The trip to Virginia

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a vacation, having a baby in the house will do that to you,  so we were pretty excited to get a weekend to hang out with the crew up in Virginia and celebrate Adam & Melinda’s wedding!

We packed up all the extra bags that go with traveling with a baby and managed to get through the airport relatively easy.  Coop did great on both flights on the way there, just a little discomfort during takeoff and then he fell asleep.  We stopped off in Houston, since there isn’t a direct flight from LAX to Raleigh Durham anymore, and were a little surprised at the size of the plane from Houston to Raleigh.  I’ve been on some small planes in my day, but this one took the cake.  Three seats wide, two on one side of the aisle and one on the other, and a low enough head clearance that I had to duck to make it to our seats!

Safely on the ground in North Carolina we grabbed up our bag, met Nana and Bop, and headed off to pick up our rental car.  After we did the paperwork we pulled out and were just about to head for home when we realized that we had completely forgot to pick up the extra baby related bags that we had checked on the plane (first time flying with a baby does crazy things to you).  We rushed back to the airport and luckily the bags were still on the carousel!

The next day we loaded up and took the 3.5 hour drive from Lillington, NC up to Lynchburg, VA.  The drive was pretty and peaceful with the leaves just starting to change color.  It was nice to be back on the open road, we haven’t done a road trip in quite awhile either!  Once we made it to town I dropped SJ off at the bridal luncheon and headed back to the hotel for some R&R.  The evening sneaked up on us quickly and soon we were at the rehersal dinner catching up with all of our old friends, most of who we hadn’t seen since our wedding in 2008!

Saturday was consumed with preparation for the wedding, college football, and of course lots of good food.  There was a definite chill in the air and there was some concern about whether or not the weather was going to hold for the outdoor event.  Luckily, the clouds blew over and the sun came out.  However, the breeze continue to blow and the temp dropped down into the 40′s.  Not to be deterred the party continued as scheduled.

The wedding was held at an amazing old Southern Plantation and the venue lived up to it’s billing.  Grand views, historical charm, good food, friends, dancing, and drinks abounded.  A definite highlight of the night was the photo booth that was setup on site for couples to take pics and place into an album for the couple – lot’s of fun with that one!  At the end of the night we all boarded the stretch hummer limo and made our way back to the hotel for the after party.

The next morning we gathered for the send off breakfast, packed up, and started the drive back to NC.  It was nice to be away for a day or two, but we were both ready to see Cooper and spend some much needed time with the family.  By the time we made it back to Lillington the house was full of friends and family and we had a great time catching up, enjoying dinner, and taking advantage Michelle Coleman Photography being available to take some great pics of the family.

Monday morning came all too quickly and we packed up the bags for the trip home.  A quick stop off at Chic-Fil-A before boarding the plane was a must and we savored the chance to share a quick last meal with the Nana and Bop.  The flight home was even better than the flight out (we got a big plane from Raleigh to Houston) and Coop once again did great.  He struggled for just a few minutes getting off the ground heading out of Houston, but then made up for it by sleeping all the way until we touched down at LAX.

All in all a great getaway vacation to catch up with friends, family, and enjoy some alone time soaking up the changing of the leaves on a road trip through historic Virginia.  Next trip up is the voyage to Montana for Christmas and we are pretty excited that we managed to find a direct flight from LAX straight to Bozeman!