On a Cold and Frosty Morning

March 29, 2015


Sunday. Jason and I hurried to get ready this morning, fearing that church goers would created a long wait for a table at any possible restaurant in town. We assumed this because we are from Georgia and every Sunday morning we must wait roughly 30 minutes for table at home. However, Virginia is a magical land where there is no wait time on a Sunday morning, at least not at the Mill Street Grill. It was glorious. We were seated immediately and our orders taken right upon arrival. Since we arrived on a Sunday we had the option of brunch, which we gladly accepted. As we waited for our food, the waitress brought their homemade bread (much more fresh than the last time we were here). The bread also came with maple butter, which I thought was the best butter they had ever served. Shortly after finishing the bread, our food arrived. Jason ordered Eggs Benedict with a side of oranges (since he was allergic to all other fruit offered) and broccoli. I ordered an egg and bacon sandwich with a side of fruit and home fries. Below is a picture:

 Below is a picture of Jason about to receive his food.

After eating our food and rapidly devouring our peppermint ice cream, we walked over to the hotel. Shortly after returning, we left for Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home). This was our favorite place to visit the last time we went to Virginia. The whole week it had been cold and windy, but this morning gave a glimmer of sunshine and a hint of warmth. It was the best day for us to visit Monticello--still cold and crisp but not freezing. We drove roughly 40 minutes, stopping once for gas and diet Cheerwine. Upon arrival, we made our way to the ticket kiosk. It was about 2:00p.m. and the next tour would leave at 3:45. Sadly, this one was all booked up. We settled for the tour at 4:25, which actually turned out to be better.

We stopped in the gift shop and purchased strawberry butter, Monticello Reserve Ale, and White Hall Soliterre. We then went back to the car to store our purchases and then made the walk back to the welcome center. Jason and I talked about how much easier to make that walk this year than it was a few years ago. We both were so out of shape during that last trip, but this year we were different. Since receiving fitbits, losing weight, and exercising the past couple of years, Jason and I are in better health than ever.

As Jason and I made the walk back to the welcome center we came across a strange and rare bunny. This bunny was Japanese. We know this because it was a Japanese person in a school girl bunny suit. The man with her must have twice her age and had a fetish for bunnies, or at least was okay with hers. It was kind of nice having them around... kind of like where's waldo but in bunny form.

After passing the pink bunny, we made our way to the bus which would take us up the mountain to Jefferson's actual home and gardens. As the bus arrived, I heard a woman say "Well, they didn't apologize for the renovations yet." I wasn't sure what she meant, but when we got off the bus we noticed a large white curtain on the front of Monticello. Jason and I both were fine with this for two reasons A) we have seen it before; B) It makes it so it's still pretty when we come back. Which we will come back.

Since we had a great deal of time to wander, we made our way to the vegetable garden first. Although just the beginning of spring, some vegetation had begun to sprout. Below are pictures:

 Jason and I tried to see what exactly they were growing in the gardens when I stumbled upon the "Marshmallow" section. I gasped being amazed that they could grow that. Jason said "no" with a chuckle and then I immediately remembered that those don't grow on anything. Wouldn't it be great though to have a marshmallow bush or a tree that rains tiny little mini mallows for the tasting. It would be glorious.

The picture below is of the vineyard which is directly below the vegetable garden.

After viewing the veggies, we made our way to the house gardens. Sadly, spring is only faintly here, small reds and pinks are peeping through the ground but not fully in bloom.  Below are pictures of us at the house.

 *Please ignore the massive wind that overtook our hair in the picture below*

The picture below is of Mulberry Row from the house's porch. 

 At the end of Mulberry Row were the remains of the joiners house. During our last visit we were unable to really see this part of the grounds because it was being excavated during the time. Apparently they have recently found a thimble on the grounds from long ago. Who knew. 

 Below is a beautiful picture of all the Mulberry trees on Mulberry Row.

 After touring the grounds and catching the end of the Slavery Tour (we had already done that once, so just a review), we made our way to the gift shop. The gift shop had recently been moved to inside part of the home (where the Slaves lived and worked). Jason bought Monticello Root Beer. We also bought American Heritage Historic Chocolate (authentic 18th century recipe and ingredients) and Monticello Virginia Peanuts. Below are pictures of us enjoying our snack in the gardens.

