More Friends! The Schaffers plus 1/2

I am one lucky girl. I am blessed with so many visitors this summer. Last weekend, Mike and Angela made a one night stop in Williamsburg on their tour around the East Coast. My dilemma was how to make Williamsburg (oh, the fun lil' town that it is) compete with the other places they visited (Chicago, New York, Boston and DC), but I was up for the challenge. Mike was Brian's best man and Angela was a reader in the wedding, so it was good to see them again. It's too bad Brian couldn't be here to, but so goes the summer.

I know you're waiting with bated breaths, "What fun things did you guys do in Williamsburg?" you're asking. You guessed it! We ate ourselves around the town. For those of you that are loyal blog-readers, I promise I'm not holding out on all the cool things in Williamsburg. So be prepared for some old favorites...but we did find some new things, too.

Mike, Angela (and the 1/2, they're expecting a little one in October) and I, went to...



Colonial Williamsburg...

The infamous Sno-to-Go

Note to self:
My Nemo and Angela's Summer Sky,
make the favorite flavor list!

We were up early on Saturday morning to get to the Saturday market before everything was picked-over or gone, so after lunch we rewarded ourselves with pool time! (Which included Bloody Mary's, unless you were drinking for two.)

All of these things, I've already written about, so we found some other fun things to do!

Friday night, we went to dinner at King's Arm.
Mike was wishing that Brian was there to join us....


I have to admit, I was skeptical. It is a colonial style restaurant, right in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg. Turns out, the food was fantastic and they provided period entertainment that was entertaining. Wonder what that was, you may have to come and check it out for yourself!

There are two soups here that I would call "local:" peanut soup and she-crab soup. Peanut soup was on the menu here, and it was good. Especially, if you like peanuts.

You've seen pictures and heard us talk about Pierce's BBQ Pit, but Mike and Angela were ready for something a little more off the beaten track. It was time for some real BBQ, so we headed to Smokin' Joes. Pierce's is good, and it's famous in these parts, but Smokin' Joes. That's a BBQ experience. The typical order is a pulled pork sandwich and you have your choice of two sides:
Mac and Cheese, french fries, baked beans, fried okra, coleslaw, potato salad or hush puppies. My favorites? The baked beans for sure, and usually Mac and Cheese.

What's so great about Smokin' Joes? THE SAUCES. They have six on the table so you make your sandwich the way you want. It's great! It's fun to see the difference between BBQ sauce and North Carolina sauce.

It was great to have these two visit and I hope we can see them soon. As for this picture - they were kind enough to pose for my action shot. Yes, it's a grocery store. But how often do you walk into a grocery store that is right next to a corn field! It makes me smile every time!

Take a little trip...

Mt. Rainier from the plane

While Sarah was off having a great time in Williamsburg on the 4th, I took a quick last minute trip up to Seattle. I saw some friends, family, and some great weather!
A few of the highlights would include: a BBQ with friends the day I arrived, and spending some time on lake Union in a kayak watching a military helicopter do some training runs for the 4th of July. Also I had great time visiting ArenaNet, going to lunch with some Anet friends, playing basketball and softball, and of course seeing the family.

My only regret is that I couldn't spend more time up in Seattle this trip, since there are many friends that I didn't get to see. Next time...I should also have a little more time to plan and let people know I will be in the neighborhood!

Mt. Adams from the plane

4th of July in Williamsburg

Everyone is wondering how Brian and I are doing, since we're separated for the summer...and seriously people, we're good. I'm not sure who has it better this summer. I have friend insisting that Brian's the lucky guy doing the California thing, and believe me he is doing some cool things. (I don't want to ruin the surprise of his posts that are sure to come, so stay tuned.) But I am really enjoying work and it's nice in the summer here. I have had friends visit and we have new friends here that I can spend time with. Of course, it would be better with Brian here, but since we're married for-ev-er, what's 2 months?!

But I digress, I just thought I would post a little 4th of July fun, before it's really past the date...

