Detox: Heathsville and Williamsburg

It is finally here!  Anniversary Trip photos and post is here!

June 30:

When we left our house that morning, we had no power and a ton of leaves/branches all through the yard and parking lot.  Since all of our town (and surrounding states) had lost power as well, there was really nothing to do but head out!

Our trip begins in Heathsville (at Doug's Grandparents' Home) for the annual family fireworks show!

Each year is themed; 2012 is WW2, Battle of Cod Creek

Two of Doug's uncles run the show

Since they still had power, the picnic and gathering for fireworks went well!  However, I ran out of batteries during the show (which was fantastic), so I have no photo proof.  We also we super blessed to have two of our friends come to the fireworks; they had recently moved to DC (4+ hrs away), and it was so great so spend some time with them ;)

July 1:

After staying over in Heathsville (in comfortable air conditioning), we ate some breakfast with the family and made a quick stop at Doug's old house to check on the tenants who were moving in that day.  Then we confirmed that our hotel had power and drove off to Williamsburg!

Williamsburg Lodge

We grabbed dinner out at Sal's Ristorante Italiano; Doug had Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo and I had Eggplant Rollatini.  Cheesecake and cannoli came back to the Lodge with us for dessert.

July 2 (Our Anniversary):

Our anniversary was pretty exciting for us; since we often did not see each other during the summer, it was the first July 2 we had ever got to actually spend together (since we were separated most of the day of our wedding).

Breakfast from Raleigh's Tavern; we got refillable mugs that were free to fill

Colonial people told everyone to head to the courthouse for an announcement

The Courthouse

Governor's Mansion

She Crab Soup -- the best thing I have ever eaten

Anniversary minute photo!

We spent the morning (starting very early) in Colonial Williamsburg; after seeing the sights and skits, we ate lunch at Chownings, toured the Governor's Palace, and went back to the hotel to escape the heat.  We had dinner in the Lodge Restaurant and made sure to snap a picture around 7:15 PM -- when we had been officially married!

July 3:

This was Busch Gardens Day!  Yea!  Unfortunately, it was also super-humid-and-hot day...

Entering the park through England

Escape from Pompeii

Refillable Verbolten Cups

Beginning of the Lunch Show in Italy

We got our Verbolten Cups and had them filled in England; it was already warm enough for Escape from Pompeii!  We rode more rides (like Apollo's Chariot, Roman Rapids, and DarKastle) before we needed to get out of the heat and get a lot more fluid in us!

Because of the intense heat, we started making our way back to England, so Italy was a great place to stop for lunch.  We were just finishing up lunch when the afternoon show began!  It was a great reason to stick around and rest up a bit more before catching the bus back to our Hotel.

At this point, we found out that our power at home would not be returning until Saturday (at the earliest).  Doug was able to take one more night off of work, so we officially extended our trip from the 4th to the 6th!

We ate dinner at the Lodge again (more She Crab Soup! Yea!) and went to bed early.

July 4

Musician outside Shields

We wanted to take our extra days pretty easy, but there was no way we were missing the Fourth Festivities in Williamsburg!  We ended up getting some pretty decent seats (and video) behind the courthouse for the Salute to the original 13 States and (at the Capitol) the reading of the Declaration.  Lunch at Shields Tavern closed out our time in Colonial Williamsburg, and we headed back to the room to relax.

That afternoon we drove over to New Town to see The Amazing Spiderman!  We loved it!  We got some take out from Applebee's on the way back to the hotel.

July 5:

Doug surprised me with a Spa appointment!  We ate lunch early, then he relaxed with a book in the Lounge while I went across the street for a 90 minute scrub and massage ;)

They sent me home with some goodies!

We headed back out to Busch Gardens again!

View of Ireland from the Sky Ride

Loch Ness Monster and Griffon

The famous Clydesdales

Big Ben lit for Illuminights

We were determined to cover the remaining areas (France, Ireland, and Scotland), so we took the Sky Ride from England to France to ride Alpengiest.  The heat took hold (107, index of 112) and we walked through Scotland to see the eagles (for Doug), wolves (for Doug), horses (for me), and goats (for me).  Most of the other animals were inside due to the heat, but most of these enclosures were shaded and around the stream of water.

The one heritage we both share (greatly share, that is) is Irish, so we were really excited to spend some extra time in Ireland.  They have a newer ride Europe in the Air where Corkscrew Hill used to be.  While I missed the leprechaun and his magic dust, the flight through Europe was pretty great.  We grabbed dinner in Ireland and finished up in time for the last show!

as it got darker, the park started lighting up for it's summer "Illuminights;"  I couldn't help but grab a picture of Big Ben on our way out!

July 6:

We checked out of the Lodge after a great buffet breakfast and drove back home...where we still had no power.  Thankfully, our landlord had emptied out our fridge and freezer of perishable items (which we gave her permission to do).  We grabbed some ice, a cooler, and some water bottles to last.

Thankfully, we regained power on Saturday, but the power outage put we way behind in my schoolwork, especially since one of my classes ended on Friday while we were still without power.  If only I had the foresight to bring my books and computer on vacation, but we probably wouldn't have had such a great time!

All in all, the trip was wonderful, relaxing, and well-timed!  I was able to get extensions (I ended up with an A in the class that ended) on all my work, and I just need to keep working hard to catch up!!!