 Above is a picture of me showing the Virginia Peanuts. The woman in the gift shop told us that these were the best peanuts in the world. Jason said (later as we ate on this bench), "As Georgians we should not abide this northish aggression." Jason was extremely upset that a Virginian should claim to have better peanuts than Georgia :^) Oh the weird things he says. Side note: he is currently enjoying the crunchy goodness that is Virginia peanuts. Jason says that apparently what makes anything Virginian is that you salt the crap out of it. e.g. Virginia ham. I have to agree--except the peanuts are actually good.

 Above is a picture of kids playing in the yard of Monticello. There was a dad with maybe four or five kids playing tag in front of us. They were adorable. They ended up climbing the tree next to us for pictures. They also all longingly stared at our peanuts while doing so.

Below is a kickass picture of Monticello's most Tim Burtonish tree I have ever seen. It was beautiful and amazing!

 We waited at this very tree for our tour to begin. We were informed we were not allowed to take any picture of the inside in order to preserve the home and it's art/artifacts. A man named Justin greeted us and gave us a tour. Justin talked a lot more about how Jefferson was in debt than our last tour guide. Apparently he inherited a great deal of debt from relatives and lavishly spent his money on his home and the finest he could buy. When he died, he left his entire family with a great deal of debt to their name. In fact, they were required to sell Monticello to pay some of it off. Luckily, years down the road, the Levy Family decided to preserve it as it is now and be a place to provide tours and history to the world. Thank goodness for those people. Too bad for Jefferson's family. After the tour, we were led out on the porch where they showed us the view. Apparently Jefferson designed the building for the University of Virginia, which was built within eye shot. There was literally a small opening between numerous trees that reviewed the beautiful school's building. He was able to watch from his home the progress of the builders.

After the tour, we walked down the slave's quarters. Below are pictures of us in this section.

 Above is a bell that was used during this time period. Jason thought my mom would appreciate it, as it resembles Downton Abbey's bell on the show.

 A random example of a lock and key during this time period.

When we finished browsing, we headed back over to Mulberry Row. Here is a picture of Jason there.

 In the vegetable garden is a small lookout room. The glass must be original to the time because it was wavy and with numerous imperfections. Below are pictures of us in this room:

After this picture, Jason and I made the walk back down to the welcome Center. I love that they have a walking trail on his property. We then drove back to the hotel. We got back right in time for dinner. We saved Shenandoah Pizza for last because we knew they were open on Sunday when many other places aren't. Below is a picture of the street as we headed that way:

The picture below is of the coffee house we stopped at numerous times during this trip (the By&by).

Another picture of the street:

Below is a scary-ass screaming bust of a head for wigs... not sure what's going on there but we liked it. 

Finally, dinner. We were given a seat across from where we sat the last time we were here. Two men played music at the window. One with a guitar and the other a violin. They were pretty good. A man with an armful of tattoos took our order. Below are pictures. I ordered the picture on top (crustless pizza... meatball and feta); Jason the crustless pizza with chicken and feta. Both delicious. We also ordered an appetizer of Pepperoni Pizza Roles. Delicious!

After dinner, we made our way to the Split Banana for some more ice cream. Jason's is to the left (brownie bash and Guinness Extra Stout). Mine is to the right (Snickers and brownie bash).

Below is a picture of the outside of the shop. 

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for blogging and then sleeping. Good night Staunton. We shall be leaving you tomorrow.

Devil Went Down To Staunton

March 28, 2015

Jason and I woke up early today. We wanted the room cleaned and decided it was easier if we didn't sleep in too much. Also, we were hungry. After showering and getting ready for the day, we made our way to the cold streets of Straunton. I say this not because the streets are unkind but because it was 30 degrees and windy. I, being the exact opposite of a boyscout, brought a sweater and forgot my coat. It was freezing. Our noses quickly became red and our ears frozen as we walked the streets looking for breakfast. We quickly stumbled across The Pampered Palate. It was a small, southern style restaurant with Easter decorations lining the windows. We walked toward the register and waited for a table. Two tables were without people, but they had yet to be cleared. A woman came out from the kitchen wearing a baby bjorn and a small, cheerful baby bouncing on her stomach. She greeted us and cleared the table near the window. We browsed candy in the small shop at the back of the restaurant and made our way to our seats the moment she finished cleaning. A young boy (I assume a relative of the woman that greeted us) asked for our drink and order. Only moments later, our food arrived. They are pretty quick here. Below are pictures:

My bagel, fruit, and homemade sausage:

Jason's Turkey, bacon, and coleslaw croissant with a side of chips:

After breakfast, we made our way to a few stores. We decided it was too cold for me to simply wear a sweater. I would need an actual coat. We popped in a cute little boutique shop where we were immediately greeted by this lovely creature...