After the Freedom Run, I had the day to relax and get a few chores at home done. Then it was time to get over to Stephanie & Eric's. They have rented a great house for the next year, and it's close to CW (that's VA speak for "Colonial Williamsburg") which was having fireworks. So I convinced Stephanie that we (those of us here in Willy-burg for the summer) should hang out at their house and BBQ. We all had a good time talking, BBQing and then the competitive natures came out with Trivial Pursuit, 90's edition. It was a lot of fun!


We walked towards CW, and stopped only a few blocks from the house. There was a grassy area and some people already camped out. We could have walked in further, but then we would have had the crowds and to stand up to enjoy the show. Here we spread out a few blankets and things got underway. Now, I have no doubt, that had Brian been with me, I could post some cool fireworks photos. But he wasn't, so I can't, you'll just have to imagine. But the fun part about the fireworks, was the 4 -year old boy behind us. He was SO cute! He was standing behind us, and every time a firework exploded, he leaned forward, eyes wide and "wwwooooowwwww" would escape from his lips. Exactly.

Here are the goof balls after the show - it wasn't Gasworks, but we all had a good time.

Freedom Run

This year, I started off July 4th right! Which (this year) that meant meeting up with a few friends early in the morning for the FREEDOM RUN. This area definitely gets its money out of the patriotic souls. The race was set around the Yorktown victory monument and it was a great day for a run. (With the humidity and heat around here...you can't always say that!)

Before the race:It was Stacie's (in the green) first 5k run, and she did great! She's a personal trainer by trade and I definitely benefited from her words of encouragement. It was a nice route, with a few big hills that made it tough. 3.1 miles later (about 30.3 minutes) we were stretching it out.

Tony and Molly joined us, too. Let's just say one spouse is encouraging the other spouse to run more often, so they stuck together...anyways..Stacie and I were glad they were still on speaking terms when they crossed the finish line. =) They are a great couple, so it was fun to spend time with them.


Yes, XL shirts was all they had left...but at least we got one!
A perfect way to start the day!

Opening Night

from www.cinemablend.com

I love opening night/weekend at the movies! People get dressed up, cheer at the beginning, cheer at key moments in the story, cheer at the end, and sit through all of the credits. Ok, the last one might just be a California thing, since people are a little closer with people in the movies and LA is arguably the movie capital of the world. But, the crowd turns passive entertainment, watching a movie, into an almost live performance as they urge on the actors...

I didn't go to the biggest theater west of NY, Big Newport in Newport Beach California, which is relatively nearby...didn't know about it until today, dang! If I'm lucky, there will be one more blockbuster, this summer, that I can go see there...if I'm really lucky I will get to go to a release viewing. Wow, how fun would that be?!

Ok, onto the movie. Harry Potter was great! Not the best one of the series (I liked "The Goblet of Fire" the best), but definitely a big screen experience...if I tell you anymore I might ruin your soon to be favorite scene and I don't want to do that.

Next time you go see a movie, go opening night. Grab all your friends, and make an event out of opening night at the movies! Oh, and don't forget me and the wife...

from www.idoitdigital.com

Phil & Jocelyn Return to Williamsburg

What fun! I got a phone call on Wednesday..."Sarah, can we come and visit?" It was music to my ears. I love having visitors! Phil and Jocelyn are DCers, so they were excited to come to the"country." They visited last November, so I was excited to have them return and see Williamsburg's summer glory.

They had to fight through 4th of July holiday traffic, but they stuck it out and made it! Seattle traffic can be nasty, but I'm not sure it compares to the drive leaving Washington DC. Trying to get from northern Virginia to the Richmond area should only be an hour or so, but when it backs up (from mere congestion...not even an accident) you'll be on the road for 3-4 hours. See why we love people to come to us?!

It was fantastic to have time to visit with Phil and Jocelyn. The weather was comfortable. Not hot, not sunny, a little breezy and the rain was coming. We took the opportunity to drive the historical triangle...Williamsburg to Jamestown to Yorktown. They're all connected by the Colonial Parkway which is a gorgeous road that runs through the forest and has great views of the James River. (Not that we stopped to take any pictures...maybe next time...)

Yorktown has a cute little boardwalk with some tourist shops, a good restaurant (or so we've heard), a beach and a pier.

