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| Our boathouse "houses" our kayaks. |
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| View looking out of our cove. |
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| Lake Anna by the dam |
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| Lake Anna |
Having returned from our trip to Tazewell, Ray and I took a day off. No visits, dinners, lunches, appointments, but just a day to have no place to go and no one to see (sorry, we did miss seeing some people, but this was a work/week day so we know no one was available!). I used a gift card for an hour massage that I had held onto for four months, and I picked us up a gourmet dinner of Subway. The following day we met up with our daughter, and while she and I shopped and had a wonderful dinner of, oh so good, Mexican food at La Sandia in Tysons Corner mall and great conversation about everything, Ray joined one of the lake house roommate's and her sister for dinner. He then connected with us while we finished shopping. I managed to knock out many Christmas presents for Carly (a few she will still be surprised by), and for that I was thankful. Then the next day, more driving, but all for big fun spending time with our dearest friends that have a house on the Piankatank River. We had spent some time with them once already, but this was a longer visit planned for dinner and overnight just to be able to relax, eat dinner, drink wine, not have a care, and continue catching up.
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| Stunning Piankatank River (Gloucester, VA) |
It was my sister's birthday at the end of the weekend, but we never could make a connection with her just having spent a crazy fun-filled week in NYC and with us being in Tazewell. I knew I would be seeing her soon though. It was on the schedule afterall. haha After leaving the river, we continued driving north past the lake house, shopped a little more for Christmas (I think I bought some shoes for myself, and Ray picked himself up a new tablet), and spent that Sunday's dinner time visiting with a longtime former co-worker of Ray's and her husband. No wonder we have piled up the miles on the car!
Then, on a bright and sunny Monday morning (rare these days in Bumpass), while baking seven dozen chocolate chip cookies, three men spent ninety minutes packing up five hundred pounds of our things to move to Panama for us. We chose Hilldrup International movers, and so far we have been impressed with the service. Now once it gets to our door in Chame in less than six weeks, I will be really happy and relieved!
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| Even the rubbermaid totes got wrapped up! Easy enough! |
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| Our part of a container. |
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| Dipping and chatting |
Rest and relaxation on Tuesday morning (reminds me of Panama in that the mornings we spend at the gym or running errands, and the evenings are spent with friends), and back in the car to our daughter's apartment for cookie decorating. First stop though was by our old Chinese restaurant stomping ground for the best ever Chinese food take out! Oh, how we have missed Formosa! Once at the apartment, we shared an enjoyable dinner with our daughter and one of her roommates, and while Ray hung out nearby on the couch chatting with us and the roommate, Carly and I dipped cookies and made peppermint bark. She was making goodie bags for her co-workers holiday treats.
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| Nothing like melting chocolate and a little wine nearby. |
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| Few Oreo's |
More dinner plans Wednesday, but first some light shopping, this time with Ray's former co-workers from Giant Food. We spent three hours eating chips and salsa (more Mexican!) and chatting about all things Panama, and on Thursday afternoon we drove to Ray's dad and stepmom's house in Louisa, VA for dinner. We wanted to get one more visit in to see them before the holiday rush.
Prior to dinner on Thursday, we sold our second and last car, the Mini Cooper. We decided to simplify things and took it to CarMax. Happy with the price they gave us, we then picked up a rental car for the week, and we did all things you do when selling a car. What we thought would take all day took maybe one hour. We aren't in Panama anymore but to be fair, I did do some comparing:
DMV to turn in plates=3 minutes! Who would have thought! That's just crazy nonsense that it took only three minutes. The stars and moon must have been aligned just so that day. Okay, when we got our placas in Panama, that only took 45 minutes, but we didn't get the placas that day haha
Spotyslvania Courthouse to tell them we sold the car, and the lady made good notes in the computer=2 minutes.
Selling car=ninety minutes (Ray had done most of the work the day before, so all I had to do was sign some papers=20 minutes on day two). Okay, buying car and transferring titles in Panama only took 3 hours.
Getting rental car=10 minutes. We never have had problems getting rental car at Tocumen airport in Panama, so I would say maybe 15 minutes there. No stamping or stapling here.
Chic Fil A Lunch=Priceless Plus a Peppermint Shake! There isn't a Chic Fil A in Panama. Not to worry though, Carl's Jr's salad is pretty good, and they do have a Salted Caramel Shake I have yet to try.
