Scenes from a vacation

OK, let’s start with the cast of characters:
Me. (Duh….)
Sue Ellen - my sister
Patty – my sister
Molly – Patty’s daughter (she’s a lawyer so I have to say nice things here or she’ll sue me)
Mary - my cousin (her mother and my mother were sisters)
Houseboy - Mary’s husband
B&B – Mary’s big ass house.

Mary and Houseboy live in Virginia, so we flew into Baltimore because it was cheaper than Dulles or Reagan, and just drove an hour to their house. I did all the driving, rental car in my name, don’t trust either of the sisters behind the wheel. Mama did not raise a fool.

Friday morning we got to Mary’s house around 11am. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it’s better than any bed & breakfast you could stay at, thus the reason it’s called the B&B.



We got settled in, and decided to go grab some lunch and hit up a couple of wineries. Had lunch at a place called Five Guys, which is a burgers & fries place. Good, but I’ll stick with my all time fav, which is In-N-Out Burger.

First winery we went to was called Naked Mountain Winery. I was all excited thinking maybe our wine guy would be a Chippendale or something but alas, no such luck. The most fun I got out of that place was a cork in my wine bottle that said “Drink Naked”. The views were great and the wine was good, although they were out of Riesling which is my favorite.

Here's Patty, Mary and Sue Ellen:



The vines:



The winding road going in and out of that place scared the beejeezus out of us. It’s one lane with drops off either side, and you have to honk practically the entire way to warn anyone coming around the bend that you are there. We were all trying to figure out what happens if two cars meet on the road. Somebody’s backing up for sure.

Next stop, Chateau O’Brien Winery. Now, this is more like it. Cute Guy was our wine steward, and he knew Mary by name and remembered which wines she’d already tasted before (just how often does she go there??) He had some good whites, a really nice rose’, and this amazing Apple Wine that I guess he’s won awards for. I brought a bottle back in my suitcase and amazingly enough it did not get broken!

Outside the Winery:



Wine in it's earliest form:



Friday night we just hung out at the B&B with Mary, while Houseboy waited on us. He does good work, that one. I can see why she’s kept him around for 36 years! We had a good time laughing at old family albums, especially the one of Mary & Houseboy’s wedding. I took pictures of the pictures with my iPhone camera, so they aren’t the clearest in the world but you’ll get the idea of what a wedding in 1972 looked like! They were stylin’, baby. And this lovely young lady, who caught the bouquet at the ripe old age of 11, is of course, moi. I think this is the first photographic evidence of a dude checking out my rack.



I could not post the one of Mary's wedding party as it was sideways and no matter what I do it will not turn, and I didn't want you straining your neck looking at it with your head tilted all the way to the right.

Saturday we got up and headed into Washington, DC. Now, I haven’t been there since 6th grade, so it’s been a few years. I was, of course, doing the driving, and Molly, who lived in DC while going to law school, was navigating us. Except that virtually every street she told me to turn down, was closed off for one reason or another. By the time we finally parked at Union Station, I was ready for a cocktail! (No, I didn’t have one, but dammit I should have, if I’d known what lay ahead in a few short hours!) (More on that in a minute…)

Union Station:




Molly, Patty, Sue and Mary:



We checked out Union Station for awhile, and then took the Metro over to the Washington Memorial. We walked around and tried to see the American History museum but it was closed for renovations. We saw the reflecting pool and the World War 2 Memorial, and other sites around there. It was a beautiful day, low 70’s and sunny, and we were really having a great time.







My favorite picture of the Washington Monument. I was walking by as the sun was behind it....



Then a work related issue cropped up which required my attention. And that meant dealing with my ex who was already pissed off at me for The Stupidest Reason Ever (too stupid to even mention), and what happened from there was that he proceeded to text me raging ugly text messages from 4pm on Saturday through 2am the next morning. Yes, 2am. Needless to say, I ignored every one of them. There were 42 text messages during that 10 hour period, and all I could think of to myself was “You are incessantly texting me like an insane person for ten straight hours, and I’m the loser???????”

I got very concerned for the wellbeing of my son who was home alone while I was in another state, and to make a long story short ended up having the police patrol our house all night. He started texting again the next morning, and kept it up through 12:20am on Monday morning. I never responded once. I don't deal with crazy well.

So back to the story…we jumped back on the Metro and headed out to Arlington Cemetery which was really cool to see. Walked around, got some pictures, and then took the Metro back to Union Station and drove back to the B&B.





Saturday night we originally had plans to watch the Sex & The City movie, but by the time we got back and had dinner that Houseboy made us, and several cocktails of course, we were all too tired to sit through a 2 ½ hour movie. We watched the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin instead (and had they scored at one particular point, Patty threatened to do a back flip off the air mattress…but dammit they didn’t score on that drive!), and all went to bed. I of course couldn’t sleep worrying about my son being home alone and Psycho texting me nonstop, but eventually he gave up and I got some sleep.

Sunday was basically just a relaxing day. We hung out at the B&B just talking and enjoying time together, and then went into town to see “Nights in Rodanthe”. Perfect chick flick for 5 young ladies like us to watch. Left there crying (even though the movie was predictable, it still makes you cry!), headed back to the B&B for dinner and drinks. I believe I got Mary fairly intoxicated on Coconut Rum & Pineapple Juice, which I should add Sue Ellen imbibed in a couple of those as well, and she’s not a drinker at all!

Not sure what happened with this picture, but it might have been how I was actually seeing things at that time:



As the alcohol flowed and the evening progressed, and the conversation turned to Patty’s threat to do a back flip the night before, Mary decided that she would give us a demonstration of her gymnastic abilities. First up was her cartwheel. I had to break the news to her that she got no hang time whatsoever in it. She was crushed. We were dying laughing. Then she attempted the back flip on the floor. I tried taking pictures, but I was laughing so hard I couldn’t hold the camera still. Houseboy did get pictures however, he had a much better camera than I did….and frankly he’s lived with her for 36 years, he’s seen it all and isn’t surprised at anything at this point.

This was all I got...I was laughing too hard and she was rolling too fast:



Not to be outdone, I did something that none of them were capable of. Yes, I did the splits. And yes, I pulled a muscle in my leg as well. But what’s a little pain when you’re reliving your younger wilder days?? The crowd was stunned that I could get within a couple of inches of the floor, seeing how I am 47 and waaaaaaaaaaay out of shape! Houseboy jumped up with his camera and got a picture of me, and I was hoping to have it before I did this post but he hasn’t sent it to me yet, so I will put it in a follow up one day. I’m damn proud that I could still do the splits at my age, and I’m fairly certain that particular show of my gymnastic ability has secured my open invitation from Houseboy to come back anytime!

On Monday, we got up and just enjoyed spending some time together before we had to leave for the airport. It was so great being there with Mary. She and her two sisters spent a lot of time growing up with my three older sisters, as they were all the same ages. By the time I came along, the families didn’t really get together that often so I never had a chance to really get to know my cousins. Mary has told me that she enjoys reading my blog because its really given her insight into who I am as a person, as an adult, and what I’d been through in my life. I really, really enjoyed spending time with her and getting to know her as well. She is…a hoot. (You knew I was gonna say that, Mare!)



So other than the text missives , it was a fabulous trip. We have all decided to not let so many years go by again that we don’t see each other. Mary is coming to Ohio to visit us, and we hope to show her as good of a time as she did us. Thanks to Mary and Houseboy for opening up your B&B, and your lives…to us. We love you!!!!



Oh, and on my way out of town, we got gas at my favorite new place ever. Who names a gas station the WaWa?