The Weekend Update from NC/VA
Here we are in Newport News, VA waiting to catch a plane to PA then back home. It is gonna be a long flight knowing we have to be at work so early.
We had a lovely trip. Chaz Dad picked us up in VA (it is the closest airport believe it or not… for the least amount of money). It was about an hours and a half drive from the sirport. I got to see tons of people and see lots of cool things.
Where to begin? Chaz Grandma has 3 other sisters (& 4 brothers) and I got to see all of them. We stayed w/ Aunt Faye- the youngest of the group. Her house is so cool. It is a square with a hollowed out center (the 4 walls are like sliding glass doors and it leads to this open atrium. That would make for the ultimate party house.
I will be uploading pictures soon. No worries. I have hundreds.
I ate so many strawberry shortcakes and enough sweet teas to last a life time. The people in the south are so much more polite than where we are from (‘the south’ even though they are north of us!...). The airport here is small but still 4 times bigger than the WI one.
Wait till you see the pic from the ferry ride. We drove down this wooded area that was mostly covered with water and you go to the very end and beep your horn and a 1 car ferry pulls up to drive you across the river. That was cool.
I saw the most spectacular tree- it is called a Grand Pap. It is just covered with small white blossoms- it looks covered in snow- way cooler than a snowball bush or crepe myrtle by far.
We ate at a place called Buns bbque. Back in 1999 this town had its 500 year flood so the restaurant had pics from when it was under water. All the bbque up here in vinegar based L and everyone likes their bbque sandwich w/ coleslaw in it. Ewww! I am sure that would all change if a Sonny’s moved up here ;) We also ate one night at an oyster bar (I don’t do seafood so luckily I got McDonalds ahead of time). The houses and acreage as well as plants are way different here. The Azaleas here are so much more vibrant!
The 1st day we had dinner at the Ahoskie House where grandma stays. She is looking good and it quiet the character. Her memory is giving her some trouble though. She has a big pic up above her bed of me and Chaz. We asked her who is that and she says ‘those are my grandkids’ then if you ask her the names of who is in the picture she says ‘I don’t know who those people are.’ Then the story changes a minute later. Chaz said “that’s me grandma’ and she playfully hits him and says ‘I know you stinker!’
We also visited Uncle Melvin. The 1st night he didn’t look like he was doing well at all. The next morning he actually went to the emergency room :o but it turned out he had a bladder infection so this morning it was good to see him sitting up in a chair and looking 100 times better. He gave us all quiet a scare. Uncle Melvin and Aunt Jean have a lovely home as well. The are also across the street from this exquisite little church and cemetery. The next block over is cousin Roy’s house. Holy smokes is his house spectacular. They redid the kitchen which just totally confirmed in our minds that we should o ahead and do ours. We also got to meet his wife and kids at a softball game.
We then went out to Grandma’s house (vacant) and the old store her husband used to run. While there Chaz folks were able to sell the car and get a realtor to list the house. That house is in the middle of nowhere. It is a cool house but hard to keep up (termites in one whole wall, about 2 ½ acres to mow, etc). I also got to see the hospital where Chaz was born, the field where his momma informed his Dad that she was pregnant, the house he grew up in, the school he would have gone to, his old stomping grounds, and cool plants. I also got to meet lots of other relatives. The funniest part was when we went out for breakfast- it is such a small town that everyone knows everyone there. When strangers walk in (us) you can hear the hushed whispers of people talking and saying “who is that?’ Very entertaining. Aunt Faye absolutely knows everyone everywhere.
On this trip we got to go out and get grandma a dresser and mini fridge. Woo wee when that stuff was wheeled into her room it sure caused much gossip among the residents. She was very excited about that. She also got hooked up w/ candy- that woman really likes her chocolate. W also took her to husbands gravesite so she could see it and to replace the flowers on it. Chaz mom also gave her the wedding rings she used to wear- oh my she was glowing about that!
The weather was perfect for this trip. The flight here was interesting. 1st we were on a big plane but that had to transfer to a puddle jumper- ugh- I thought that small jet from GA was going to make me sick. You couldn’t see out the windows b/c there was so much cloud coverage and bad turbulence. Hopefully we will have an easier flight tonight.
I will have to go on a serious diet after this trip! We are exhausted after all of the traveling, driving, socializing, waking up early everyday, etc. Phew!
Expect pics soon.
