights where no one left the kitchen table for hours, and i was so glad to be home.

east coast swing

when my friend, and sometimes crush, matt, said that he'd never been to the east coast and asked if i'd be willing to take a trip with him, i jumped at the opportunity.for one thing, you can learn a lot about someone when you road trip with them. and for another, visiting some of my closest friends and family? sign me up!

preparing for the trip was a breeze.  i was grateful that he trusted my many years of travel and planning experience, letting me dictate the flow and order of our week long vacation.  and given his professional and personal interest in aviation, i made sure there were plenty of 'flight' stops along the way.

day 1 had us meeting at 5am for our shuttle to lax. me at 5am is enough to send any man (or woman) running, as i can be a little grumpy that early.  maybe it was the adrenaline, but we pleasantly survived that first hurdle.  and after the six hour plane ride to raleigh, nc, we were still friends.  off to a good start!

we headed to julie and colby's for an evening in and enjoyed playing with the kiddos and catching up with the adults.  we were fortunate that it was overcast with temps in the low 70s (as it would be for the duration of the trip) so we spent much of the evening outdoors before calling it a night.

day 2 was 'day-trip' day, and maybe the day matt was most looking forward to.  he had suggested that a motorcycle might be a fun way to make the trip, but with the threat of rain, we opted to stick with the car, and made the 3 1/2 hour drive to the outer banks of north carolina to check out kitty hawk.  it's been 7 or 8 years since i had been there, and frankly, i hadn't remembered it that well.  we spent a few hours exploring the national park (guess who got a stamp?!) learning about the flight-brothers.  and once again, i was grateful for the cool temps since being outside on a normal nc summer day would have been painful!

despite those cool temps and on and off sprinkles, we made our way to the beach, where i was dying to get my toes back in the atlantic!  i had bragged about how warm it is (matt had never been in or even seen the atlantic before) and it wasn't long before we turned the car into an awkward changing room, had our suits on, and were wading into the ocean.

man, i miss that ocean.  granted, it was high tide and a bit rough due to the offshore storms, but warm enough to enjoy without a wet suit (take that pacific. yeah, i'm talking about you!).  we attempted to dry off a little before heading to dinner, enjoyed some grub, and began the journey back to raleigh where we spent another evening with the willises.

still giddy

scroll to 34:40 to see how years of being a nathan fillion fangirl, finally paid off!

and so it begins

june.

i have been dreading, looking forward to, anticipating june for some time. june is going to be a month full of hard work, a lot of travel, fun reunions, and a big move.

june is going to be busy.

this week kicks off the start of a four-event, three week long series of travel.  but before things got too serious, i took advantage of the fact that the first event, our bi-annual all-employee meeting, meant that some of my long distance friends/co-workers would be in town.

monday night found me enjoying dinner with katherine, my favorite colorado colleague and one of my all-time favorite people.  joining us were diana and rebecca (also from colorado), chris (a local), julie (from chicago), julianne (from massachusetts), and cori (from washington).  i love when we have the opportunity to come together from all over the country to enjoy good company, and maybe a chocolate torte or two.

unfortunately, while preparing for today's event, i took a nasty spill yesterday loading boxes and buckets and bins into my car.  the bad knee buckled, the ankle took the hit.  initially, i thought i could shake it off, but it became clear pretty fast that i had sprained it.

the timing could not be worse.  i knew yesterday and today would be filled with walking and lifting and loading and unloading and more walking. but it's my deal.  i tried to delegate as much as possible, and i had a lot of help, but there are some things that are just more natural to me then they are to other people, and if i don't do them, they don't get done.  i wear a pedometer daily, more for curiosity's sake than that i am at all health conscious.  i logged 6 miles yesterday and 9 today.  on a sprained ankle.

and i am dying.  my ankle is killing me. my knee is killing me. and i have no idea how i am going to get on a plane on friday to manage an event on sunday where i typically average 15 miles. only to then go on to two different cities for two other events. kill. me. now.

on the bright side, however, the event was a huge success.  we had a lot of moving parts this time around.  new moving parts -- including four food trucks i hired to feed our 400+ employees, and i had been fearing the worst.

in event planning, the adage 'hope (plan) for the best, expect the worst, and take what comes' is intensely apropos, and at the least, it was a huge relief to have had all the planning and communicating come to fruition exactly as i had hoped.

one down, three to go.

the calm before the storm

may went out with a whimper, a lovely whimper. in a life full of 'bangs', the respite was much appreciated.  which, of course, is not to say that there weren't some fun things going on.  but they were mellow fun things. at home, even. or mostly, anyway.

i spent a little time helping jami get settled and into her new house (my future new house) and am really excited to see how she is putting it all together and thriving in her new role as homeowner.  i've enjoyed getting the updates on paint and wallpaper and appliances, and i love that she has had so many visitors and helpers, and that it feels like a place where people will gather in warmth and laughter.

i caught up with my friend ben to get the low-down on his recent trip to china (side note - i have no interest in ever going to china), and enjoyed chinese take-out from next door, accompanied by butterscotch beer (think 'harry potter') and lion bars (european candy bar that somehow combines twix, kit kat, and krackel). the company was as good as the chocolate.

i had planned to spend the memorial day weekend at home, but tania, my co-worker and friend, invited me up to big bear where she and her sister had rented a ginormous cabin for the weekend.

since my roommate was out of town, and the dogs in need of looking after, i could only make it a day trip, but the four hour drive (round trip) was absolutely worth the fresh mountain air, scenic vistas, and total relaxation.

back home, i celebrated the actual holiday with a bbq at the cousins, and was reminded once again, how grateful i am to have family here!

jami and i closed out the month by catching up on some movies, and i finally saw star trek and the great gatsby.  both were awesome!  my only disappointment came during gatsby when i realized that i was robbed of some really great literature by been forced to read it a little to early.  in high school, fitzgerald's work did not resonate with me at all, and my interest in the movie came largely from baz luhrman's previous work.

after the movie, i immediately downloaded the book on my kindle app.  i mean, with quotes like this:

He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

how did i almost never read this as an adult!?