Blog Disclaimer:
I did not bother to add a watermark to the images in this blog since they're personal. These images are still copyright protected and should not be copy, saved, or printed without my permission. And....this blog is super-de-duper long. :)
We’ve been on break for a few days at our house, finally returning back to the grind this week. After spending so much time with my family I realize how busy our lives are. I’ve come to also realize that we only get a few stolen moments together and never any actual family time or quality time that doesn’t involve some insane amount of errands/chores/etc. Before I dissect all of that, I wanted to share a few pics from our vacation and tell a little story about some of things we did.
Days 1, 2 and 3
So first off we had planned to leave on Sunday the 8th because originally I had anticipated on shooting a wedding on the 7th but it was rescheduled. So with an open Saturday, we decided to make the most of it and went to Dollywood. We have season passes and so we stopped by for a few thrills before hitting the open road-we love coasters and nothing like getting your liver flipped and your brains rattled before a nine hour drive.
Our original vacation plan was to spend two nights in Williamsburg, VA and then three nights at Virginia Beach coming home on Friday. With Saturday being free we decided to drive on to Virginia and stay somewhere around Roanoke. We surely could find a hotel without reservations just off the interstate. Wrong. Due to the recent storms there wasn’t any vacancy in any of the dozen or more places we stopped and we were told that it would be impossible to find anywhere with room. It was getting late and we were tired, hungry and growing weary. I know how Mary and Joseph must have felt in Bethlehem. Well except we were in a nice air conditioned Chevrolet and they had a donkey, but I can see how they felt just the same. Finally, I called our hotel in Williamsburg and thankfully, they could accommodate us. We checked in just after midnight and fell asleep about twenty minutes later.
Better planning would have probably relieved us of a lot of unnecessary stress and pain throughout this trip, but we made the best of it. Our room in Williamsburg had a hardly working air conditioner, and it was at least 105 outside, thankfully there was an indoor pool. Our original plan of visiting colonial Williamsburg and the downtown center was rearranged due to the insane amount of walking, heat and humidity. Eight year olds are not fond of walking in suffocating heat and neither are their mothers. We did go on and visit Jamestown and the Victory Center and Yorktown (the three sites that my husband wanted to see.) We were just as hot and miserable as we would have been in Colonial Williamsburg, but again we made the most of it. And despite her protests that she shouldn’t have to learn anything on summer break, I think Lily absorbed some history. If nothing else after seeing the Pocahontas statue she now believes that Disney Princesses actually lived a long time ago. I tried to appreciate the fact that I stood in some of the places that George Washington had stood, but truthfully, a battlefield site is just a plain field 200+ years later. I suggest they add 3D holographics reenacting the actual events to keep people like me amused. It was a bit touching to realize the efforts of our ancestors to fight for freedom and purpose in this country and then I was sad to realize our leaders today are trying their best to take it all back. Someone should tell Congress and the Supreme Court there are no backsies when establishing a country and a constitution.
Pocahontas Statue
John Smith Statue
Inside of the old Church
Site of the first British landing
Inside of an Indian hut
An Indian character (PS You're welcome ladies :P))
Inside the Ship
Ship sleeping quarters
Settlement garden
More characters
We also went to Busch Gardens, the real reason for visiting Williamsburg. You surely didn’t think we went for the historical culture and atmosphere. More liver flipping and brain jolting, baby! It was yet again hot but we made it ok. We got there early as the park was just opening, so not too many long lines. Although, Lily was unable to ride the three big coasters (too short) we still had a lot of fun. We’re coaster freaks but we made a pact that if she couldn’t ride then we wouldn’t ride. Are we awesome parents or what? As soon as she grows three inches were going back and Apollo’s Chariot will be mine. (MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)
So, Verbolten is the new ride at Busch Gardens this year and it’s pretty awesome. I have to admit I’m severely claustrophobic. So, it goes without saying that I’m not a fan of being in a dark, enclosed tunnel, and the majority of this ride takes place in a pitch black tunnel. But I am a fan of G-forces, speed and being dropped into nothing without warning and that trumped the fears. Woo-hoo! The only other coaster we got to try was Lochness and it was okay, not as fun as Griffon or Apollo’s Chariot, I’m sure. There were lots of other rides and laughs and memories though.
The park is a European theme and is probably the closest I’ll ever come to seeing Europe. So I tried to take it all in. It’s beautiful, and it says so on the sign. We got to see some wolf training in action which was kinda cool. They’re exceptionally smart, which makes my Boston terrier even less amazing considering she can’t do much besides flatulence related tricks. I still love her though.
Before you look through the Busch Gardens pics, keep in mind these were taken with a $200 point and shoot and that’s exactly what I did-point and shoot. No way was I lugging that big ole camera through an amusement park.