 In my head I called her Sammie.Scarves and hats (in the shape animals, I might add) were available but no coats. I asked the kind woman in the shop if she knew where I might buy one. She said there was a clothing store across the street from her or possibly a store called "17." We thanked her and walked over. There were indeed clothes across the street; however, only a queen can purchases them. Also they didn't have coats. We then made our way to "17." It was a very very cute store that was three stories high. Inside was a cute antique shop, filled with older clothes from the 40s and on. I found numerous coats, all about four sizes bigger than me. I decided if I were going to spend $20 on a coat, I'd rather just get a new one that I could wear all the time. So, Jason and I went back to the hotel and decided to drive to the nearest Target or T.J. Maxx.

As we drove, we stumbled across a GoodWill store. Without much thinking, we immediately turned in. It was huge!! It was much bigger and the clothes way better than the one in Newnan. Toward the back of the store we found the coats (almost typed goats... what a weird Goodwill that would have been!). We found maybe 5 that could have easily worked. Jason spotted a brown one that was lined with fake fur. It was sooooo warm. I told him it felt like a bear was hugging me! It was $8. Score! Here is a picutre:

And, yes, it does come with a hood! Can't beat it. After GoodWill, we drove back to the hotel. Today was going to be another relaxing day. We wanted to do some antique shopping and go visit Juliette at the Bed and Breakfast Anne Hathaway House. Jason and I emailed Juliette yesterday asking if we could pop by sometime today to purchase some of her wine jelly. She said yes, so we were definitely going to make a stop at her place. But first, antiquing.

Once back at the hotel, we tried to find the antique store where Jason purchases his razor on our last trip. Sadly, we were unable to find it. We ended up walking around in the bitter wind until stumbling across Suntrust. We realized we needed cash for the wine jelly. We began to become numb from the cold, and decided to warm up in the nearest antique shop. Not sure the name, but it was a great antique store. They had a original drawing of Woodstock and Snoopy that was drawn by the original animator of Charlie Brown. It was only $135. If I had the money I would have bought it. We also stumbled across a dream chest/trunk that I've always wanted. It was large and round on top. The kind I always imagine pirates use to hold liquor. Sadly, it was also $150, which is honestly an amazing price for that. But I don't have that kind of money or the room for it at the moment. Jason also stumbled across this:

It's where self-absorbed people go to see three versions of themselves... there's even a pull down light at the top. Jason--being hilarious and not self absorbed--walked in, looked at me in the mirror, and said "Which one is the real me?!" I love him! He's fun to be around even doing mundane things. After we could begin to feel our ears again, we made our way to Juliette's home. We had forgotten how long of a walk it was. We ended up popping into one other antique shop to warm up. This last shop didn't have much of anything to note... just warmth. Wasn't too long before we were back on sidewalk. We saw the old homes we passed two year prior and the beautiful church that I loved so much. Soon we could see Thornrose cemetery. We had previous planned to walk through the cemetery as we did before, but it appeared too cold for such a walk.

As we came upon Anne Hathaway's B&B, we noticed a large group of people leaving her home. We knocked on the door, Juliette's husband answered. He asked if we were checking in. Once we said, no that we had emailed his wife about buying some wine jelly today he said "Oh, on no. Uh... I know nothing about wine jelly. I'll have to get Juliette." He seemed rather flustered. He told us it had been a crazy day and that Juliette went to try and take a nap. We apologized and said we could easily come back some other time, but he insisted on waking her. He said it was useless--there was too much going on for a nap anyway. She quickly came from around the corner, looking somewhat frazzled herself. We purchased two jars of wine jelly (we went through the last one rather quickly). We apologized again, thanked her, and then hurried off so she could rest.

