Trip to Staunton
Hello my LJ friends. Since I met most of you in the beloved town of Staunton, I thought I would pass along the joys of my trip there.
I am moving to Tampa soon, so I figured I'd go down there one more time to say goodbye to the people I know and places I love. I got into to town around 6:45pm. I had a full day's work before I could leave town, so that kinda sucked. Being up from 5am to midnight is NO FUN. Thankfully, I was distracted by lots of other fun. My friend Andrea invited me over for dinner, so as soon as I got checked into my hotel I went to see her. I stayed at the hotel I used to work at in Staunton, so I got a pretty good rate. Score!
Turns out, my Andrea was house/dog sitting for some of her professors. A good few minutes were spent commenting on how she'd never graduate if anything happened to the dogs under her watch. She cooked for me! How sweet is that? Good food and good conversation, is there anything better?
After the lovely Andrea, I got to go see Martina before she started work at 11pm at the hotel. So we met up at Waffle House. Yes, that place of scum and bad coffee, but it is always open, so it is good. I always enjoy the opportunity to ask diner servers for advice. They're usually honest, even if I don't like what they say. Martina and I wrapped up our conversation and headed to the hotel together, her for the paycheck, me for the bed.
I have been rereading the HP series in my work time and I finished the 7th book on this trip, so now I have to find something new to read at work. Boo. Anyways, I figure my second day in Staunton will be more fun for y'all. Memory lane aka Beverley St.
My friend Sarah made me breakfast on Friday and it was fabulous! I adore her so much, but I think I might have said some of the wrong things. Like that's different, right? I left her house and headed over to Newtown Bakery. If it wasn't there when we were PEGs, it's AMAZING. They're kind of THE bakery in Staunton and they know it and they milk it. None of that "friendly local joint" feeling here. But still, the rosemary bread is fabulous and I bought all the rosemary rolls they had. Like, 10-12. They are currently in my freezer... Then I passed the gorgeous Trinity church and waved to the cemetary (I love that cemetary) and parked on Beverley St.
In case it's been a while since you've been there, the BookStack is closed. There's a really cool religion-y bookstore called The Sacred Circle and I got to go shopping there. Bought some lovely celtic knot earrings. They have a large collection of antique Shakespeare books and I actually chose earrings over one of those. Crazy, right? Well, I still bought some copies of Romeo and Juliet that I didn't have, since that's the play I'm going to be working on next. I also did some Christmas shopping and got a few presents. I saw my Glenn go into Coffee on the Corner and bopped in for a few minutes.
It's lovely, of course, but seriously overpriced. Why shouldn't it be, though? Glenn and I made plans to meet at 5 Guys later (our spot) and I continued shopping. There is now a cigar store on Beverley. Oh yes. I didn't go in though. I got a few gifts and a cat toy at Pretty Pretty (beaded jewelry store). Hopefully Cinna will like it. My last stop of the day (because I was now completely broke) was Bontanica for a few ducks for my mom. I missed Shanti, but oh well. No money. I did, however, save enough for food and gas.
You know what that means. Sheetz! Then I went to Maria's, my absolute favorite Italian place ever and got my favorite baked ziti. Yum! (This is the point of my day when I pretty much started eating and didn't stop.) Then to Kline's for ice cream. They've put in a heated floor now, so the place is much comfier in winter. I wasn't going to meet Glenn for a while, so I killed time at Klines with Harry Potter. Then back to Maria's for a slice of pizza (because it's amazing!) and one more drive through of my beloved town. I stopped by my old apartment. It appears to have a new tenant. Lucky tenant. They left my Globe sticker on the window :) I passed the Blackfriars, but no money, so I didn't go in. I drove through the campus, but no money, so I didn't go shopping in Pannel. I drove down Bev St one more time. Then, alas, it was time to go meet Glenn for burgers and fries. Yes, the worst fries in America, but who cares!
Finally, it was back on 81 for Cassie and her newly purchased ducks, earrings, and rolls. In case you're curious, Miley Cyrus is my favorite road trip music (mainly because there's a lot of it). I stopped in Winchester for ice cream at Maggie Moo's. My grandmother called me, but I had a good excuse to get off the phone since I had to drive. Hit a little snow, but no big deal. Now I am home.
So here's the question for you, my reader who slogged through all of that. What is it about traveling, even on an overnight trip, that makes me feel like I have to do laundry the second I walk back in my door?
