Family Reunion: Day 1 and Day 2

As many of you know, I am taking my vacation in the D.C. area (Leesburg, VA) to reunite with my family. We haven't done this in 5 years or more. We took all 4 puppies and the kitchen sink. We decided to the cats to a kitty spa. The overriding theme of the reunion is to visit with my grandmother, Lois. The picture is of my grandmother in her new hat and matching purse. The 'reunionees' include:

1. Linda -- my mother
2. Lois Ann -- my aunt
3. Lois -- my grandmother
4. Donna (sister), Chris (brother-in-law), Taylor (niece)
   
5. Marti (sister), Ricky (brother-in-law), Carly and Erin (nieces)
   
6. Jennifer (sister), Andy (brother-in-law) and Kiowa (niece)

Day 1 involved getting to Martinsville, VA on Sunday. We originally were going on Saturday, but it turned out that our plans weren't going to work out with seeing my dad, Jim. Aside from that aspect, it turned out well because I was able to clean the house and pack at a leisurely pace. That was a nice break after the past two weeks at work! (We rolled out 174 lab computers - 8 labs in 9 days. Actually, we ended up moving double that number since we had to remove existing PCs. Holla, edneth!) We got there at 4pm (missed my dad again!), got the puppies settled, then had dinner with my sister, Marti and her family. My sister continues to crack me up... she definitely lives by "The World According to Marti." Her perspective on life is truly original!

Day 2 held a host of surprises... some not so pleasant and some just plain strange. It is widely known that if you have genes from my family threaded in your DNA, you are usually running late. Yesterday was no exception. My mother and I were the first to arrive at the hotel in Leesburg! That was just plain strange! We all know that this "late" gene comes from Linda. I really like being early. It gives me a sense of accomplishment! Since we were so far ahead of everyone, we stopped at the Rockbridge Vineyard off of I-81 in Raphine, VA. It was a first for my mom. Imagine that! We left there with 4 bottles of wine, an amazing corkscrew and two fancy bottle stoppers. Woo-hoo!

As everybody was rolling in (Jennifer from CT, Donna from MD, Marti from southern VA), Lois Ann and G-Ma arrived at our room with half of Harris Teeter. What a welcome! They brought fresh fruit, raw veggies, cheese (cow and goat) every conceivable drinkable liquid and hummus. Once Donna and Taylor arrived, we congregated in the Lighthouse Tavern at the hotel (the dining room was closed due to being short-staffed). It was loud and the service was congenial and slow, so G-Ma proceeded to *cuss out* the barkeep and his carousing customers. That's my granny!!

About 45 minutes later and a new table in the corner, Jennifer and family arrived. It was all very exciting because it was the first time my mother, my aunt and my grandmother met my newest niece, Kiowa. She's now 8 months old. Kiowa was passed around the table as we ate food once it started to trickle in. Marti and family arrived a little before 9pm... right before the the power went out! Nobody really paid attention when the brownouts happened a few moments before that, because no one expected it to go completely out. The evening we expected to have - easy-going, chatting, laughing, hugs and kisses - turned into a candlelight vigil complete with meeting the immediate neighbors, trying to get news about what happened exactly.

We did find out that a nearby substation caught on fire. The power was out until 1:30am. We preserved the air conditioning in the room as best we could. Three members of my family are forming conspiracy theories. There happen to be 30 people from a United flight that was canceled yesterday due to "something" hitting the plane and also lots of Secret Service in training at our hotel. They believe that's how the power was restored so quickly, considering that the substation was on fire. I am a believer of Occam's Razor which states, "All things being equal, the simplest solution is the best one." I'm just glad to have the AC back. We're surfing a heat wave here in D.C.!

After all the hijinks yesterday, we are taking it easy today. Mostly lounging by the pool, playing with the kids and lots of good ole' southern visiting. I hope that we'll get to see the monuments, historic plantations and a few ghost tours. We are staying at a historic hotel that has reported ghosts. All my favorite things!

More soon,
Jaime