The walk back was less cold, as the wind was now on our backs and we were walking downhill. As we passed different stores and buildings, we came across this little fellow on one of the walls:

This is what I love about Staunton. It's an artsy town. It's somewhat like a game of where's waldo here... at any moment there could be a painting on a wall or a picture of House on a door. You just have to keep an eye open for it. After passing this friendly bunny, we saw a young couple with a small boy with them. Right as we passed, we saw the little boy look up at his mom and she said "We'll go inside soon." The little boy replied "I don't care where we go as long as we're inside." We laughed to ourselves and fully agreed with him. We made our way to our now favorite coffee shop in Staunton, the By&by. Jason and I both realized we were a little dehydrated and began to feel lightheaded... something to drink was just what we needed.

The same girl from yesterday greeted us. We both ordered Black Tea today. All the tables were full so we took a seat at a bar in the middle of the room. A man at a nearby table, asked if they could move for us (since they were taking up two or three tables). We thanked them but said they were okay. Our tea arrived shortly after this. We listened to kind people next to us discussing the tv show Arrested Development as we sipped the warm refreshment. We also learned that one of the women at that table worked with missiles. Oh the interesting things you hear at a coffee shop. We left after drinking our tea and headed back to the warm hotel, right around the corner.

Before retuning, however, we decided to go ahead and purchase tickets to the White Devil play that was showing tonight at 7:30 at the Black Friar's Playhouse. We walked in and were greeted by two women. I asked for two tickets, if they had any left. They chuckled and said "For you, we can make that work." I guess they had a lot of seats. She asked what seating preferences we had. We told her we had never been there, so just pick where she would want to sit. Jason did say, he'd prefer something that faced the stage directly instead of from the side. She picked row J, seats 11 and 12. As she rang us up, we noticed a drawing of a cat. I told her I liked her cat and then the other lady pointed to three other cat drawings near her computer. I told her I liked the one with the eye patch on it the best. She said they named it Purricles. Super cute. We left and walked four feet over to the hotel. 

After resting and blogging a bit, we decided to go to dinner at the Clock Tower... another favorite restaurant of ours. We walked some ways in the cold but were greeted by the warm bar inside the restaurant. A young, bubbly woman sat us to our table. We picked the high-top table in the corner. Here is a picture of Jason:

We ordered spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer and two waters. Here is a picture:

 The lady took our order moments later and also discussed Jason's desire to purchase a flight of beer. He picked all Virginia beers... we can't remember what they were called but they were good. Here is a picture of Jason with his flight. Side note: our waitress laughed about how her coworkers were making fun of her for arranging his flight from lightest to darkest. Jason said he would have done the same thing.

 Our waitress noticed we took a picture of the beer. She turned to her coworkers that had previously laughed at her and said "See! They're taking pictures! That's why you arrange them like that!" She then brought us some bread and our sweet potato andouille. It was stupidly delicious!

 As we finished up our soup, the dinner arrived. Below are pictures of my Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti noodles (almost spelled noddles), and Jasons lasagna. Again, stupidly delicious!

After finishing up, we asked the waitress for a picture together. We almost never can get good pictures of both of us when we go on vacation, but she seemed nice and trustworthy with a camera.

After dinner, we made our way to the Split Banana, possible the best ice cream spot in all of America (I haven't been to a ton of ice cream places). It's actual homemade gelato that is sure to add 100 pounds with each bite and 20 years happiness to your life, somehow at the same time. I ordered one scoop of apple pie and one scoop coconut. Jason--one scoop cookies and cream and another scoop of kick-you-in-your-crotch-fantastic peanut butter. Deloicious!! We ate at the bar because all of staunton was currently getting ice cream and no seats were left. That's how good this place is.. it's freezing outside and the ice cream place is packed.

 After ice cream, we dropped off at the hotel for a second. Turns out there was a wedding at the hotel. We quickly caught a glimpse of the bride, sporting a beautiful pair of thick, black, hipster glasses and a stunning wedding dress. After half an hour we made our way to the Playhouse for the White Devil. We were seated in the most perfect spot. It was right in front and just far back enough to see the whole stage. Below is a picture... I later found out I wasn't supposed to take this picture, but no one told me not to until later. They do let you take pictures of the place after the show, so I'm probably okay. Here is the picture:

 What's amazing about this palyhouse is that it is a recreation of Shakespeare's original indoor theater.  They also are held to the same conditions the actors themselves would have been subject to during this time period. Meaning, they had roughly 48 hours to rehearse the play. There was also a gentleman with the script on the sidelines in case someone forgot a line... which no one did. One of the male actors was cast as a female role just as it would have been in Shakespeare's time. It was great! They also had something called gallant stools, which are the stools located on the sides of the stage. This is where you could pay to watch the stage up close and personal. The gentleman to the left, closest to the camera fell asleep a couple times during the play--should have picked a different seat. There were roughly 4 to 5 seats empty on stage so they allowed others to upgrade right before the play started. Also, the house lights were kept on during the entire play, just as it was during Shakespeare's time.

