1/2 Marathon/Marlene's B-day

Gary and Marlene came down to cheer us on for the half marathon Eric and I ran. We went to the clubhouse and played some games the night before.

We finished and had a lot of fun. It was a really pretty run. Then we went home and napped. Then went out to a nice steakhouse for Marlene's Birthday!!! Then we went to the Jefferson Hotel-really nice 5 star-to have a drink.

After dinner and drinks we went to the symphony. It was really neat, but we were all struggling to stay awake because it is so relaxing!

The next day they got to meet our friends at church. Then we went hiking at Belle Isle on the James River.

We almost got run over by a train. Good thing we trained hard for the marathon:)

Then we went to Hollywood Cemetery. It was really beautiful. People are buried there from the 1800's. It had the prettiest trees I had seen the whole time in VA. What a good weekend!

Next weekend will be spent packing. Our time in Virginia is almost up.......sad to leave such a pretty city, with such good friends.....but we are excited for what the future holds!!!

Shinedown

We went to the National again to see Shinedown. Great show. Walker (our church friend) works security there so we got VIP treatment. It was saved from the wrecking ball in 1931 and restored. We got to see the 3rd story where they had lights for old plays. And the nursery that had weird paintings. The ceiling is amazing.

We got to sit in the best seats in the house. Then got to meet the band and get posters that the road manager gave us signed. It was super cold outside and we had to wait forever...and work the next morning...but it was a lot of fun. Good memories. Thanks Walker-you rock!

Luray Caverns/Skyline Drive

Luray Caverns was one of the most beautiful natural caverns I've ever seen. We we wore headphones for a self guided tour. They had the organs playing...instruments made out of the stalactites each producing a different sound.


They had an old car museum next door so we went b/c our tickets got us in to both:)

Then we saw a zoo...so of course we stopped it was great. We met the owner as he was petting his tiger. He was giving us tips on how to raise a pet tiger. Then they also had a snake farm which I enjoyed.

The next day we drove down Skyline drive in the mountains. The trees are supposed to be really pretty this time of year, but the leaves had already fallen so it was kinda naked...but still really pretty. We hiked to a waterfall, and there were icicles along the path.

What a fun and beautiful weekend spent reflecting on God's beautiful creation!