Memorial Day Weekend
Lisa writes: We hit the road for Memorial Day weekend for fun and funerals. That sounds morbid, but we really did have a nice time.
On Friday afternoon, our neighborhood pool opened for the summer. James had been talking about this for days. I guess I was kind of excited too, because my little trip to the store to get one thing ended up with new swim shoes and pool toys for everybody. Even with predictably freezing water, the pool was packed with happy people, and the food truck specially ordered for the event actually ran out of food.
Saturday morning we packed up, got a last-minute fish-sitter for Spike III, and drove down to Williamsburg, VA, checked into a slightly sketchy hotel & conference center, and went to find food. The Second Avenue Bistro was great. Back at the hotel, we discovered it was a soccer tournament weekend and the pool was filled with boisterous boys playing horse. James chickened out and asked to go back to the room and watch a movie. We went to Mass and the boys made it though less than ten minutes in the pew before being shuffled to the back of the hall ... then into the lobby ... then outside. The full, floor-level baptismal font was too much of a temptation.
On Sunday, we went to the funeral of Tom's high school friend's mother. It was my first Jewish funeral. Tom defended his baby blue satin loaner yarmulke from Joseph for most of the service, then James hit the kosher buffet hard. Three pieces of cake later, we dragged them into the car, kicking and screaming, and drove around for an hour in the lost hope that they might take a nap before the shiva. More food, more visiting, and the blessed respite of a kids' room with toys and cartoons. Then another three hour trip to Woodstock, VA. Joseph was tired, and he let us know all about it for the last 30 minutes of the drive.
On Monday, in our cute, clean, cheerful new hotel, we slept in and then went to Luray Caverns. It turned out to be their busiest day of the year (oops), but the kids still enjoyed the "big hole in the ground." James kept asking, "Are we underground?" (yes) and "Can I touch that rock" (no) the whole time. At one point, he asked if he could live there. Back above ground again, we went to the toy museum, and car museum, and the 1800s village across the street where we scored a hammered iron key fob from the blacksmith, a polished unakite stone from the county museum, and several strawberries from the landscaping around the diner. Joseph ate an entire half of a turkey and avocado sandwich slathered in mayo.
Back at the hotel, we hit the pool. James and I stayed and played while Tom and Joseph went to an open house ahead of the next funeral. This one was for Tom's coworker's mother-in-law. That sounds like a pretty spurious connection, but this a guy Tom hired and worked with for more than a decade and he's been following the saga of her illness and decline for a long time. They had a nice visit with the family while James watched Disney Jr. to his heart's content.
Finally, on Tuesday we went to the second funeral. This time, they boys only made it about 10 minutes in the pew before being escorted outside. It was hot. The playground equipment was scalding, except for the swings, so we swang until the service was over. Tom met us outside. We gathered everybody back into the car, hit up Sheetz for gas and snacks, and hightailed it home in time to go the neighborhood pool. James started referring to our neighborhood as "JamesWorld." It was nice to be back in JamesWorld.
On Friday afternoon, our neighborhood pool opened for the summer. James had been talking about this for days. I guess I was kind of excited too, because my little trip to the store to get one thing ended up with new swim shoes and pool toys for everybody. Even with predictably freezing water, the pool was packed with happy people, and the food truck specially ordered for the event actually ran out of food.
Saturday morning we packed up, got a last-minute fish-sitter for Spike III, and drove down to Williamsburg, VA, checked into a slightly sketchy hotel & conference center, and went to find food. The Second Avenue Bistro was great. Back at the hotel, we discovered it was a soccer tournament weekend and the pool was filled with boisterous boys playing horse. James chickened out and asked to go back to the room and watch a movie. We went to Mass and the boys made it though less than ten minutes in the pew before being shuffled to the back of the hall ... then into the lobby ... then outside. The full, floor-level baptismal font was too much of a temptation.
On Sunday, we went to the funeral of Tom's high school friend's mother. It was my first Jewish funeral. Tom defended his baby blue satin loaner yarmulke from Joseph for most of the service, then James hit the kosher buffet hard. Three pieces of cake later, we dragged them into the car, kicking and screaming, and drove around for an hour in the lost hope that they might take a nap before the shiva. More food, more visiting, and the blessed respite of a kids' room with toys and cartoons. Then another three hour trip to Woodstock, VA. Joseph was tired, and he let us know all about it for the last 30 minutes of the drive.
On Monday, in our cute, clean, cheerful new hotel, we slept in and then went to Luray Caverns. It turned out to be their busiest day of the year (oops), but the kids still enjoyed the "big hole in the ground." James kept asking, "Are we underground?" (yes) and "Can I touch that rock" (no) the whole time. At one point, he asked if he could live there. Back above ground again, we went to the toy museum, and car museum, and the 1800s village across the street where we scored a hammered iron key fob from the blacksmith, a polished unakite stone from the county museum, and several strawberries from the landscaping around the diner. Joseph ate an entire half of a turkey and avocado sandwich slathered in mayo.
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| This is a unakite. They're native to the area around Luray. |
Back at the hotel, we hit the pool. James and I stayed and played while Tom and Joseph went to an open house ahead of the next funeral. This one was for Tom's coworker's mother-in-law. That sounds like a pretty spurious connection, but this a guy Tom hired and worked with for more than a decade and he's been following the saga of her illness and decline for a long time. They had a nice visit with the family while James watched Disney Jr. to his heart's content.
Finally, on Tuesday we went to the second funeral. This time, they boys only made it about 10 minutes in the pew before being escorted outside. It was hot. The playground equipment was scalding, except for the swings, so we swang until the service was over. Tom met us outside. We gathered everybody back into the car, hit up Sheetz for gas and snacks, and hightailed it home in time to go the neighborhood pool. James started referring to our neighborhood as "JamesWorld." It was nice to be back in JamesWorld.
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