The play was amazing! The actors phenomenal. It had a good mix of humor and drama and even creepiness. Jason and I joked about how the actor Glenn Howerton would have made an excellent Flamineo. The actor even looked like him. It was so good. Right before the play began and during intermission, the actors would do a concert in the balcony for everyone. They all were so talented. They could all act, sing, play different instruments (guitar, flute, sax, banjo, etc). It was incredible!

After the play Jason and I returned to the hotel where I promptly passed out. Jason and I had walked so much today that we didn't even need to try to finish our 10,000 steps for our fitbit challenge... we finished those steps right at dinner time. It was a fun day but I was ready for some sleep!

To The Trenches!

March 27, 2015

Soft morning light crept in through our hotel window as Jason and I began to wake, stomachs rumbling with hunger as we lay in bed. We had overslept and regretted nothing. It was 10:30 and too late for breakfast. After getting ready, we left our room for lunch. We noticed on the door handle outside the room a large, white bag filled with towels. We had left the "do not disturb" sign up for so long that it appeared housekeeping had given up on us, probably gratefully so. As luck would have it, a housekeeper was in the hallway and saw us leave the room. She asked if we needed any service for today. We thanked her and said the towels were all we need. Appearing somewhat relieved she thanked us and crossed our room off her list to clean.

The elevator door opened up to the beautiful yellow lobby from the night before, revealing the strong smell of eggs and an older gentleman asleep on a nearby chair, mouth agape. We chuckled to ourselves and left for downtown Staunton. We briefly walked down the street of West Beverly for places to eat. It wasn't too long before we noticed our favorite restaurant from two years ago. Baja Bean. We walked in and seated ourselves in a nearby booth. A waiter (the same waiter from two years ago) took our order and left for some tortilla chips and salsa. Only moments later, our food arrived. Here are pictures. I apologize for taking these pictures after having already taken a few bites into the meal... it was too good to wait. The top picture was my order (Tostada with ground beef) and the bottom pictures is Jason with his (Tostada, no meat).

After eating lunch, Jason and I headed to the nearby Suntrust to deposit my check. My work is odd and wouldn't let me deposit it until after 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Lucky for us, the only bank in downtown Staunton is our bank. We made our deposit and then returned to the hotel to digest the rather large amount of wood we had consumed. Not too long later, we decided to take advantage of our Woodrow Wilson Museum tickets. Here is a picture of Jason and I about to leave for the Museum tour.

 We walked through the wind and cold to the beautiful Woodrow Wilson Gift Shop, where our tour begins. We walked in the home shortly before another guest had arrived. It appeared this woman was from Louisiana and was taking the tour by herself. It looked like it would be just the three of us for the tour. A jolly, white-haired man greeted us and took our tickets. He said we were right on time and that the tour was about to begin (as though they would have left if we had arrived just a few moments later... you know, all zero of them).

Soon a tiny, white-haired woman in a large wool coat walked out behind a wooden door to greet us. As most tour guides do, she asked where we were from. When we said "Atlanta" both the tour guide and the white-haired gentleman gave a sound of excitement. She asked where exactly because she, too, was from Atlanta. She was from Buckhead. We then learned that Woodrow Wilson also lived in Atlanta, Rome, and Augusta Georgia for some time. Small world.

Unfortunately we do not have any pictures of his birth home (The manse--his father was a minister and this was the home his church had provided for them). Although not every piece of furniture was from Woodrow Wilson's childhood, many were. It was a three story home with big, beautiful windows. We began the tour at the bottom of the house, where the "servants" (as Woodrow Wilson's mother called them--even though it appeared they were in fact rented slaves) lived. We saw tiny baths which were used rarely; a small pile of cloth which the servants slept on; an ironing station near the fireplace; and the first type of range stove stop that existed during this time period. Additionally, we saw the cook's room and the ordinary dinning room table that was used for everyday occasions.

