virginia is for lovers, take 2.

travis and i decided that we needed to see each other again before he came home, so i flew out three weeks after the first trip. the teeny newport news airport felt like an old friend, same car rental guy, same hotel, the mulberry inn.

this time travis was allowed to ride in the car with me, so i drove to the base to pick him up.
there he was in all his long legged glory. there may have been a cute scene where i ran over to him and he picked me up and we did the cute kissing thing. then i had to go check him out, so i got to meet some of his drill sergeants. there is a rug in the middle of the room that you are apparently not supposed to walk on, and i took about 6 steps. travis was supposed to do pushups for that, but luckily no one in authority saw me step on the rug. seriously, don't put a rug on the floor unless you want people walking on it. i really do want to punch the army in the face.

anyway, we went back to eat at the amazing barbecue place we found the last time and the weather was nice enough to eat outside on the patio. while we waited for our food, there was a car accident on the road right next to us, and while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, travis hopped over a fence to check everyone out. he really missed being a paramedic. it was cute to watch.

the food did not disappoint. 

being adorable in front of my hotel. 

this was right next to the mulberry inn.
i love the beauty of the south. 

travis had to be back on base by 8, so i dropped him off and then braved the insane system of swirling roads that is the freeway system in the south and found, of course, a delicious mom and pop yogurt shop in town. then i headed back to my hotel to bask in silence and a good book.

the next morning i picked travis up at 7:30 and we headed to our favorite diner for waffles.
this is travis's delicious banana peanut butter specimen.
mine was similar, but with chocolate.

then we headed out to virginia beach for the day. it was about an hour drive, and we drove through a tunnel that goes underneath the ocean. mind blowing. it was the perfect beach day, 85 degrees, nice breeze.

stud powers. 

this pirate ship kept coming by looking for party-goers. 

we found the best pizza place. i'm pretty picky with pizza, but this thin crust hit the spot for lunch. i'm not entirely sure the health code was being met with cleanliness, but it's cool.

we layed out, walked the boardwalk, found ice cream, people watched, (which is a whole new level in the south) only got a tiny bit wet because the atlantic was freezing, did a little beach yoga, went to a pirate festival and watched some fencing, and looked in all the cute shops.  a black man sitting next to us on the beach said to travis in a strong southern brawl, "boy i think you need to borrow some of my tan, you gonna get crispy!" and then we all laughed for a really long time.


somehow we got hungry again and had dinner at another amazing place right on the beach. here was our dining view.

 my dinner was so good it almost tasted religious.

great day at the beach. i dropped travis off again and tried to find the yogurt shop but became very lost with a gps that refused to find my location and somehow made it back to the hotel and then swore to never leave its safety.

the next morning of course we had waffles again, and then we went to ... williamsburg? i can't remember. a town famous for civil war memorials and such things that aren't that interesting to me.

 we had ice cream, walked along the beach, found remy some books in a cute used bookstore, and then headed back to base to say goodbye.

 here we are in front of travis's dormitory. i was definitely not allowed in. the teeny anarchist piece of me wanted to sneak in and do adult things just to stick it to the military, but i kept it in my pants.

saying goodbye wasn't too hard, because travis only had a month left before coming home.

the beautiful and tiny newport news airport. 

tiny puddle jumper we rode up to philadelphia. 

and a glorious view. 

my wonderful parents had brought remy home and put him to bed in his own room.
it was weird to only see travis and remy in separate places for a while.
great trip, glad i don't have to make it again.

xo.