Heading East on Route 64

Heading East on Route 64

Day Four

June 11, 2012

Monday mornings are always difficult, even on vacation, especially when it means saying goodbye.

By 8:30 am, Jason and I were packed and heading back towards Virginia. The dog and cat were comfortably curled around each other in the back seat and the GPS alerted us to a four hour and seven minute trip to Toano.  The magnificent spectrum of greens coloring the hills was a stark contrast to the gray that blanketed the skies, and as random raindrops hit the windshield, sometimes with more ferocity than randomness, I was happy to be in the truck and not on the bike.

Sunday was a lazy, normal day spent with Courtney, Becky and the kids. Joey and Jason headed off to the golf course, but not before the pot of gravy (if it's got meat in it, it's gravy) was on the stove slowing simmering and filling the house with wonderful scents and the mouthwatering anticipation of dinner.

A brightly sunny but muggy day, Courtney dragged out the blow-up pool and the kids took turns splashing each other and on occasion, us, as we sat courtside to their antics. Boomer decided the pool was not for him, so he toddled around the perimeter, filling his shoes with water and dumping it on his siblings, himself and once on an unsuspecting Ajax.

We laughed and talked the afternoon away, and after Jason and Joey returned, got the breezeway set up for dinner. They’re a great combination, my daughter and son-in-law. She’s the baker and he’s the chef, so meals at their house are always a delightful presentation and taste. 

True to form, Joey outdid himself…again. The table was lined with a feast of eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, a heaping bowl of spaghetti, meatballs, sausage, salad and bread. It was awesome. Courtney’s apple pie prompted Jason to quip, “Baked Alaska AND apple pie in the same weekend! I’m never leaving!”

But leave we did, and once again, I find myself typing in the truck, only this time it’s not with the exhilaration of seeing my daughter, but the sadness of having to leave her again.