We then walked up the stairs to the formal dinning room where they ate when having guests or Christmas dinner. She mentioned how horrible it had to be for the servants to walk constantly up and down the stairs with large platters of food. The rooms were fairly large and made with dark wood and large fireplaces. She pointed out how low the chairs were to the ground. This was not because they were short people, but because the large fireplaces filled each room with smoke. The lower to the ground, the less smoke you would inhale. She walked us to the parlor, the study where drinking and smoking occurred, and then to the minister's bedroom. In the bedroom there was a hair-bowl. Apparently back in this time period, women kept their hair in order to make things out of it, such as a wreath or stuffing for dolls. It was extremely creepy and slightly impressive all at the same time. The last part of the home we were unable to see. It was the third floor which consisted solely of empty bedrooms.

Once finishing the tour, we made our way to the actual museum. Here we were able to take some pictures, as seen below:

The last picture above is of a few items from a soldier in WWI. Jason noticed the canteen and how there were clearly bullet holes in it. Crazy.

There were three sections of this museum. The first was a walk through of Wilson's life (who, by the way, was called "Tommy" until going to college. His full name is actually Thomas Woodrow Wilson). The second section was down in a creepy basement and it depicted scenes from WWI. I was a little too creeped out to take pictures, but there was a replica of a trench from WWI in the basement. They also played sounds of war as you walked through, trying to give you the full experience. We saw machine guns from this time period and different types of weapons. After finishing this section, we made our way to the last part of the museum... Woodrow Wilson's favorite car. This car still runs and is actually used to this day in the annual Fourth of July parade in Staunton. Below are pictures:
 

 

After finishing the museum we headed back to the gift shop for a movie about Woodrow Wilson's life. It was a short 10 minute movie with pretty much the same information that the tour guide told us about earlier. We thanked the white-haired gentleman and left for a warm, comforting beverage. There is a small coffee shop called "By&By" near the hotel. We popped in and ordered some drinks from a kind waitress who noticed my Candy Land band-aid. Everyone in Staunton is so friendly, kind, and sociable... I love it! Here are pictures of us enjoying our drinks.

Jason, with his Irish Cream Mocha.

Me with my white tea.

After warming up, we made our way to a few antique stores--the number one activity for Staunton visitors. We stopped in a small, new age store filled with different types of religious items and nicknacks. I bought a beautiful little elephant, which I named Daisy. Here are pictures:

I realized right before going to sleep that Daisy was perfect for holding my glasses and rings. 

 After my purchase, we made our way to a small bookstore. It was a beautiful shop that held mostly old books and records. They played Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong while we browsed their shelves. Nothing seemed to capture our attention so we decided to return to antique shop we loved during our last visit. We went through aisle after aisle of old razors, clocks, dishes, wooden furniture, etc. This was the same shop where I bought my picnic basket from two years ago. This time, however, nothing caught our eye--nothing within our price range, that is. After browsing, we decided to head back toward the hotel to regroup and put Daisy away.

After resting a bit, we decided dinner was in order. We settled on another favorite restaurant from our last trip: Mill Street Grill. This was luckily right next to the hotel. We walked across the street, cold wind blowing from every angle, and quickly made our way to the host at the front. It was a 20 minute wait. We patiently waited at a booth by the door. Soon a group of older people headed our way, a few sat down on a few of the remaining spaces. Jason leaned over and said he was going to get up for them. I followed suit. They thanked us but said we were more than welcome to keep sitting down. Jason, being awesome and kind, thanked them in return but moved farther away for them to take a seat. This is why I love him. It wasn't but a moment later that our table was called.

We were seated not too far from the door by a group of older women swearing and laughing at something I can only assume was inappropriate (based on overhearing later portions of their conversations). We gave our order and soon were given homemade bread with raspberry butter. It was delicious! It was a little different than we remembered from last time (a chewy and no honey butter), but still very good! Here is a picture of the bread and butter:

 Soon our Dinner arrived. Jason ordered the Beef, bacon, and cheddar sandwich with broccoli, as seen below.

 Quickly followed by my chicken stir fry in a peanut sauce.

 After devouring our meals, we were given our check with a small cup of peppermint ice cream, as seen below.