We had a lovely trip. Chaz Dad picked us up in VA (it is the closest airport believe it or not… for the least amount of money). It was about an hours and a half drive from the sirport. I got to see tons of people and see lots of cool things.
Where to begin? Chaz Grandma has 3 other sisters (& 4 brothers) and I got to see all of them. We stayed w/ Aunt Faye- the youngest of the group. Her house is so cool. It is a square with a hollowed out center (the 4 walls are like sliding glass doors and it leads to this open atrium. That would make for the ultimate party house.
I will be uploading pictures soon. No worries. I have hundreds.
I ate so many strawberry shortcakes and enough sweet teas to last a life time. The people in the south are so much more polite than where we are from (‘the south’ even though they are north of us!...). The airport here is small but still 4 times bigger than the WI one.
Wait till you see the pic from the ferry ride. We drove down this wooded area that was mostly covered with water and you go to the very end and beep your horn and a 1 car ferry pulls up to drive you across the river. That was cool.
I saw the most spectacular tree- it is called a Grand Pap. It is just covered with small white blossoms- it looks covered in snow- way cooler than a snowball bush or crepe myrtle by far.
We ate at a place called Buns bbque. Back in 1999 this town had its 500 year flood so the restaurant had pics from when it was under water. All the bbque up here in vinegar based L and everyone likes their bbque sandwich w/ coleslaw in it. Ewww! I am sure that would all change if a Sonny’s moved up here ;) We also ate one night at an oyster bar (I don’t do seafood so luckily I got McDonalds ahead of time). The houses and acreage as well as plants are way different here. The Azaleas here are so much more vibrant!
The 1st day we had dinner at the Ahoskie House where grandma stays. She is looking good and it quiet the character. Her memory is giving her some trouble though. She has a big pic up above her bed of me and Chaz. We asked her who is that and she says ‘those are my grandkids’ then if you ask her the names of who is in the picture she says ‘I don’t know who those people are.’ Then the story changes a minute later. Chaz said “that’s me grandma’ and she playfully hits him and says ‘I know you stinker!’
We also visited Uncle Melvin. The 1st night he didn’t look like he was doing well at all. The next morning he actually went to the emergency room :o but it turned out he had a bladder infection so this morning it was good to see him sitting up in a chair and looking 100 times better. He gave us all quiet a scare. Uncle Melvin and Aunt Jean have a lovely home as well. The are also across the street from this exquisite little church and cemetery. The next block over is cousin Roy’s house. Holy smokes is his house spectacular. They redid the kitchen which just totally confirmed in our minds that we should o ahead and do ours. We also got to meet his wife and kids at a softball game.
We then went out to Grandma’s house (vacant) and the old store her husband used to run. While there Chaz folks were able to sell the car and get a realtor to list the house. That house is in the middle of nowhere. It is a cool house but hard to keep up (termites in one whole wall, about 2 ½ acres to mow, etc). I also got to see the hospital where Chaz was born, the field where his momma informed his Dad that she was pregnant, the house he grew up in, the school he would have gone to, his old stomping grounds, and cool plants. I also got to meet lots of other relatives. The funniest part was when we went out for breakfast- it is such a small town that everyone knows everyone there. When strangers walk in (us) you can hear the hushed whispers of people talking and saying “who is that?’ Very entertaining. Aunt Faye absolutely knows everyone everywhere.
On this trip we got to go out and get grandma a dresser and mini fridge. Woo wee when that stuff was wheeled into her room it sure caused much gossip among the residents. She was very excited about that. She also got hooked up w/ candy- that woman really likes her chocolate. W also took her to husbands gravesite so she could see it and to replace the flowers on it. Chaz mom also gave her the wedding rings she used to wear- oh my she was glowing about that!
The weather was perfect for this trip. The flight here was interesting. 1st we were on a big plane but that had to transfer to a puddle jumper- ugh- I thought that small jet from GA was going to make me sick. You couldn’t see out the windows b/c there was so much cloud coverage and bad turbulence. Hopefully we will have an easier flight tonight.
I will have to go on a serious diet after this trip! We are exhausted after all of the traveling, driving, socializing, waking up early everyday, etc. Phew!
Expect pics soon.
posted by Dr.Jeeeol | 4:31 PM
1 Comments:
You were just right around the corner from me. Glad to hear it was a good trip. How cool to visit all those memorable places.
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