At the end of October my parents, Ted and I took an extended-weekend getaway to see my brother, his wife, and their four kids in Virginia. They’ve lived in the Norfolk area for well over five years, but because of our busy theatre jobs and bare-bones theatre incomes, we’ve never made it to their place for a visit even once. Next summer they’ll be moving out to Washington state, so if we wanted to see them and their Virginia home and attractions before the big move, it was now or never.
We arrived on Thursday morning and had lunch at Bennett’s Creek Restaurant & Marina in Suffolk. Nothing beats starting off your vacation with great seafood! I had an amazing crab cake sandwich, piled high with one of the best crab cakes I’ve ever had – almost all fresh crab and just enough fillers to add a little bit of spice and hold that baby together. It was so delicious. Ted had fish n’ chips with some pretty incredible hush puppies, and my mom and dad enjoyed house salads with big, tasty bowls of creamy she-crab soup. Everything was absolutely wonderful. Their view and location, literally on the water, was so beautiful and peaceful – a joy to us, but a challenge for them since they’d just finished a major renovation when Superstorm Sandy hit and wiped them out again. They’ve only been re-opened for a few months. If you’re in the area, you should definitely consider stopping by for a few crab cakes, some of those fantastic hush puppies, and a bowl of crab soup.
Much of the rest of our vacation was spent as family time – relaxing at their home, playing with the kids, cooking big family dinners, spending time together, etc. Which was, really, just perfect. It was incredibly relaxing, but also very much-needed time together as a family since we don’t see each other often. The picture below of my mom smooching on her grand-daughter Halle and a big crock of chili cooking on the stove is just exactly what was so wonderful about this vacation – family. We also found Cincinnati Graeter’s and Texas Blue Bell ice cream at the Kroger down there. These are my two most-favorite ice creams ever, and neither brand is sold in New York. Needless to say, this little piggy went to town on a several pints of Graeter’s black raspberry chip and a half-gallon of Blue Bell’s Moollennium Crunch, for which I feel no shame. This, also, was perfect.
Friday morning we checked out the Portsmouth naval hospital where my brother, Michael, is a OB/GYN Oncologist. In the afternoon Michael, Ted, my dad and I visited the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and retired battleship USS Wisconsin in Norfolk. Since our family has a military history, both my dad (Air Force) and my brother (Navy) were great people to visit these places with because they were really able to speak to their own experiences using the same technology and Michael’s time aboard the USS Wisconsin’s sister battleship back when he was at the Naval Academy. It was so interesting to explore the ship, but also really neat to see my brother’s and dad’s eyes light up at memories of things they recognized or remembered from years ago, and to hear them recount their own fascinating stories. I’m so glad the four of us were able to take this day together.
On Saturday, Michael, Ted, the three oldest kids (David, Hannah, and Christopher), and I all spent the day at the Busch Gardens amusement park in Williamsburg riding as many of the roller coasters as we could, enjoying the other rides, munching on cotton candy and dippin’ dots, and petting the animals (well, seeing the other animals and petting the birds) in their animal exhibit. Ted and I love trying out different theme parks across the country, so this was a real treat for us to experience this park and ride its coasters, and spend some quality time with Michael and the kids. We didn’t take a ton of pictures, but we had a great time.
We rounded out the weekend bright and early on Sunday morning with some fishing. Michael and a few of his Navy buddies co-own a fishing boat and Reel Hot Sport Fishing out of Virginia Beach. One of the things we really wanted to do on this trip was see Michael’s boat and do some fishing. So Michael, the captain, and a crew mate took us and the older kids out about 20 miles offshore to a great little fishing site. After catching his first fish, poor Ted spent most of the trip seasick (motion sickness rules this family), but the rest of us caught quite a lot of bluefish. I caught a huge rock bass that we would have loved to keep (uh, and eat), but bass season didn’t start until Nov 1. Sadly, we had to throw him back. It was a great experience, and a totally fun and relaxing way to spend a Sunday morning. I’m really thankful we were able to do this too.
‘Til next time, Virginia! We’re already looking forward to visiting Michael, Elizabeth and kids at their lake house in Washington state. Hopefully, it won’t take us seven years to make it there this next time around!