The three of us have a good time talking about work, traveling, summer plans, future plans and sometimes, a bit of gossip.



Then it was back to the apartment to relax, have a drink and talk some more. Before they arrived, I went to the Williamsburg Farmers Market (watch for another post about this). I picked up fresh ingredients for dinner and swung by the Wine Cellar to ask Andy which wine to pair dinner with. We made Scallops with Mushrooms in a White-Wine Sauce. Heavenly! I served it with angel hair pasta and spinach. Yum! For dessert, we tried a banana foster type recipe, but I'm not going to pass that one on. I wouldn't make that one again. I'll let you know when I find a better dessert. Nothing beats a relaxing evening with good food and great company.

Sunday, we enjoyed our Bloody Marys at the pool and lunch at the Cheese Shop. The Cheese Shop is in Colonial Williamsburg (and I am going to be struck down by this comment, because it is a religion here) and I was disappointed with the sandwich. Everyone raves about them, and it's taken me months to actually get there to have one, and when I did - it was meat and bread. Both were good, but nothing to rave about. Hum. I may have to give it another try, but right now, figuring out fun combinations with our new panini press sounds like more fun. (I'll keep you posted on that endeavor.)

It's a tough life. I feel like when people visit me and the husband (when he's here) in Williamsburg, they are on vacation. So I try to treat them like I like to be treated on vacation - relaxation, lots of food, a comfortable bed and fun drinks. Anyone else interested in reserving the guest room? You're all welcome!

Special Visitor

Talk about a treat! Last week, my cousin Lauren was touring the East Coast with her school. They traveled to New York, Boston, DC and then arrived in good old Williamsburg. I rescued, uh, picked her up from the group and we had dinner at Pierce's PITT Bar-B-Que. A Williamsburg must! And the Ruhwedels, we always like our ice cream. Off to Sno-To-Go...






It was great to catch up with her. She was so animated about the time she had spent with the other kids. She was indifferent about her favorite thing they had seen, but she was all over the people dynamics, which was fun to listen to. Anyone remember being in seventh grade? The boys were annoying and you didn't realize how much you enjoyed the girls because they drove you crazy. But at the same time you were convinced that you'd all be friends forever.

We caught back up with her classmates at the Great Wolf Lodge, which is a hotel with an indoor water park. The whole class seemed to have a good time, and it was fun to see them all laughing so much. I just wish I had brought my suit!

Mom's Garden - Minnesota

Dad, this one's for you (and the rest of you that won't get out to Minnesota to see Mom's garden). She works incredibly hard all summer on her garden, caring for it and improving it. The house is such a peaceful place to be, both inside and out. It's out in the country, so the wind rustles in the trees and the birds are constantly eating from the feeders. The important thing of the day is to enjoy it. Here's just a glimpse, pardon my picture-taking skills. Brian can attest that I'm getting better, but I still cause a little blur now and then.

Minnesota Weekend

Sometimes you have to be reminded how important family truly is, and when you let yourself give into just enjoying life, you really can have a ball. Last weekend, I traveled to Minnesota to visit my grandparents. It was a great trip - we ate, talked, played cards, talked, ate, played cards, slept, ate and played cards again. If you know Sharon and I, we were good at playing cards, eating and talking all at the same time. A perfect weekend if you ask me! And here are some highlights in pictures...there are none of the card games, so you'll have to take my word for it. But to our family, 500 is the religion, so four people in a room means it's time to start dealing.

I was lucky to be there the same time as Uncle Gary and Cousin Bret - and here's the family in the kitchen. Would you expect anything else?

Places everyone, places...Jeopardy is coming on.

Grandpa working in his shop...that's the look that is immediately followed by that smile (which of course, I didn't get a picture of)

and look at his rotten kids...

But you can see where they learned it.

Mom and I took the boat out for a ride, and we got a great laugh after a quick stop that threw Bailey in the water.

She perches up on the bow of the boat, and try as she did, once I hit the mud, she couldn't regain her balance and ended up going for a swim.

Dry Dog. Wet Dog.

It was a great visit!