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| One more thing sold. |
And here we are with this past weekend! We spent some time with our lake house roommate on Friday night at a fabulous Italian restaurant near Richmond, VA called Mamma Cucina's and with our bellies full, we then went on to the Wacky Tacky Richmond Tour lights. Just the thing needed to get in the mood for Christmas!
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| These are two houses with over a million lights! The two owners are related thankfully! |
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| Me hanging out in front of a mess of lights! |
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| This was a crazy family of snowmen. The largest snowman is a woman with a snowbaby inside (look closely)! |
And on the ninth day...okay, I have no idea what day it is now as usual but just thinking about the 12 Days of Christmas song, this past Saturday we had big plans for our annual cookie decorating at my sister's house. Carly would be coming from the north, and we would be driving from the south. Fortunately we were not wanting to use the all new, save some time on your road trip, HOT lanes that are free until next week. (The HOV lanes that have been in use in this area for 25 plus years just turned into toll lanes that have been extended five more miles south bringing the back up now farther south---what a mess!).
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| Now there are five lanes stuck traveling south instead of three. |
And alas, cookie decorating did happen even though there was a rocky start to it. For about twenty four hours, things kind of went south in the planning department, but once back on track with the stars and moon lining up again, all things are good. I will just say here that I am glad, so thankful (!) and fortunate to have one more week with my family. It is much needed this week for Ray and I to be with our daughter and to be there for each other.
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| Our daughter's masterpieces! |
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| My sister's tree with my gifts underneath. |
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| And then there were more! |
Back on track with the visiting of friends though--Ray and I had plans to attend a Christmas party in our old house (the one we sold in April to our friends/neighbors), and it was a surprise and treat to have Carly come along. We were given an extensive tour of the house, we were able to catch up with our past neighbors, and we are just again so happy that this family is residing in the house we loved as well!
Yesterday, my little family of three trekked to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA to experience Illumination. While Carly and I are amusement park aficionados, Ray has not been to an amusement park in eight years (?). We immediately knew to ride the roller coaster (again and again with lines so short), and Carly, having been to this park many times while at The College of William and Mary, knew the layout of the land. She pointed the way and, although Ray cannot tolerate rides that go around in circles, he was a good hot chocolate holder, and was there with us in laughs throughout the day. The day started out bright, sunny and warm, but once the sun went down, the temperatures dropped into the thirties and the earmuffs and gloves came out. We walked the park for five hours enjoying each other and, as the brochure/park map told us to do, "making memories" this holiday season.
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| Ray photobombs us while we get ready to ride the teacups! |
With the weekend behind us, and with our plans for lodging at the end of the week being mixed up a bit (not to be considered a bad thing at all here, just a little more confusion with packing), Ray and I set out to pack up a few things yesterday. UGH. Enough said. It's all there somewhere. And to think I shipped five hundred pounds. I should have made it six hundred. I had a lunch date planned that I couldn't keep, so I reworked it for the end of the week. I took today to stop by and visit former co-workers at my office plan, and then Ray and I attempted to have lunch. What I have learned in Panama equates to today's experience in satisfying our hunger. First, things aren't always open, so have a Plan B. Not only was Moe's closed (trying to pack in more Mexican food), but it no longer exists in Massaponax. Second, pack patience with Plan B (we seemed to have a little of our lost patience here in VA). There was a line at the entrance to the Red Robin restaurant nearby. But I knew what I was going to order (salad, yes, you know me well). We were never seated. Service was very slow. We left. Third, beef in Panama isn't always tender or delicious (always have a good recommendation before ordering beef at a restaurant in Panama and cook it for a very long time at home), so perhaps Ray could get a good juicy burger at the Five Guys still nearby. We were running out of ideas. The things I do for the guy--I think the four times I have had red meat this year have been four times too many. I will stick to chicken, thank you very much!
These five weeks have been fantastically wonderful, and I wouldn't trade one lunch, dinner, sleepover, or those three thousand plus miles of road tripping for anything! Looking forward to this final week of more memory making (rule follower that I am, I will continue doing what the Busch Gardens brochure/park map told me the Christmas season is all about), laughing with my daughter and family, and making more travel plans to home here in VA as well as for helping those visiting us make their travel plans to our home in Panama.
Slowness might come when in Panama, but somehow I doubt it!
HO HO HO, and a very Merry Christmas to everyone!
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| Santa Claus at Polar Point |
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