Dizzy
Day 4,5 and 6:
Time for the beach. Neither I nor my husband had ever been to Virginia Beach. In fact this is the most North-east (if that’s the right direction) either have been. We were real excited to go somewhere new and explore new territory. We both had high expectations for some reason. The beach really wasn’t that far from our first motel and in hindsight we should have just stayed on the beach and drove the hour to Busch Gardens. Lesson learned.
Other than the three mile under water tunnel the drive was uneventful. How on earth do you build a tunnel through water? AMAZING!! It wasn’t as confining as I had thought it would be and it was well lit which helped a lot in the whole claustrophobia issue.
I’ll be honest my first impression of Virginia Beach was that somebody opened up a time portal and we were in 1985. This was only verified the next night when I’m standing on the balcony looking at the street and see a Delorean flying down the street and I’m almost certain it was close to 88 miles per hour before turning into the condo’s next door. I had this slow motion moment where I expected it to disappear just like in Back to the Future. I was disappointed to see that Marty McFly was not the driver, and he wasn’t wearing a puffy vest, and Christopher Lloyd was nowhere to be seen. But, back to my original disappointment, we stayed on the Chesapeake Bay side and not ocean side because we wanted a place with an outdoor pool, and it seemed that the hotels on the ocean side had all given up their pool for a boardwalk or it cost more than we have to retire on to stay there. Anyway, the town was pretty much a few strip malls and outdated stores/restaurants. Hence, my original time portal thought. Our hotel room was a huge disappointment. We’re not the type that sleeps in a five star hotel when we go on vacation so our expectations aren’t exactly high when it comes to accommodations. I was expecting mahogany and chandeliers, but I certainly wasn’t expecting blue and yellow floral décor or a 19inch box TV with no remote. It smelled of 30 years of cigarettes although it was a non-smoking room. Since when, yesterday?
I admit I was frustrated and ready to pack it up and go home. But things started looking up once I got passed the ugliness and the couch that belonged on the set of the Golden Girls. The room was very clean, it had cold air, the coffee maker worked part of the time and the private beach was nice. I’m not a people person and I don’t like crowded places and the beach wasn’t crowded at all. So who needs aesthetics when you’re avoiding socializing? I figured it all balanced out in the end.
The pool however was very crowded and loud. It was a nice pool too. The first night was insane. Evidently, there was a middle school girl’s lacrosse tournament somewhere in the area and they were all at our hotel in the pool being all middle-school girly. Pool time was very minimal on that first day. I can only handle so much middle-school girly. The next day though we were the only people in the pool until about 3 in the afternoon. Weird, huh? It was probably closed due to high urine content or something and we didn’t realize it. Whatevs, I was able to cannon ball like a boss and not worry about being videotaped and aired on one of those “Caught on Camera” shows. (Evidently, there isn’t much life after Seinfeld or Jason Alexander would be voicing something else.)
Eventually we found the parts of town that were not stuck in the 80’s. Being stuck in the 80s is not a bad thing usually. Music was awesome in the 80’s. You know just fun beats with song lyrics you don’t have to try to think about like you’re reading a Bronte novel. The 60s and 70s brought us thought-provoking, make a statement, change the world and increase peace lyrics and the 80’s completely erased all that. Way to go Madonna, Wham and Flock of Seagulls. And besides, 80’s fashion was/is awesome. Admit it you love bangles to your elbows and leg warmers. Who doesn’t? And we had actors like Kevin Bacon, Patrick Swayze and the cool version of Tom Cruise, not the whack job Tom Cruise. I don’t hate the 80s at all. It’s just that when you visit a beach in one of the wealthiest states in America you expect the shopping centers and restaurants to be better not worse than the ones you left behind in the poverty-stricken Appalachian Mountains that we live in. My expectations were a little too high I suppose. I blame it on the three nights in Williamsburg with their beautiful brick structures, tall trees everywhere, and Burberry outlets. It must have visually spoiled me.
