Summer has arrived to DC in many forms: fun day trips and mini-vacations, as well as miserable scorching heat and drenching humidity. The weatherman used the word “steamy” to describe the weather today. UGH!

The last few weeks have been very busy, and as usual I got behind in posting. Two weeks ago my mom (and her Turkish cat Charlie) came to stay for a week on her way back to Seattle from Turkey. After 3 years of living and teaching in Ankara, she has decided to come back to the US for at least a few years to spend time with baby Rogan. As usual, I had far too much to do at work, and while I was able to take one day off – Erin was super tour guide!

Charlie has made himself at home!

We did have a great weekend though!! On Saturday we headed to a family friends house for swimming and my first ever crab feast! 🙂 So fun! Erin and I decided we much prefer crab legs as we aren’t too fond of the “mustard” …aka guts…inside the body!

On Sunday we headed to our favorite spot to drag visitors: Mt. Vernon! They were doing a wreath laying ceremony on George Washington’s grave, and asked for military volunteers. So – I volunteered Erin! While she was less than pleased at first because it was scorching hot – she was glad later as it was a pretty cool experience.

Annnnd, she even got a certificate!

Monday morning my mom flew out to Seattle and we began to get ready for a short week before heading to Virginia Beach for the holiday weekend. We crammed a lot into four days!

Thursday we mostly hung around, taking a walk along the board walk in Virginia Beach, touring Norfolk and then watching the fireworks from the beach with Erin’s friend Tara and her family.

Friday we headed to the Norfolk where Erin was first stationed after she joined the Navy. We took a tour of the base from the comfort of a large touring bus. It was really interesting to see all the ships and even a couple of power boats used by the Navy Seals. After the tour we headed to one of two days spent at Colonial Williamsburg. That place is pretty much an adult Disneyland for history lovers, and so we decided to go back a second day…and upgraded our tickets to annual passes so we can go back and visit at a later date. We are planning a trip down during the holiday season!

Beer tasting 🙂

Saturday we headed south and drove almost the entire length of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Along the way we stopped at Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Brothers first took flight. After touring the park we had a picnic then stopped at a couple of lighthouses – including the tallest lighthouse in North America. We had amazing sweeping views of the Atlantic – which were well earned after marching up 268 stairs!

Sunday morning we got up early to beat the traffic and begin our journey home. We stopped at Williamsburg again for a couple of hours, had some brunch and walked around the College of William and Mary before making the last part of the journey home. It was a great long weekend, and we were both feeling the post-vacation blues as the week got started.

This week is looking to be busy for both of us. Erin is starting in the spa this week, and will be giving treatments to actual guests starting today! I’m looking forward to hearing how her first day went when she gets home!

As for me, I am in all day meetings this week reviewing some content with state educator groups for my new project. I enjoy these meetings, but they make for very long days.

Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start 🙂

Oh, and here is what grew in my garden while we were away!