[journey]
First thing’s first. The girl who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee spelled the word "ursprache" correctly.
Getting to the cabin on Friday was probably one of the most irritating, upsetting and frustrating things I’ve ever done. I left home at noon to head out to the cabin in hopes of being there just at check-in time (4pm). Just outside of Williamsburg, I got a flat tire. The side of Interstate 64 on a holiday weekend with a flat tire on the driver’s side is not the place to be, let me tell you. I had to take all the crap out of my trunk and throw it on the side of the road to get to my jack and tire. After unearthing these items, I came to the shocking realization that I did not have a lug wrench. Moron! Dan and Jess were already too far ahead on the road to help me out, so I resorted to calling AAA. Due to the high travel weekend, I had to wait on the side of the road for two hours for a tow truck to come and change my tire. It sucked, it was hot, it was embarrassing, I hated it. Once the donut was finally put on, I hobbled my little car down the road to the nearest auto place, which happened to be WalMart. They located my tire and told me it would be at least a couple hours’ wait to get it fixed. Ugh, fine, my vacation is just draining away here. So I waited… and waited… and waited about 3 hours. Eventually (read, around 5pm) I was called to the automotive center over the PA. I walked to the back and some mechanic was halfway laughing as he told me they did not have the right tire for my car. I could not have been more incredulous if I tried. I demanded to speak to the manager of the auto department and then told him that I had walked with the lady earlier to see the tire that she pointed out. He said “yeah, she was mistaken, that’s not the right tire, sorry.” Sorry!? I started flipping out a bit and asked him what the hell I was supposed to do. He told me I could go down to Tread Quarters and see if they had the tire. What a fucking joke. I flipped out more and demanded to see the store manager. Eventually the store manager came and I explained the situation to him and he was like “seriously? We have to do something for this woman.” So the auto manager called Tread Quarters himself to see if they had my tire, which they didn’t… good thing I didn’t just go there. Then he called another tire place that did have the tire and told me it would be a 2-hour wait there. No way, man. I argued that for a while and then he told me that I could go there, buy the tire, bring it back to WalMart and they’d put it on for me. Total crap - they should have gotten the tire for me - but I didn’t feel like waiting for them to get their retarded asses in gear, so I went and fetched the tire. Around 7pm I was on my way again. At 10:30 I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway being terrified of mountains and totally tired of traveling. This SUV was behind me sort of riding my tail, and I was pretty freaked out so I sped up to get away from it. Blue lights, siren, a freakin’ cop. Could my life possibly be any more annoying? I started crying due to the stress of the entire day and by the time the officer was at my window I was in full-on freak out mode. I don’t usually fall apart, but seriously, what a ridiculous day. I had beer in my passenger seat to take to the cabin with me, and between that and my uncalled for (as far as he knew) sobbing, he assumed I was drunk. I had my first breathalyzer test. I passed. I certainly would have been in a much better mood, had I been drunk. I told the officer a summary of my woes of the day and that I was crying because of all that, not because of guilt. He felt sorry for me, told me to slow down and that everything was going to be okay. I only got a warning. By the time I made it to the cabin, ELEVEN HOURS AFTER I LEFT HOME, I was exhausted, miserable and convinced that my whole vacation was doomed.
I know, that was a long beginning. It felt much longer to go through, trust me.
The cabin was awesome. The location was wonderful. The weather was perfect. After I got there Friday night I had some beer around the campfire and felt much better about life. Around midnight-ish, we were drunk enough to decide it would be a good idea to make our way through the pitch-black forest ahead of us to find the river that we could hear through the trees. Something like this is only a good idea when you’re drunk, in case you’re wondering. Somehow, Matt, Dan and I found the river (Jess was super tired and went to bed early). It was amazing. Rocks and mini-waterfalls and lovely sounds. It was magical. We turned off our flashlights and admired the pitch-blackness of our surroundings. When the lights were out, Matt spoke up with “uh, guys, there’s a… dog? … or something touching my legs I think?” That is a frightening statement in the middle of the woods at night in the dark. Dog? Bear? Mountain Lion? No, when we turned on the lights it was this adorable plump little white and yellow cat. Probably the best outcome that could come to be in that situation. The cat was super cute and magical, and it followed us around as we scrambled on the rocks and explored. It fell asleep in Dan’s lap for a little while when we were sitting on one of the rocks in the river. So cute! When we were ready to leave, it even kindly led us back to the trail that we had found. River Cat, you make life worth living.
Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast (I got to cook a lot - loved it!) and then set off to find the elusive Crabtree Falls. We went down to the river to scramble on the rocks a bit more and to see where we’d ventured in the night. All was well for a while…
But then, of course, I ate it.
It hurt as much as it looks like it did. My ankle is still swollen… I’ve been putting ice on it at night and keeping it up. My scratches are healing slowly as well. All I could think after I did it was “man, this whole vacation might just suck balls.” But we went on anyway. We made the hike to the top of Crabtree Falls. This is not the easiest or shortest hike. I think the trail is about 2 miles, all switchbacks and rocks and uphill. We stopped a lot due to my complaints… sorry dudes. But I made it! It was lovely at the top, but we were beat.
Sunday we went canoeing in a lake surrounded by mountains. Generally creepy, but very lovely. It was quite hot outside, so it turned into a splash fight pretty quickly. We were all okay with that.
We had seen a brochure for Professor Cline’s Haunted Monster Museum at a tourist center, but I was the only one set on going. So on Monday when we all left the cabin, I made the 2 hour detour to the museum. AWESOME! Plus admission to the museum granted you access to the Dinosaur Kingdom where all of the dinosaurs were EATING PEOPLE. Glorious. Also, along the way I passed Foamhenge. How could I not stop? A life-size replica of Stonehenge made completely of foam in the middle of nowhere, Virginia? Yes, please, thank you. It was a great trip home… I did my thing, had fun, and made it home safely.
Despite the trouble getting there and my minor injury setbacks, I had an amazing time and would go there again in a heartbeat. I wish more people had been able to come, but at the same time it was so nice to spend quality time with the small group we had. Wonderful!
The Blackbeard Festival is in Downtown Hampton all this weekend. You should go. PIRATES!
That’s all!
Getting to the cabin on Friday was probably one of the most irritating, upsetting and frustrating things I’ve ever done. I left home at noon to head out to the cabin in hopes of being there just at check-in time (4pm). Just outside of Williamsburg, I got a flat tire. The side of Interstate 64 on a holiday weekend with a flat tire on the driver’s side is not the place to be, let me tell you. I had to take all the crap out of my trunk and throw it on the side of the road to get to my jack and tire. After unearthing these items, I came to the shocking realization that I did not have a lug wrench. Moron! Dan and Jess were already too far ahead on the road to help me out, so I resorted to calling AAA. Due to the high travel weekend, I had to wait on the side of the road for two hours for a tow truck to come and change my tire. It sucked, it was hot, it was embarrassing, I hated it. Once the donut was finally put on, I hobbled my little car down the road to the nearest auto place, which happened to be WalMart. They located my tire and told me it would be at least a couple hours’ wait to get it fixed. Ugh, fine, my vacation is just draining away here. So I waited… and waited… and waited about 3 hours. Eventually (read, around 5pm) I was called to the automotive center over the PA. I walked to the back and some mechanic was halfway laughing as he told me they did not have the right tire for my car. I could not have been more incredulous if I tried. I demanded to speak to the manager of the auto department and then told him that I had walked with the lady earlier to see the tire that she pointed out. He said “yeah, she was mistaken, that’s not the right tire, sorry.” Sorry!? I started flipping out a bit and asked him what the hell I was supposed to do. He told me I could go down to Tread Quarters and see if they had the tire. What a fucking joke. I flipped out more and demanded to see the store manager. Eventually the store manager came and I explained the situation to him and he was like “seriously? We have to do something for this woman.” So the auto manager called Tread Quarters himself to see if they had my tire, which they didn’t… good thing I didn’t just go there. Then he called another tire place that did have the tire and told me it would be a 2-hour wait there. No way, man. I argued that for a while and then he told me that I could go there, buy the tire, bring it back to WalMart and they’d put it on for me. Total crap - they should have gotten the tire for me - but I didn’t feel like waiting for them to get their retarded asses in gear, so I went and fetched the tire. Around 7pm I was on my way again. At 10:30 I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway being terrified of mountains and totally tired of traveling. This SUV was behind me sort of riding my tail, and I was pretty freaked out so I sped up to get away from it. Blue lights, siren, a freakin’ cop. Could my life possibly be any more annoying? I started crying due to the stress of the entire day and by the time the officer was at my window I was in full-on freak out mode. I don’t usually fall apart, but seriously, what a ridiculous day. I had beer in my passenger seat to take to the cabin with me, and between that and my uncalled for (as far as he knew) sobbing, he assumed I was drunk. I had my first breathalyzer test. I passed. I certainly would have been in a much better mood, had I been drunk. I told the officer a summary of my woes of the day and that I was crying because of all that, not because of guilt. He felt sorry for me, told me to slow down and that everything was going to be okay. I only got a warning. By the time I made it to the cabin, ELEVEN HOURS AFTER I LEFT HOME, I was exhausted, miserable and convinced that my whole vacation was doomed.
