Family Visit!!!

Last week, Leslie and my mom came to visit for a few days. Arriving Saturday night, we unloaded their car of all of the cargo they brought, including a “new” dining room table (my grandma’s old table, but new for me). Since I didn’t have to work on Sunday, we all explored bits of Williamsburg after relaxing that morning. We visited the Williamsburg Pottery (more or less a giant permanent flea market), the enormous Disney-esque Yankee Candle store, and were serenaded by a Dean Martin impersonator at dinner. The next day Mom and Leslie visited me at work, apparently the sole purpose of their trip. After work on Wednesday we played a few intense games of Yahtzee and planned Wednesday’s activities. (photos: The signs at the entrance to the Williamsburg Pottery (classy, I know.... but this is before the giant fiberglass elephant); oodles and oodles of baskets at the Pottery; apparently the 400th anniversary of Jamestown smells like bayberries; the inside (yup, as in NOT outside) of the giant Yankee Candle store that reminded me more of Disneyworld or Las Vegas instead of something making me want to buy scented candles; and the illustrated Schnitzelbank stein that truly completed the international nook of the Christmas-year-round-and-snowing-every-half-hour room at the Yankee Candle.)





(photos: Me at work on the Discovery; and Leslie and I on the Discovery, complete with my highlighter-green hat.)


I didn’t have to work that day either, so we headed out early to visit Presidential Park, a pretty tacky tourist attraction that local residents refer to as “Easter Island” due to the large cement presidential busts of every single US president. Not taking it too seriously, we all very much enjoyed the ginormous statues, recreated portion of a Nixon-era Air Force One, the Palm Beach County election booth with 2000 Presidential Election ballot, and all of the fun presidential trivia. After a morning of historical nerdiness, we had a delicious lunch before setting out to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (a combination of both a bridge and tunnel that connects the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area with the Eastern Shore of Virginia). We weren’t too interested in seeing any of the area sites that day other than the bridge-tunnel, so the drive became the destination with occasional stops to take photos. Back at the apartment, we played a few rounds of a new History Channel game that I’d purchased at Presidential Park that involves electing presidents, etc. Thursday morning, Mom and Leslie both left and made another amazing drive back to Michigan, making the trip in about twelve hours. (photos: On the steps of the portion of the recreated Air Force One feeling a bit of the Nixon vibe; my Nixon debating policy to Leslie's Kissenger on Air Force One; the Palm Beach County voting booth with ink jet printer signs denoting its historicality (yup, that's now a word); the Bridge-Tunnel (past the end of the breakwall is the tunnel allowing for ships to pass); and our game of electing presidents at the new/old table.)





The weather’s getting warmer down here and is supposed to be in the mid/high-70s by the end of the week. I also recently bought some plants and am trying really hard not to kill them. I’ll also include some photos of other random fun below… (photos: Mmmmm... sopapillas; Stephanie (the other one) and Demeisha debating something at the bowling alley; Mark, me, and Ashley on the ferry; and me being a bit of a rebel on the ferry.)