Although we weren’t ocean side, we decided to see the boardwalk and what all the hype was about. Now, I admit the boardwalk was pretty nice and there was no shortage of things to do. But….there was a whole lotta people. Dodged a bullet by not staying there for sure. Anyway, my husband, who convinced me to wear a dress to begin with, convinces me to ride a two seater bicycle. I’ve included a picture of that horrendous beast for your entertainment. You’d think a one hour rental would be fine. Anyone can get through an hour of anything right? I was in labor for nine hours and survived, surely I can do this. I’d been a little grouchy after the whole horror of our room, so I was trying to be open-minded and make it up to him. First of all, these family bikes were designed by a man. No way that a woman could make such a contraption to be so uncomfortable on the thighs and butt. As we start out we can see the excitement in all of the new riders faces, it’s the ones who are returning to the rental stand that concern me. They seemed horrified. I dismiss it though but soon find out why. Once we’re on the path, I realize that I can’t really reach the peddles and I keep slipping off the seat. (You can’t really call it a seat. Seats have cushion. This did not.) So, when I look over to my husband he seems to be on the verge of a heart attack or heat stroke because, let’s face it, between my readjusting my rear end on the seat, and holding my dress down, I’m not really helping much and he’s cycling for all three of us. Plus I’m trying to figure out why I have a steering wheel on my side when it obviously doesn’t work. Lily who is sandwiched between us is mortified but finally just gives in and begins to giggle. We’re being passed by other bikers, some of them small children with training wheels. Lance Armstrong couldn’t get this thing to break two miles per hour if he tried. You can imagine how well we were doing. I’m finally getting the hang of it, when my husband says we’re going to the pier. At this point I can’t really see a pier and I start to feel a little nervous. I thought about jumping off and running and screaming but we’re making memories and so I readjust my butt for the three hundredth time and start peddling as fast as I can. There was a Dairy Queen across from the rental station and I’m certain that if we can get back there a Butterfinger Blizzard will help me feel better. In the meantime, Brad has found the bell and is ringing it incessantly, bringing more attention to us and our awkward situation. At one point, Lily points out that a man with a camera is taking pictures. I’m sure it’s because he sees my drawers, since I’ve given up keeping my dress down. We actually make it to the pier pretty quickly and are only passed a few more times. My thighs are burning and I can no longer feel any of my muscles from my butt down, they’re all squished together and they have became one with bone and blood. I’m convinced at this point I might need some minor surgery. We are at the pier though and this ordeal is half-way over. That one thought is my only solace and the only reason I didn’t jump from the pier. It’s crowded and lots of people are catching these white fish called spikes or fikes or something. The one person my husband inquires about the fish to is from Japan and speaks very little English but he can catch spikes or fikes like nobody’s business. Lily almost goes all PETA crazy on another man because he’s got his foot on a Blue crab trying to get it into his bucket. She’s a bleeding heart when it comes to animals and cannot tolerate so much as someone raising their voice to a dog, let alone an actual physical infliction of pain. This is a high-intensity situation. She say’s mommy “He’s hurting it. I’m going to stop him.” Her tiny fists are already balled up and she’s marching toward him, so I had to put things into perspective for her. “Honey, it probably hurts when he boils it and eats it, too. You can’t win them all.” After considering that I’m not patronizing her and the man will probably eat it, she calms down. She’s gonna have a nice future in the Peace Corps some day. So after a few minutes and a bag of three dollar seashells later we’re back on the “bike” and I’m ready to return it and get that Blizzard. The trip back takes longer than before and seems to be all uphill. Funny thing is that on the way down to the pier it seemed level. We’re not even sure which stand we rented it from and everything is started to look like a blur. I’m certain all flesh on my thighs has been rubbed off. I want to cry, but then I think that maybe I’d at least lost five pounds. Finally, just as the hour mark is approaching, we return the stupid thing to a smirking attendant. Yeah, he was smirking; he knew what he did. At least I’m free to get that Blizzard. It makes me feel better immediately. You could put a Butterfinger on anything and it would be good. My legs are no longer jell-o but they’re burning. And it’s fun watching the unsuspecting families renting those awful things and then seeing them return just moments later because they realize what a mistake they made and that having to peddle your kids around is harder than you think and all the while the attendant is still smirking because he gets to keep your seventeen bucks, even if you only manage to use the deathtrap for ten minutes.
The rest of the time we sat on the beach and I took about 2000 pictures of a seagull and a few of some cargo ships. I was mostly trying to zoom in to see if they were carrying stuff like fake Coach purses, but I never had any luck figuring that out. I tried to make a sand sculpture of a mermaid, but gave up after awhile when my ADD kicked in and she started looking like Spongebob.
We also ate-a lot. One night we went to a local Japanese steakhouse (located in an 80’s strip mall) and the chef was a blonde white dude. He was awesome though and entertaining, and told mostly – wait for it – white jokes. He turned being a minority in his business to ‘his’ business. He totally blew those Japanese dudes outta the water with his mad skills. It’s always awkward having to go in and eat with strangers at the same table. It’s like it’s us versus them until after the salad with that really good peanut dressing, then there’s a camaraderie that builds and before you know it you’re closer to them than you are your second cousins because you’ve shared an appetizer of shrimp and watched a guy slice an egg with a meat cleaver and then toss it into his hat. I also fell in love with the Oreo cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Seriously, Knoxville you need one of these restaurants now. I also got to spend about forty-five seconds in the fiction aisle at Barnes and Noble. So, that was nice. Maybe next time I might actually get to read a dust jacket. Thanks a lot family for rushing me. I suppose being a wife and mother is an ongoing sacrifice and servitude even while on vacation. So while I have to endure countless hours at Build a Bear and Bass Pro Shop, I will gladly do it to make my family happy all the while waiting for that day when I can go on vacation by myself.
Well that’s it for now. Crystal Young Photography is back to business as usual and I have a whole other year until the next vacation.
