This is a picture of Jared, Ty, Kelsey, Ericka, Ali, Diane and Greg at Virginia Beach.  We were listening to a guy performing – he sang, played guitar, flute, trumpet and a steel drum.  Then he played two trumpets simultaneously.  Interesting!

The trip down was terrific.  Mark and Jeanne had the minivan loaded to the max with the cartop on top.  We had Ty, Jared and Ericka with us.  Diane followed us in the Tahoe with Ali, Kelsey and Greg.  The time actually flew by, and leaving on Friday ended up being a good thing.  We didn’t run into any beach traffic at all, and the only traffic congestion of any magnitude was due to an accident in Georgetown DE.  We ate at a Hardee’s for lunch – a really nice new one that had a great menu and was actually a very good experience – who knew. 

After checking into the hotel we drove over to Central Park Place in Virginia Beach.  I think that’s what it was called.  Its a very new area with lots of shops and restaurants.  They had a big parking garage with free parking.  We intended to eat at Cheesecake Factory, but it was a two hour wait.  Then we tried PF Changs, but also a two-hour wait.  We ended up at a California Pizza Kitchen – top end gourmet pizza and some really terrific menu items.  There were dozens of things I would have loved to try.  Jeanne and I split a spinach and artichoke pizza – very very good.

Back to the hotel to watch movies (The Hangover), and then an unfortunate restless night in a bed that was way too soft.

The hotel was packed with some sort of Soccer thing going on.  They didn’t have enough double-queen rooms for us, so they upgraded Di’s room to a suite, and they updated Jeanne and me to TWO ROOMS!  The first room was a very nice King suite with a couch/living area.  The second room was a full King Suite with a separate bedroom and living room.  Very nice.  They also gave me extra Marriott Reward points.  Its great when ya get a break every once in a while.

The kids have been terrific and everyone is looking forward to being with the entire family at the beach house.  Looks like the start of another terrific vacation

I called the front desk and they offered to let us stay in the rooms until 1pm, or I could stay until 3pm at 1/2 the rack rate. So – $128 for two hours – and I’m tempted. While Jeanne and I discuss this, they call back and tell us we can stay until 3pm for nothing – - I love DisneyWorld.

So, we’re watching TV and letting the time go by until 3pm, then its off to the airport.

We get to the airport to find that our flight has been delayed by 3 hours.  We took advantage of the time to have a very nice relaxing dinner at Macaroni Grill, and to buy and begin reading some books.  The flight home seemed to take forever.  When we landed, Greg’s suitcase somehow got mis-routed to Manchester, NH and we won’t get in back until after he’s already left for college. 

It poured rain and was extremely windy all the way home.  It was a fight just to keep the Tahoe on the road.  Arrived home exhausted a bit after 3AM. 

As always, we have several very fond memories from this trip as well as enough adversity to make the trip very memorable. Its always interesting to see which of the stories or events fade into nothingness, and which crystalizes into legend as time goes by and as the kids tell the stories over and over.

Once again I am so proud of my children and wife. Never complaining, always keeping everything in perspective, and finding humor at every possible turn.   They are patient and resilient travelers, and lots of fun to be with.