4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July, I took off work and flew into Virginia to see Jason, who has been attending some army training for quite a while. (He wasn't to
crazy about having his photo taken when he picked me up at the airport.) This is where Jason is living for two months: a giant hotel.

We had this brilliant idea to drive to Virginia Beach for Thursday, the 4th, and spend some time enjoying the ocean, beach, and a fireworks show. Well, we got there about 3pm and just for the record, don't ever go to Virginia Beach on the 4th of July. I have never seen so many people in one spot in my life! The beach was so crowded that you are stepping over peoples feet, under beach umbrellas, and between coolers, just to get to the water. And once we made it to the waters edge, you couldn't get into the ocean without touching anyone! It was pretty much like a mosh pit, except in the ocean, because there were so many people. We almost instantly decided that the beach was a bad idea, but made the most of it. We walked along the waters edge for a while and finally came to a spot slightly less crowded, found a spot to put our bag, and we were able to get into the water without becoming very intimately acquainted with the other folks in the water. (It was really, really crowded, in case you couldn't tell.) Due to the massive amount of people, I didn't take very many photos at all; there just wasn't anything to take a photo of. After being in the water a while, we walked around the boardwalk and down the street. There were some interesting monuments and statues paying tribute to all the men and women in the service.

I tried to get Jason to take a photo with me in front of a statue, but he refused. So this is the best I got.

Me and Lieutenant America

(If you know anything about Captain America, then that might make sense to you.)

After wandering the streets for a while and getting more and more tired of all the masses, we decided to leave the beach and go home. Along the way, we stopped and had a delicious dinner at Bonefish Grill, and then saw some fireworks on the drive home.

The next day, we drove to my family's place to be able to go to the lake on Saturday. Along the way, we stopped at my sister Miriam's house to pick up some bread that we had ordered from her. Once we arrived, we met up with my sister Katie, who was riding her motorcycle. I convinced her to let me drive it from the restaurant to Wal-Mart where we needed to pick up a few things. I asked them to take a photo of me, but it didn't turn out. I'm sure I was quite the sight riding down the road though, as I was in shorts, Chacos, and wearing Jason's jacket which is about 5 times to big for me. It was fun to drive a motorcycle again and it made me want to ride mine.

On Saturday, we spent the day at the lake, which I already posted about here. Sunday, we slept in and then I tried to take Jason to see some interesting sites.. We ended up stopping at the Fort Harrison House in Dayton, but it was closed, so we just read the informative sign outside. Then we drove up to Reddish Knob, which was a journey all in itself. Along the way, we found a winery that I never knew existed. We stopped to have a look.

 Unfortunately, they were closed. I was very curious to see what kind of wine they produced.

Continuing our journey up the mountain was fairly uneventful until the last leg of the trip. It is on a very narrow one-lane road and Jason was very worried about what would happen if we met someone coming the other direction. (We were in a rental car.) Once we got on top, the view was pretty good, but it was really hazy.

 This is looking East, if I'm not mistaken. If you look hard enough, you can see Massanutten Peak which is behind and left of what I'm sure is the land fill. (The big white triangle thing.)

North-West? (I'm forgetting which direction I was facing when I took the photos!)

And I'm pretty sure this last one is West Virginia.

I was trying to get Jason to take a photo with me, so I told him I had gotten him a flower.

I finally succeeded, but you can tell we are both still pretty tired.

After coming down off the Knob, we headed back home (or to Jason's temporary home). This is what the trip looked like:

There was a bridge that we passed over several times in our travels that I found kind of picturesque.

I believe this is the Enon-Varina Bridge.

The next day, while Jason was in class, I took myself on a tour of the area. I stopped to visit this museum which has a lot to see.

One thing I found particularly interesting was the Dog Gas Mask. During World War II, Quartermasters used dogs as messengers, scouts, and sentries.

After lunch, I went for a walk in the Petersburg National Battlefield. These tracks were part of the old military railroad and were close to what used to be Meade Station.

Further down, I came across a fort where a young guy was playing his flute and dressed as a Union soldier. As people would stop, he would tell them the history of how the fort would be used, and then after, he would clean his gun and go back to playing his flute. (I didn't get a picture of him, sorry.)

If I remember correctly, this was a winter hut for the soldiers to stay in.

The trail I was on was quite nice. I got to cross a few bridges along the way.

At one point, I looked up and saw this camouflaged tree. I'm not sure what kind of tree it was, but I thought it was quite fitting, being on a battlefield and all.

After my hike, I got to go pick up Jason from school.

He, again, did not want his photo taken. I think he looks quite sharp in his uniform, though!
And that concludes my 4th of July weekend!