Allons-y!

int Hastily-planned road trip count = +1

Shane and I took another jaunt up to Northern VA Wednesday. We didn't have anyone to meet until the afternoon, so we set a leisurely pace. First, we went to the library. Then, we stopped in Culpepper for lunch!

And, of course, I factored in some extra time for traffic (This is Northern VA we're talking about).

We arrived at Matt G's apartment a little before 3 PM.

Shane can pronounce Gabriela now! Matt and his daughters had just gotten home from a orthopedist appointment for Sophia (She busted her ankle).

I brought swimsuits for the pool, but we weren't sure about how the ankle brace would do in the water. Gabby pulled out Minecraft and the point was moot.

The kids spent the next couple of hours laughing, hollaring, and playing.

Some of it was Greek to me.

Matt and I hung out and talked while the kids played. Gabby threw the controller to Sophia whenever Shane was about to die. That way Sophia got to take all the blame!

And Shane.....Shane milked it.

He would put on a sad face whenever he died. The girls would ooh and aah, and he ended up in Gabby's lap at one point. I guess it's only fair, because they really enjoyed teasing him, too ("Oh no! Your house blew up!")

We left when the girls went over to their mom's. It took us an hour to make our way from Leesburg to Fairfax (The toll road costs $5.40 now!!! There were wrecks on 28 I wanted to avoid. I thought I was safe with $2 in quarters. If the toll wasn't credit card only, I would have been screwed!).

When we got to Fairfax, Shane wanted to tell Uncle Matt and John all about "MineCrab."

John brought a new Lego book for Shane.

Shane was, predictably, excited. He wanted to show everyone.

Whether they were busy or not.

After Shane went to bed, Matt, John, and I tried a game of Zombicide. It's a co-op game with minis (and John loves minis!).

I played a bearded dude and a dark-haired lady. Then I texted Carrie, "I'm playing us!"

Carrie texted back screenshots from Rogue Legacy. She got a high score, beat the game, then beat the game AGAIN. I replied, "You need to go to sleep!"

Shane and I said our farewells the next morning. Matt groggily waved over a cup of coffee (he's not a morning person....Shane is!).

The morning was beautiful. Shane and I went on a walk. He wanted to see the stream next to Matt's house.

We followed it down the trail.

Drain checks confirmed the stream did not slip away.

We followed it to "*gasp* A TINY WATERFALL, DADDY!"

We walked to a playground around the corner from there. We killed enough time that we wouldn't be too early for our next stop.

Surprise, Jama!

"You caught me in my night robe!" Jama replied. Quickly followed by, "Shane, would you like some bacon and candy?"

Shane loves his Jama! I was glad there was time in her busy agenda for us.

We only stayed an hour before it was time to head home. We made a few of our usual stops at my favorite bagel place (Manhattan) and at a Korean Bakery for Carrie (Jireh this time).

Shane went misty-eyed. "I don't want to go! I want to move back to Northern Virginia!"

He was pretty tired from all the excitement. It was only 11 AM and he took a half hour nap.

We made good time and made it back safely. It was good to be back. I sent all of my NOVA friends a small picture, too...

For context, the station next to Matt was pumping fuel at $2.29.    :)