Erika's Here!!!

Last night my friend, Erika, flew into town. It was actually her very first time flying. Tyler, wearing his Superman jammies with cape, and I excitedly picked her up at the airport. It was hard to believe she was actually here because we talked so much about her coming here. Once we returned to the apartment and Tyler went to bed, we stayed up late talking and catching up.

This morning, after dropping Tyler off at school and having breakfast, we started out on our first adventures of her vacation. We figured we'd start off at one of the most popular tourist destination in the area, the Virginia Beach waterfront. This time of year is a great time to visit because it is nearly empty as compared to the bumper to bumper traffic we would have to deal with in the summer. We found a parking spot, headed to the beach, but then it started to sprinkle a little. We needed caffeine anyway from our late night of talking, so we grabbed some java and waited until we thought the weather was a bit nicer. Then it was back to sightseeing where we walked the boardwalk and took goofy photos, just like old times. LOL It wasn't long though and we retraced our tracks back to the car. We had other places to go before picking Tyler up from school. The next place we went to was the Heritage grocery store where they specialize in organic and vegan foods. Erika is a vegetarian, so we wanted to do a little grocery shopping. After seeing how expensive it was there, we left the store and headed to one of my favorite stores, Trader Joe's. There we both stocked up on groceries.

Then we grabbed a quick bite at Sonic before going back to put our groceries away and then to the school. My neighbors just had a baby, so I was asked to drop and pickup their son who is also in the same grade/school as Tyler. We arrived back home, they did their homework and then played for a bit. Just before dinner, Erika read to the boys. After dinner, Tyler's friend's parents arrived home and we took him back. Meanwhile, we weren't the only ones out sightseeing today. See below for a Steve update.

Steve Update:  So, if you didn't figure it out from the photo I posted two days ago, Steve is in port in Italy. It actually took him two days to get off the ship though. The first day everyone was delayed because there was a French aircraft carrier in their parking spot. The seas were too rough for the crew to get back to the ship to leave. The following day Steve had duty. :( So, today was the very first day he was able to get off the ship and enjoy the beautiful country. Very early this morning, he boarded a bus to Florence from where they were parked in Naples, and when they arrived took a small tour. Tomorrow they are heading to Pisa!!!  Below are some more photos from Virginia Beach.