I am moving to Tampa soon, so I figured I'd go down there one more time to say goodbye to the people I know and places I love. I got into to town around 6:45pm. I had a full day's work before I could leave town, so that kinda sucked. Being up from 5am to midnight is NO FUN. Thankfully, I was distracted by lots of other fun. My friend Andrea invited me over for dinner, so as soon as I got checked into my hotel I went to see her. I stayed at the hotel I used to work at in Staunton, so I got a pretty good rate. Score!
Turns out, my Andrea was house/dog sitting for some of her professors. A good few minutes were spent commenting on how she'd never graduate if anything happened to the dogs under her watch. She cooked for me! How sweet is that? Good food and good conversation, is there anything better?
After the lovely Andrea, I got to go see Martina before she started work at 11pm at the hotel. So we met up at Waffle House. Yes, that place of scum and bad coffee, but it is always open, so it is good. I always enjoy the opportunity to ask diner servers for advice. They're usually honest, even if I don't like what they say. Martina and I wrapped up our conversation and headed to the hotel together, her for the paycheck, me for the bed.
I have been rereading the HP series in my work time and I finished the 7th book on this trip, so now I have to find something new to read at work. Boo. Anyways, I figure my second day in Staunton will be more fun for y'all. Memory lane aka Beverley St.
My friend Sarah made me breakfast on Friday and it was fabulous! I adore her so much, but I think I might have said some of the wrong things. Like that's different, right? I left her house and headed over to Newtown Bakery. If it wasn't there when we were PEGs, it's AMAZING. They're kind of THE bakery in Staunton and they know it and they milk it. None of that "friendly local joint" feeling here. But still, the rosemary bread is fabulous and I bought all the rosemary rolls they had. Like, 10-12. They are currently in my freezer... Then I passed the gorgeous Trinity church and waved to the cemetary (I love that cemetary) and parked on Beverley St.
In case it's been a while since you've been there, the BookStack is closed. There's a really cool religion-y bookstore called The Sacred Circle and I got to go shopping there. Bought some lovely celtic knot earrings. They have a large collection of antique Shakespeare books and I actually chose earrings over one of those. Crazy, right? Well, I still bought some copies of Romeo and Juliet that I didn't have, since that's the play I'm going to be working on next. I also did some Christmas shopping and got a few presents. I saw my Glenn go into Coffee on the Corner and bopped in for a few minutes.
It's lovely, of course, but seriously overpriced. Why shouldn't it be, though? Glenn and I made plans to meet at 5 Guys later (our spot) and I continued shopping. There is now a cigar store on Beverley. Oh yes. I didn't go in though. I got a few gifts and a cat toy at Pretty Pretty (beaded jewelry store). Hopefully Cinna will like it. My last stop of the day (because I was now completely broke) was Bontanica for a few ducks for my mom. I missed Shanti, but oh well. No money. I did, however, save enough for food and gas.
You know what that means. Sheetz! Then I went to Maria's, my absolute favorite Italian place ever and got my favorite baked ziti. Yum! (This is the point of my day when I pretty much started eating and didn't stop.) Then to Kline's for ice cream. They've put in a heated floor now, so the place is much comfier in winter. I wasn't going to meet Glenn for a while, so I killed time at Klines with Harry Potter. Then back to Maria's for a slice of pizza (because it's amazing!) and one more drive through of my beloved town. I stopped by my old apartment. It appears to have a new tenant. Lucky tenant. They left my Globe sticker on the window :) I passed the Blackfriars, but no money, so I didn't go in. I drove through the campus, but no money, so I didn't go shopping in Pannel. I drove down Bev St one more time. Then, alas, it was time to go meet Glenn for burgers and fries. Yes, the worst fries in America, but who cares!
Finally, it was back on 81 for Cassie and her newly purchased ducks, earrings, and rolls. In case you're curious, Miley Cyrus is my favorite road trip music (mainly because there's a lot of it). I stopped in Winchester for ice cream at Maggie Moo's. My grandmother called me, but I had a good excuse to get off the phone since I had to drive. Hit a little snow, but no big deal. Now I am home.
So here's the question for you, my reader who slogged through all of that. What is it about traveling, even on an overnight trip, that makes me feel like I have to do laundry the second I walk back in my door?