We now have all of our immediate family living in two states. Unfortunately for us, those two states are California and Virginia - about as spread out as we can possibly be! When my brother decided to fly his family across the country for summer break, we had to take the opportunity to join to get all of the OG Giorgianis under one roof for a few nights.
We drove directly to Whitestone from the airport and proceeded to have the most water-filled vacation we have ever had at the "Blue House". Conditions were perfect, lots of sun but not terribly high temperatures, warm water but no jellyfish and all the right sized lifejackets!
We had kayak rides and jet ski rides, lots and lots of tubing on the "little tube" and the "big couch". Life is good for these cousins who choose which vehicle they want to use to ride on the water. If there happens to be a delay due to low fuel or the dreaded rope intake, there is always the pool.
Nighttime is for finding lightening bugs and roasting marshmallows and everyday is a princess day for these sweet beauties!
The biggest accomplishment of the week was all of the grandkids ganging up to peer-pressure Grammy to jump off the dock. Even better, once she was in, the jumps just kept coming! The youngest kids made the greatest game of running from the very top of the dock and seamlessly running directly into the water.
We ended our stay in the Northern Neck with a lunch at
The Tides in Fish Hawk Oyster Bar where we had the best table in the house - an old rowboat made into a table in the center of their dining room.
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| We got to eat on a boat! Literally! |
And in an incredible showing of generosity, a complete stranger picked up our entire group's lunch bill. There were FOURTEEN of us! The only explanation we were given is that this mystery stranger loves to see large families out having fun together. We all walked away with a little more faith in humanity.
We drove from there to Lexington to visit Gran and Poppa, and their sweet pup Griffin. We had a yummy pizza night and a delicious night out at TAPS, a beautiful spot located inside
The Georges hotel, a historic series of buildings in the center of town.
It has been a couple of years since we stayed at Gran and Poppas house, so we were happy to hike the trail (see a bear!!) and spend time relaxing at the house. I had a chance to get a massage - a welcome change to sitting on planes and in cars - and we visited the golf course club pool for an outdoor day of fun.
A welcome change for us is having Ted and Kyra in Northern Virginia now, we get to see even MORE family when we fly to the east! We stayed at their new, new house and took advantage of their endless hospitality.
They are very close to the beautiful Great Falls park, so we spent an afternoon hiking the trails. Northern Virginia has had an almost unprecedented amount of rainfall this summer, so the falls were churning! The kids were all a bit skeptical about "hiking" and "how cool can waterfalls even be" but their minds were changed soon after we got into the park. They have a great high water marker showing the most extreme floodwater that the park has experienced. The 1996 marker was after the snow melted from a blizzard when Jon and I both lived in NoVA in high school. It was an unbelievable amount of snow.
Our final excitement of the trip was seeing high school and college friends - and their children. We met up at an arcade/bowling alley/restaurant in Ballston and had a great time catching up. After reminding our kids who they all were and how we all knew each other, they had lots of fun too. Somehow this crew has ended up being only 25% girls. It doesn't really matter once they are playing games, having fun and know that an ice cream party at the Welsh's house awaits them at the end of the night.
Northern Virginia will always be where we're "from" regardless of the fact that none of us are from there. It will always feel like home.
