Virginia is for Lovers: Take Two

Well, remember how I just raved about Virginia? Well, I missed it so much that I just had to go back. I didn't record my experience nearly as well the second time around, but, I'll try and make up for some lost time and write a good summary of my trip.

I arrived in Baltimore, MD on Wednesday night. Steve was nice enough to stay at his office late and pick me up in Maryland. As we drove, we passed the Washington D.C. temple and it is indeed a beautiful sight to behold. 

Thursday we woke up and got the kids ready to go on some errands. After going to the flooring store, Mei Li had a little tantrum. Ie Li documented it and it's quite funny. You should take a look. 

That night I got a call from my friend Preston Redd informing me that he had returned to Virginia from his adventures in New York. He picked me up and showed me some of his old stomping grounds in Ashburn from his younger years. We then headed to his lovely home in Great Falls and played with his family. We were able to squeeze in a game of pool and a movie. We watched The Ghost Writer with everyone which was somewhat entertaining, but overall, not my favorite movie. 

On Friday we spent some time at the pool with the kiddos. It's sad to think that summer is coming to an end and that I don't have many more pool days left. After a little while Barrett came to pick me up so we could head out to Purcellville for a fun get together. All the Redd boys came over and we enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, pound cake with strawberries, s'mores and togetherness. 

On Saturday we spent the day in the city. Our first stop was the temple. I watched the three little ones while Ie Li and Steve went inside. We entertained ourselves at the wonderful visitors' center and with snacks.

Ie Li and Steve were out before long and then it was time for lunch. We headed to We, The Pizza and Good Stuff Eatery which are two restaurants owned by a guy named Spike Mendelsohn. He was a contestant on Top Chef at one point in time. I never saw him on that show, but this is what I've read using one of my favorite tools, Google. Anyway, I ate this:

And it was delicious. It could've used a little more BBQ sauce though. If you're ever in D.C., I'd check it out. 

We attempted to get some cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, but 

decided against it. 

Sunday was beautiful and we spent the morning at church. After church I took a little nap while everyone else went on a walk. When they got back, Stephen and I had a little webcam photo shoot. 

 

Monday was my last full day in Virginia, but we made it a good one. 

 

IKEA was an adventure. After we bought the stuff we came for, we realized that there wasn't quite enough room inside the car. So, we managed to tie some string around this box in every way possible and just hoped that it would stay on the car. I never did learn much about knots, but the box made it home in one piece, and that's all that matters. 

So, after our failed attempt at Georgetwon Cupcake on Saturday, I looked it up on Google and found out that there was a store in Bethesda, MD which isn't too far from IKEA. So, we headed over there and were delighted to find a very calm Georgetown Cupcake. We decided to take our cupcakes to go and ended up at Wolf Trap National Park. It really is lovely there.

 

 I'm a sucker for wide, open fields of grass. 

 

It was the perfect ending to my second Virginia adventure.

I said goodbye to Barrett one more time. This really is this last time I'll see him before he's a missionary. I don't think I have time for another trip to Virginia before school starts. So, after this second trip to Virginia, I still love it and hope to visit many more times, if I don't end up permanently. Virginia, I will miss you.