I know, that was a long beginning. It felt much longer to go through, trust me.
The cabin was awesome. The location was wonderful. The weather was perfect. After I got there Friday night I had some beer around the campfire and felt much better about life. Around midnight-ish, we were drunk enough to decide it would be a good idea to make our way through the pitch-black forest ahead of us to find the river that we could hear through the trees. Something like this is only a good idea when you’re drunk, in case you’re wondering. Somehow, Matt, Dan and I found the river (Jess was super tired and went to bed early). It was amazing. Rocks and mini-waterfalls and lovely sounds. It was magical. We turned off our flashlights and admired the pitch-blackness of our surroundings. When the lights were out, Matt spoke up with “uh, guys, there’s a… dog? … or something touching my legs I think?” That is a frightening statement in the middle of the woods at night in the dark. Dog? Bear? Mountain Lion? No, when we turned on the lights it was this adorable plump little white and yellow cat. Probably the best outcome that could come to be in that situation. The cat was super cute and magical, and it followed us around as we scrambled on the rocks and explored. It fell asleep in Dan’s lap for a little while when we were sitting on one of the rocks in the river. So cute! When we were ready to leave, it even kindly led us back to the trail that we had found. River Cat, you make life worth living.
Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast (I got to cook a lot - loved it!) and then set off to find the elusive Crabtree Falls. We went down to the river to scramble on the rocks a bit more and to see where we’d ventured in the night. All was well for a while…
But then, of course, I ate it.
It hurt as much as it looks like it did. My ankle is still swollen… I’ve been putting ice on it at night and keeping it up. My scratches are healing slowly as well. All I could think after I did it was “man, this whole vacation might just suck balls.” But we went on anyway. We made the hike to the top of Crabtree Falls. This is not the easiest or shortest hike. I think the trail is about 2 miles, all switchbacks and rocks and uphill. We stopped a lot due to my complaints… sorry dudes. But I made it! It was lovely at the top, but we were beat.
Sunday we went canoeing in a lake surrounded by mountains. Generally creepy, but very lovely. It was quite hot outside, so it turned into a splash fight pretty quickly. We were all okay with that.
We had seen a brochure for Professor Cline’s Haunted Monster Museum at a tourist center, but I was the only one set on going. So on Monday when we all left the cabin, I made the 2 hour detour to the museum. AWESOME! Plus admission to the museum granted you access to the Dinosaur Kingdom where all of the dinosaurs were EATING PEOPLE. Glorious. Also, along the way I passed Foamhenge. How could I not stop? A life-size replica of Stonehenge made completely of foam in the middle of nowhere, Virginia? Yes, please, thank you. It was a great trip home… I did my thing, had fun, and made it home safely.
Despite the trouble getting there and my minor injury setbacks, I had an amazing time and would go there again in a heartbeat. I wish more people had been able to come, but at the same time it was so nice to spend quality time with the small group we had. Wonderful!
The Blackbeard Festival is in Downtown Hampton all this weekend. You should go. PIRATES!
That’s all!