The thing about going back ‘home’ for a visit is that your senses surprise you with scents, sights and sounds you didn’t even know you missed.  Who knew I longed for the smell of wet azaleas? Even better: I got all giddy when we drove past the Ladysmith exit on I-95, which leads to the community where I bought my first house.   It’s been eight years since I’ve visited Virginia, and to be honest I’ve had no real desire to go back.  It’s not that I don’t love my family and friends, or that I don’t notice the beauty the state holds. It’s just that I like using vacation time and money to go to new places.  I’ve also moved a lot, so it’s just a few dots on the map of all my former homes.

Now, that I’m moving overseas I felt it was time to go for a visit (plus my daughter really wanted to visit with her father).  Richmond and Fredericksburg changed a lot while I was gone — all for the better.  Restaurants and breweries are popping up all over the place.  I don’t know why they didn’t figure out that this was a mecca for beer sooner.   Everyone I know there loves beer … hello?!  Southern Virginia where some of my family lives didn’t feel all that different, but I only spent a few hours driving from Chester to Colonial Heights to Prince George.  Can’t say much about the actual towns, but, when you go into the gas station near where my mother lives it still could be the backdrop for any episode of Swamp People, Duck Hunters or Honey Boo Boo.  I’m being unfair because there are also some lovely estates in Prince George.  My mother, a German with the accent to prove it, also does not fit the gas-station stereotypes, and she too gasses up there.  So it’s all good.

Time flew by because we pretty much went from one house to the next, but I’m so glad we did.  It’s sad that we don’t always realize what a good life we’re having until we go back after years of being away.  I am soooo lucky to have had the chance to live and grow there, and I cannot wait for my old friends to come visit me in my new home, or online where we chat anyway.  I’ll try my best to post as much of my new home, so they can feel like they’re there with me.

As for Abu Dhabi, the terminal we flew out of just happened to house Etihad, Emirates, and Turkish Air, some of the airlines my new employer uses to fly us on over.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Maybe Dulles Airport will be where my layover is, so that I can have one more whiff of Virginia before I go — and one more beer with my buddies!  Look how cute they all are…

The last two pics almost define summer (add lake or river water and you have trifecta) for me:  fire pits (in Arizona we do this in the winter time) and crab cracking.   I hate the mess, but yum yum!   Thank you to everyone for such a wonderful time!  I miss and love you all!