this past weekend, my aunt, uncle, and grandparents came to visit. we had a lot of fun, and i even did some activities i hadn't yet done in the area, so that was great! my grandparents hadn't ever come up here to visit since i've been living here (for the past 7 years), so it was so nice to show them my life here, and it was so sweet of my aunt and uncle to come as well, even though they've visited several times!
thursday, uncle frank got into town from new jersey, so after work, he and i ran to the grocery for some snacks for the weekend and then met billy at cazadores, our favorite local mexican place.
friday, frank went to harborfest for a bit and picked up everyone else at the airport (they were coming from south carolina) while i worked. that evening, we were supposed to go to a tides game, but it was storming, so we decided to hang out at our house and invited billy's parents over for some pizza instead.
saturday, billy had to work, so the rest of us headed into norfolk to grab a quick lunch at taste unlimited (love the newest location on hampton boulevard...i hadn't been there since it was bazemore's market!) and went out to the naval base. i had driven around the base before, but this time, my grandpa talked his way onto a destroyer, so we all got a tour of the deck. that was really neat - it's amazing how big those ships are and how much they can do! we drove down admiral's row, went by all of the piers, and got some cheap gas before we left the base :)
on our way home, we ran into running etc, and billy fitted my grandparents and aunt for new shoes, so that was fun to see him work with them! my grandparents had super old shoes with no support, and my aunt was wearing the wrong size, so hopefully everyone's feet problems will be corrected!!
that evening, we went to harborside marina restaurant, which is always a fun place to take visitors since it's right on the river and has very good seafood. we ran into one of billy's co-workers there who also had family in town, so that was kind of fun too.
sunday, we got up and went to church, and then billy had to do some work, so the rest of us headed to the oceanfront for a yummy lunch at waterman's. it's always fun to sit outside there, and my grandma was the only one who had ever been to virginia beach (which is now way different from when she was there!). we thought about going to the aquarium but didn't have time, so we led frank back to the airport (he flew out sunday instead of monday with the rest of the crew) and then drove around east beach where i used to work. they've done a really nice job there! it's such a beautiful neighborhood, and it was fun to see it much more built up than the last time i was out there. so charming!
that evening, sal and i took a good walk around town (5+ miles) and then everyone went to cazadores for dinner. we had lots of fun hanging out and visiting and playing with the puppies that evening as well!
monday, sal and i walked, and then we headed to the botanical gardens, which i had never been to before, and they were so pretty! i actually ended up upgrading to a year membership, since i think billy and i would enjoy running/walking/biking there, and it's a really beautiful place. we grabbed a quick lunch at the cafe there, and then i dropped everyone off at the airport to head back down south.
building with green roof at the botanical garden - so neat!
so, it was a fun weekend filled with nice visits, good food, and lots of wine :) hopefully i'll be getting more pictures soon that my grandparents and frank too, and i can post those too, since the only pictures i took were at the botanical gardens!
