"THE EVENT" in Virginia~~

Yes, one of our major goals on this trip was to get to the Virginia Beach area where Bill and I met 44 years ago.  My college roommate, Marlene, sent her fiance (Paul Wenzel) with me to Triple R Ranch (Chesapeake) to work on staff for the summer...and prayed that I would find "the one"!!. ..I had my eye on two other possibilities before Bill caught my eye!!  It's good that God had it straightened out, because Marlene's prayers were a little confused with my flip-flopping!
  



 

So -- we landed in Virginia Beach for 3 days in an oceanfront hotel room and 80 degrees!  So perfect for a celebration on October 20th.  The water was warmer than Lake Michigan, so we took a dip--but mostly sat on the beach and enjoyed the beautiful day.  Also had time for biking and trying out a local mexican dive that was pretty incredible, as well as a more upscale spot on the boardwalk for our anniversary dinner.  Sunrises. Full moon. Lovely. Blessed.

The finale in Virginia was a trip to Chesapeake's Outer Banks, near the North Carolina border. We had planned to wander the camp to see the changes there since our days in the summers of '72 and '73.  We had both served as counselors the first summer, then came back as "the engaged couple" after college graduations~ Bill as program director, and me as Head Girls' Counselor.  What we didn't plan on this trip was Hurricane Matthew --so we ended up volunteering in the clean-up.  What a great way to give back.  Bill got his fix doing some demo-ing and drywalling in the barn area --watch out Chip Gaines! And I cleaned the lodge and washed windows, then added a little JoAnna Gaines autumn decor on the mantel.  Such a fun day before we hit the road to South Carolina.