2/15-2/20: Virginia

Our first stop in this state was Virginia Beach. Alyssa's aunt and uncle treated us to 3 nights in a beach front hotel! It was spectacular to sit in our hotel room and hear the waves. We spent some of our time there coloring in the hotel room and watching the waves. We also woke up in time to see the sunrise OUT OUR WINDOW. So now, we can officially say that we have seen a sunrise over the Atlantic ocean. :) We woke up just in time to witness it.

One of our days was a relaxing/refreshing day which we spent in the hotel room and walking along the water's edge. The beach is a favorite place for both of us, so taking this time to re-charge was important. We also found a candy shop nearby and bought homemade salt water taffy. Yum!! There was also the quest to find post cards at one of the small shops along the road. Let's just leave it with this: customer service in the winter in a beach town was not up to the par we usually expect. Oh the adventures!

Another day we drove up to Jamestown. I expected this to be like a lot of the forts and other historical sites I've seen with buildings set up as they would have been in that day. Instead it was an active archeological site...which made it even more cool! The concept that we were standing on living, breathing history that was still being discovered felt incredible. We were able to catch the end of the tour of the site. What struck us most was that they were talking about discovers that had been made in 2013; that's not very long ago!! There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this first British colony on American soil. It is a work in progress, and a completely worthwhile place to visit should you be in Virginia.
We were going to stop by Williamsburg and Yorktown, but ended up tuckering out after a brief stop at the Yorktown visitor center, so we headed back to our hotel.

Two of the evenings were spent with Alyssa's extended family. The first night was dinner at Outback and sorbet from a frozen yogurt place with her cousin. Cracker Barrel with her cousin, aunt, and uncle was the next day. Yummy food. Good conversation. Love from family. Perfection :)

After 3 nights in Virginia Beach it was time to drive across the state to our next stop: Abingdon.

But first, we stopped at Appomattox Courthouse where Lee surrendered to Grant during the Civil War. I had visited there when I was 10 or so with my family...and I still remembered it! This time, however, the entirety of the story made much more sense now that I'm older. Lee didn't surrender because he felt like it, but rather because Grant had him cornered with no escape and continuing to fight would have simply lost pointless lives on both sides. Instead they called a cease fire and met in the middle to work out terms for surrender. The fighting in other areas continued fighting (especially after Lincoln was assassinated on the same day that the news of the surrender made it to D.C.), but it was the beginning of the end. Such a powerful story from our history in a quaint little town in the middle of Virginia.

Arriving in Abingdon was such a blessing since Alyssa and I had the opportunity to meet IN PERSON a friend that we have had online for the past 2 years. She and her husband were so kind to welcome us into their home for a couple nights. They even gave up their bed so that we could sleep more comfortably. They provided us with meals and wonderful conversation.

When I planned for us to visit Abingdon, I planned the stop to visit our friend, but didn't realize how cute the town would be or how much historical significance the town had. We enjoyed going on a beautiful hike that was only 15 minutes away, eating at an adorable restaurant, and visiting the Revolutionary War muster grounds where the Patriot militia "mustered." Another highlight was driving 30 minutes away to Bristol, VA/TN where we could stand with one foot in each state!! The memories made during this time are irreplaceable.

Virginia was filled with unexpected blessings!