Bonsai advise - PLEASE!

One of Brian's school cohorts is off interning, and I have been volunteered to watch the plant. (Not that I mind.) I haven't done any research on this little fella...but it seems to be a bonsai tree of some sort.

When it arrived at my place a few weeks ago, it had a nice curved shape.

But look what I've done to it!
It's growing!

Do I need to trim it? When? Where?

Anyone? Thoughts?

Summer Plans

I thought you all might enjoy a quick update of our summer plans...

Brian has sucessfully completed his first year of his William & Mary MBA, and he has re-entered the working world. After chasing numerous leads, he landed an amazing internship at THQ for the summer. THQ is a large game-publisher and he is going to be exposed to the finance and product development side of the business. He is more than excited! And for two months he is going to trade the Virginia humidity for the California sunshine. Really, it's two adventures in one! (Yes, he's very upset for leaving the wife in VA! Or he better be...)

Home sweet home...for Brian...

Brian's new car...for the summer!

Sarah:

You guessed it! I am working in Virginia. I absolutely love my job at Lumber Liquidators. It's a great team, and I am right in the middle of the efforts to take the Company public.

It's great experience, challenging and fun.

Exactly what work should be!

Philadelphia code name Philly

Photo by: Maciej Baranowski

Going to Philly was something that has been on our list of things to do for a while, but we just hadn't gotten around to it. Thankfully, Anne gave us a great reason (her party) to come up and visit!

We had three missions to accomplish in Philly...

1. Go to Anne's party
2. See the Liberty Bell
3. Have a Philly cheese steak

We arrived in Philadelphia at approximately 11:45pm, but didn't get to our destination until about 12:20. We managed to turn our road trip into a five state adventure instead of just being a four state one...20% more fun, right?! Well the state that we added was purely on accident and not fun at all. While in Philadelphia we accidentally crossed the Ben Franklin bridge and kept going for a little while and ended up in New Jersey. Oops! Long story short we drove around in the dark for a bit and ended up finding our way back thanks to the atlas and Sarah's excellent navigation skills.

Even though it was late, we took the opportunity to catch up with Anne over a nice glass (okay, bottle, but who's counting...) of wine. The next day we completed two of the three missions with promise that the third, a cheese steak, would be great on Sunday. Mission two was completed on our way to help prep for the party, yup we saw the liberty bell out of the car window as we dashed off to the Italian part of town.

When we got to the Italian district the four of us (Anne, Brian, Sarah & Nancy) made breakfast the first priority. YUM! Then we strolled through the market and got some vegetables, seafood, cheeses, meats and more...The best part was going into the cheese and meat shop! As Anne was shopping the guy behind the counter was giving us samples of cheeses, meats, balsamic vinegar and more...and even though we just had brunch we found a way to fit the wonderful cheeses in! The most amazing thing had to be either the ricotta cheese cake, the fresh mozzarella, or the aged balsamic vinegar.

As we continued through the market area with I think Sarah described it best by calling it a moment straight out of "Pretty Woman." Three of us with bags and Anne leading the charge down the street...

That night we went to the party (Mission 1). There was an oyster shucker, paella, all the food from the market, champagne, sangria and plenty of beer and wonderful people! Unfortunately (or fortunately), the camera was MIA for most of the night so the only pictures we have are from the early part of the evening.


A bunch of us stayed the night and by noon the next day everyone was famished. So off to get a Philly cheese steak (mission 3). Thankfully the night before we met a Philly native who filled us in on the original cheese steak and how to order. The original is "American with," which means one gets white American cheese with grilled onions, YUM! Now some of the crowd wanted another local favorite of "Wiz with," which as you can imagine is cheese wiz with grilled onions. No one left hungry and everyone was quite happy with their authentic Philly cheese steak.


On the way back from Jim's Steaks we saw the Liberty Bell one more time, only this time we actually hopped out of the car and saw it up close and personal. We wandered around a bit more in the area as we tried to settle the enormous cheese steak in our stomachs.

Philly really is a beautiful city and hopefully, our travels will bring us back sooner rather than later, but all in all a wonderful weekend!