As we ate our ice cream, we overheard the hilarious women next to us. Jason began laughing when he heard one woman tell another "If you touch that ticket I'm going to kick your ass." They had been fighting over who was to pay for dinner... I'm assuming she won. Haha!

As we left the restaurant, the sun was setting, giving a warm glow to our hotel. Below is a picture I took from the restaurant. 

 There was a creek between the restaurant and hotel that was just breathtaking. It was surrounded by stone walls with paintings on it. Below is a picture.

 Lastly, Jason in front of the restaurant.

As we walked toward the hotel garage for my car, we began to play a little "Where's Waldo" game. The last time we went to this restaurant we found a picture of Hugh Laurie on a white door. Sadly, no Laurie within sight. We assume someone must have removed it since it was graffiti. Oh well, some things will change.

Jason and I escaped the cold by finding my car in the hotel garage. We decided we wanted to visit a nearby brewery called Queen City Brewery Company. It was only a few minutes away and an easy drive. We made our way through the small crowd to the wooden bar and had a seat. The smell of beer wafted in the air, only to be interrupted by the occasional whiff of BBQ from the nearby food truck outside. Jason ordered something called a Smitten Rabbit (a Pale Ale) and I tried to order a Diet Dr. Pepper. Sadly, no soda for me. Jason drank his beer as I stared longingly at the sign that read "Diet Dr. Pepper." Soon a band began to play and all hope of retaining any hearing in my old age was lost. We watched as a woman played with a 3-4 month old baby as the man next to her tossed pretzles at the dog resting underneath the bar. Jason then ordered a flight of beer consisting of: ginger beer, Triple Belgian Ale, King Rabbit, Daddy Rabbit, and one other IPA we can't think of. As Jason sampled his flight, the bartender took the baby from the woman at the bar. He went into the back and came out moments later wearing a baby bjorn with a smiling baby girl inside it. Jason laughed and then pointed to the beer list in front of me... specifically to the beer Daddy Rabbit. The Daddy Rabbit was described as having more grains than the brewery has children. Haha! Guess so! Here is a picture of Jason at the bar... first time Jason had ever opened up a tab at a bar.

Soon drunk people began to dance in front of the band and loudly sang along to each song played. Everyone was happy, well-behaved, and having a good time. I told Jason that if this is the underbelly of Staunton... it's a really great place to live. Jason agreed and reminded me that where we're from there is the dreaded corner tavern... the true underbelly of Newnan. Once finishing up his beer, Jason and I ordered a growler of ginger beer (so good!) and paid the tab. As we walked out of the bar Jason came across a man looking at naked women on his phone... well, there's one in every town, right? Gotta love Staunton.

We took our growler and headed back to the hotel. One night in staunton down and not enough to go!

A Midnight Spook

March 26, 2015

We awoke before daybreak--the most ungodly hour to begin any day--and set out for work as we usually would on any given Thursday. Although it would seem a typical workday for us, Jason and I knew better. Shortly after work, we would begin to make our small journey to one of our favorite cities--Staunton, VA. We had visited Staunton a few years ago for our anniversary; having loved it so much, we decided to give ourselves a nice, long weekend in the beautiful small town we held so dear.

Jason and I hurried home. Both of us were somehow able to leave work early in order to pack--yes, I know... we should have packed before this point! In no time, however, we were ready to go. After pulling off our unbelievably adorable cats from the top of our suitcase--clearly they did not want us to leave--we said goodbye to Peanuts and Fred and made our way to the streets of Atlanta. Jason was kind enough to drive, even though he was functioning on only a few hours of sleep from the night before.

We stopped at a nearby Quick Trip for gas and to fill the tires with air. We soon headed toward downtown Atlanta. It wasn't long before we realized we left our home a little too late--rush hour had begun. Jason braved his way through traffic and got Fitzgerald (my car) and us out of Atlanta without a scratch. As we traveled north-bound, we decided to listen to an audio book Jason had gotten for the trip. It was called Spook by Mary Roach. It was a very good read (or in this case listen). Jason and I love how she writes. She's extremely intelligent, logical, and sarcastic as she can be. This particular book was about what happens to people when they die. She discussed how she wished our souls went on somehow, but how she struggles with this thought--she needs some kind of evidence that we can continue on without our bodies. She discussed reincarnation, outer-body experiences, near-death experiences, and even experiments that test if we have a soul. In one chapter she discusses how some people have tried to weigh a person when they die. They did this to see if a person would lose weight once dead, which could indicate their soul has left them. Pretty interesting stuff.

