NOVA Day 1

Road trip stage 1: Prepare.

That means pack, come up with a plan, and replace the Hank the Cowdog Shane has already listened to four times.

We weren't in a hurry. Shane borrowed a Pikachu stuffed reading buddy from the children's librarian and we hung out for a little while.

The goal of the road trip was to check in with friends and family. March is the Jeffers' birthday month. Seven of their clan (including spouses) were born in March. I knew which weekend Bill and Jill were coming to town, so I planned to visit when the gathering reached critical mass.

First stop, John's new library. We got to see a "Hello, Kitty" car on the way in.

John's had a stressful time of it lately, so he was top of my list to visit.

John started a new position as an Info staffer. He specializes in technology. The 3D printer was neat to look at (John said the book model currently printing was a four hour job! Wow!).

John being on staff means Shane gets to go behind the scenes. John's desk is always loaded with fun stuff.

John was still on the clock, so Shane and I tried to make ourselves helpful.

We assisted in setting up a meeting room for some beekeepers.

John showed Shane where the library stored their stuff for kids' programs.

Shane tested out a few of their supplies. We helped more than we made a mess.

Shane and I entertained ourselves until John's lunch break.

Then John brought out the Switch. He booted up Rocket League for Shane to play.

Shane got super intense while John and I talked.

After John's lunch break, Shane and I cleared out. John needed to finish his day. We ran a quick errand by Tyson's Mall for him and then drove over to the Jeffers' house. I don't miss NOVA traffic.

I don't have any pictures, because Shane got to play Angry Birds for much of the time we chatted. Bill and Jill recently announced their expecting their first child, Ben, who is due this summer. The Jeffers clan slowly gathered so that they could go out for a birthday dinner. Dan and Shar and Marcus and his gf, Lauren, all arrived while we visited.

When they left, I decided to visit Igor un-announced. He sent me his address the last time we were in town. I managed to catch him outside! Shane was so busy reading he never got out of the car. Which was great, because Igor showed me his bikes and I didn't have to pull Shane off of any of them.

Igor and Casey had plans for the night, so Shane and I slid over to a Starbucks to charge my phone, caffeinate, and wait for John to meet up after work.

Shane did not want to try a chai tea latte. He's anti-anything more than room temperature. He pouted and swore he wouldn't like it, but that tune changed once it was cooler. We played "I Spy" and listened to someone studying for a college biology test while we waited (or I guess I listened in to the Kelvin cycle).

Dinner was a hot dog at 7-11. Then John, Shane, and I rendezvoused at the Jeffers house for a night of fellowship.

Shane enlisted Bill and Jill to figure out some Transformers toys John gave him. Jill had the most success figuring them out. Bill's kid card was revoked.

I brought the stack of games.

Which didn't really get played. Shane really wanted to play on the Switch.

People joined him! There was a four-player co-op Kirby game going in no time.

I did get to introduce Bill and Jill to Codenames: Duet. I would have loved to have played some party games or something, but we were all busy talking and Shane had to be entertained, as well!

We were having so much fun we left for the airbnb later than I intended. It was good to see so many old friends at once.