Winding Down

Our happy little vacation is winding down. We are leaving VA tomorrow and it looks like we are going to head up to the Jersey Shore to spend a day at the beach. Originally, we were supposed to visit a childhood friend of mine (who lives near Philly), but she has a family emergency and won't be around. So, even though it is totally impractical and definitely out of our budget, we have decided to head off-course a bit. The kid has been to the ocean, but only in November. So we don't want to miss our chance to put our toes in the sand and get slapped around by a few waves. We haven't figured out what we'll do about a hotel room - quelle adventure!

The Wolf Trap show that was on our agenda for Wednesday was canceled because of rain (it is an outdoor venue). So, we developed a Plan B, which was to go bowling and then to see WALL-E. The kid had never been bowling before, so we thought this would be as good a time as any to take her. This bowling alley was different from the ones I remember as a kid. You don't get to mill about and test balls out. You stick your finger in a hole and then they assign you a ball accordingly. Alrighty then. Eventually I was forced to admit that the ball they gave me was too heavy and exchanged it - I have the upper body strength of a five-year-old.

They gave us a ramp thingie for the kid, which worked out well. She had no tolerance for the whole "taking turns" thing, but we could've predicted that. They also put bumpers in the gutters, which helped my own bowling score tremendously. One interesting event: I actually ran into someone from high school. She was in the next lane with her son and I kept staring at her like some kind of deranged stalker. Like, "Is it her? Is it her?" I finally approached her and yep, it was Rachel from high school. The good news is that she was a classmate that I actually liked. The odds of running into one I didn't like are probably much higher. Rachel told me that I look too young to have been in her class, but of course she was lying - I look every minute of my 38 years.

The other thing about bowling is that I didn't remember it being quite so pricey. I thought shoes were in the neighborhood of a buck or two. Now they are closer to four. Anyway, between bowling and the movie, Plan B ran us around $100. Ah well, sometimes you gotta throw caution to the wind when you're on vacation.

Yesterday we went to Old Town Alexandria to loiter about. We visited Murphy's Irish Pub, where my dad has worked since the birth of Christ. If you are thinking that we went there to freeload, you're right. He bought us lunch. We also had my niece along, so my dad was happy to see both of his granddaughters.

We also buzzed through the Torpedo Factory, which is an art center comprised of individual galleries where you can wander around and visit working artists and buy stuff. We were just happy to get out of there without A breaking anything. Oh, and we stopped for ice cream because apparently I'm pretty determined to dig out my "fat clothes" when I get home.

That's all the news for now. Buh-bye until next week!

Comments

Jess said…
Hello...I was sent here by Sammy and i jsut wanted to say hello and I enjoyed your blog.

Have a great weekend, Jess
Jen said…
I went bowling once last year with a coupon for a free string. But shoes were 8 bucks to rent! 8 bucks! Things are definitely different from when we were kids. :)
Yoka said…
Wow, you were in my neck of the woods. I live in this area.

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