The drive was very long and soon Jason and I became hungry for dinner. We pulled over by a Quick Trip and decided to grab food there. Normally we would sit down and eat somewhere, but we were running out of time. According to our GPS, it would be 12:00 a.m. by the time we arrived at our hotel. We said it would be a late check-in, but at that point it's more of an early check-in for the following day. We hopped they wouldn't hold that against us.

Jason made his way to the Quick Trip hot dogs and I to the pepperoni pizza. Since we were in ... well, one of the the Carolina's, we were able to find Diet Cheerwine. This is my favorite beverage of all time. We quickly made our purchases and headed back out on the road. I checked my fitbit once in the car and soon realized there would be no time to finish all 10,000 steps by the end of today. Lucky for me I had walked extra at work. I made myself be as active as possible earlier in the day and ended up only 1,000 steps shy of my goal.

Many, many miles later we were required to get off at a nearby exit for gas. Jason got out of the car. The moment the door opened we realized we should have waited for a better gas station. As the outside air wafted toward us, the strong smell of dog shit made it's way to our nostrils. This was quickly followed by a Katie Perry song being blasted from the gas station radio. A large, dirty, and extremely muddy-looking truck was seen nearby as well. It was as though the world were attacking us with every one of our senses. Never have we gotten gas so quickly.

Thankful to be back on the road, we soon found ourselves in Virginia. We began to recognize familiar signs and billboards from our last trip. Finally, a glowing red light appeared in the nearby distance that read "Stonewall Jackson Hotel." There it is! We found the parking garage and walked up the long, brick path to the front of the hotel. Jason pulled the door and panicked. It wouldn't open. It was midnight and we appeared to be arriving too late. Jason, however, was more awake then I and was smart enough to try the door next to it, which thankfully was still open. It is one of the most beautiful hotel lobbies I have ever seen. Beautiful white columns, marble countertops, and sunshine yellow walls.  Here are two pictures of the hotel, which I cannot say I took. We were too tired to even think of taking pictures. These came from the hotel website located at: http://www.stonewalljacksonhotel.com/photos.htm#0

I told you--beautiful. As we made our way to the counter, a woman (looking just slightly less tired than I) walked out from behind a door to greet us. She asked if we were the Brown's. I guess we were the last people to check in. She handed us our hotel keys and our tickets to the Woodrow Wilson Library (we purchased a package deal to obtain these tickets). We thanked her and hobbled to our room on the third floor. It was a quiet hallway and we were the last door at the very end. We quickly dropped everything on the floor and collapsed into bed.

It had been such a long day, but so very fun and exciting. I know I listed quite a bit that sounded bad--Atlanta traffic, the long drive, arriving late, the monstrous gas station, and listening to a book about death--but it was really a wonderful day. That's the beautiful thing about being married to Jason. Both he and I have a tendency to see the negative, but we both work to turn all the negatives into something different. A horrible smelling gas station suddenly becomes extremely humorous when Jason turns to me and says with an uncertain chuckle "Why the hell does this gas station smell like dog shit?!" Or being stuck in a car for hours turns out to be fun and entertaining because you're with the person who makes you laugh the most. Even a book about death becomes hopeful and encouraging, not to mention hysterically sarcastic... all because the author has a similar sense of humor to Jason (who was the one who found the book for us to listen to).

I'm lucky in life in a lot of ways. Jason and I both have jobs. We have chances to take road trips. We are in good health mentally and physically. We've been given a lot of gifts. Truth is though, I'd still be lucky even if things changed. I've had the chance to know and deeply love a man like Jason P. Brown. He's changed my life and who I am more than anyone else in the world. He has turned so many days of gray and gloom into a glimmer of color and hope. Not only has he made my days brighter, but I've learned from him how to change my own dreary days into a memorable moment.

As we fell asleep in the small town of Staunton, Va, I thought back to the lovely trip we had in Staunton a few years ago. As tired as I was, a part of me still couldn't sleep because of the excitement of being back in the colorful town we had grown to love a few years ago. To the town of Staunton and to Jason P. Brown... life is more beautiful and unforgettable with you in it!