1 post tagged “holidays”

... to escape the city. That's what I did this weekend. A friend of mine (V) and I hopped in my car and went to Colonial Williamsburg. It wasn't a spur of the moment trip, but I'm positive there *will* be many of those in our future :) My mom and her boyfriend - who are both retired - were "wintering" in Florida in his motorhome. They started the Northward Pilgrimage (as I've deemed it) last week, and way back in March had asked me if I wanted to meet them in Williamsburg. I'd never been there before and it was quality time with the parental units - AND another friend from grad school is living and working there (J) - so we decided to kill about 8 birds with one stone, because we're THAT good. :)

Friday was a gorgeous day and I managed to get out of work early, so I spent some time just relaxing on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. Then I met V for an outdoor dinner, waited for traffic to die down a bit and got on our way. It was a beautiful drive - gorgeous weather, gorgeous scenery - and we spent a good portion of it flying down I-95S with the top open on my car. It was fabulous, and it gave V and I a chance to just chat and catch up.

Saturday we spent with the parental units in Colonial Williamsburg and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It was warm and sunny, with a slight breeze. Absolutely gorgeous! And Colonial Williamsburg is so beautiful. My mom - because it was only $9 more than the day pass - got me a year pass, so I fully intend to utilize it and go back down. Maybe I'll go again in the summer, escape the tourists in DC and be one myself somewhere, and I'm definitely planning on going again for the fall and for the Christmas extravaganza. I've heard so much about it - and seen enough photos - that I'm definitely very interested. V and I got these great wide brimmed straw hats - I fully intend to use mine at the beach this summer (which also means I'm fully intending on getting some decent beach time in this summer) and maybe possibly if I feel like being touristy downtown, lol.

Saturday night I was able to partake of a Passover Seder at J's place, and it was incredible. I'd never had the opportunity to attend a Seder before, and I'm always interested in learning new things about good and people's religions, so this was something I didn't want to pass up. I ate SO MUCH food and it was all fantastic - even the gefilte fish! J is an amazing cook, and I was not disappointed. It was really cool to see the kinds of traditions that are involved and all of the symbolism. And I thoroughly enjoyed the Paschal Yam (and not the Paschal Lamb).

Sunday it was rainy and gross so none of us - 'rents included - got moving anywhere very early. J took us to the Rockefeller Library where she works, and we went to the Museum, which was really incredible. So many beautiful things, and I especially enjoyed the Dollhouse Exhibition and the Needlepoint Exhibition. By the time we finished in the museum, the rain had let up a little bit, so we were able to walk through Market Square. And then we all hit a wall and realized just how exhausted we were and went our separate ways.

The ride back to DC was interesting - traffic was heavy, the weather was insane, and it rained so hard that it overpowered the weather-stripping on the convertible top of my car and starting leaking on me and V. We had to shove napkins all over the place to try and stop the flow, lol. But I had a new Tomtom to guide me, and it was very nice. Tomtom was like "Don't worry my child. I'll do the thinking FOR you, you just follow my voice and I will guide you home." Uber-fabulous :) (Thanks mom!)

It was just SO NICE to get out of the city and get a break from it all for a weekend. And I definitely saw two palm trees in Williamsburg. They were in front of the Hampton Inn that we passed, and they were the kind that looked like oversized Pineapples :) Seeing the palm trees definitely made me very happy. Today was exhausting though. I don't think I realized how much the weekend had tired me out. It felt good though - it was a good kind of tired, one that you actually feel like you've done something to warrant being tired.

And on that note, I'm going to say goodnight so that I may catch up on my sleep :) Gute nacht!