virginia be-otch

marni and i were thrilled when my stepmom asked us tuesday morning if we'd be willing to take my little sister to virginia beach for the weekend when she arrived here. we've just been getting into the routine of things out here in the district and were ready for some excitement to change things up. the rest of the two days of the week went by freakishly slow for me because i was full of anticipation for the three day weekend ahead. thursday night finally came and when we got home from work i hurriedly packed up all the necessities for a weekend trip at the beach: a couple swimsuits, flip flops, shorts, and the polaroid camera.
we got on the road as the sun was setting and enjoyed watching the sky change colors and listening to road trip tunes. as we drove, i reminisced on many memories i've had in virginia beach. i spent many childhood days there and have been back almost every summer since i was 10 years old. i remembered inside jokes from the last summer i spent there, tubing on the bay in my grandma's backyard, night swimming, odd balls in the singles branch, extreme pillow fights, funny failed romances, and living at the beach. in the car, marni, lindsey and i sang along with songs and ate our snacks.. white cheddar popcorn, m&ms, and some nasty pastry that marni picked out.
we finally arrived about three and a half hours later and i was comforted crashing on the couches at my grandma jane's house, something not unfamiliar to me. between all the grandkids having parties there, i think just about every person in virginia beach between the ages of 15 and 24 has slept on the couches in her front room, and that night was no exception. we were woken up in the middle of the night by some of my cousin's friends who had been out partying and came to crash on the couches as well.
we woke up at around 7:30. the whole front of the house is made of windows pretty much and the sunlight came peering in. i looked around, looked out the window at the sun coming up over the bay, looked at all the couches and the floor to see the random people sleeping on them, and then smiled. i knew that it would be a good day.
grandma jane is notorious for not having food at her house, so the gang and i went to wendy's to try out their breakfast, and then went to farm fresh to pick up some goodies for the beach and for the rest of the weekend. we were out the door and ready for the beach by 10 o'clock in the morning which is perfect to get good parking. we went to the "local" beach at about 71st street, rather than the crowded "touristy" beach at the boardwalk, and were the first ones there.
i can't describe the feeling i get when i go to the beach here. it's a million different feelings at once, nostalgia, peaceful, content, delighted, giddy, carefree and just plain happy. i can honestly say that virginia beach-not disneyland- is that happiest place on earth to me. i enjoyed the feeling of the sand in between my toes, the smell of the salt water, the cool breeze, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. i was in heaven. we spent nearly five hours there, laying out catching the sun rays, body surfing the waves, and maybe skinny dipping.. but you didn't hear it from me.
the rest of the trip was filled with seeing old friends, family, hanging out, laughter, and aloe vera for our monster sunburns. on the trip home we decided to take the scenic back roads and were very thrilled that we did. the east coast is much greener and prettier than i'm used to back in utah and we enjoyed driving through the quaint farm towns and thicks of trees with the windows down, and stopping in a cute little town on the bay near historic yorktown for lunch. marni and i made plans for future road trips, talked about people and things we missed back home, and found a new fascination with speaking like hillbillies. it was a very fun, relaxing, and much needed weekend getaway. thanks for reading, blog world. i hope you all take some real great trips soon!

favorite quote of the weekend: "i reckon i knowed that real good!"

polaroids to come soon, maybe.