Vacation Day 3
It was raining cats and dogs most of the day, but we still managed to make the best of it and have fun. We started with a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We passed Explore Park, but everything I’ve found online says it is closed so we didn’t stop in. Instead, we went on a big loop-de-loop mountain ride. Erik tried to jump off an overlook, which caused Mike to yell at him. I probably would have fainted dead away if I would have been looking. We also saw a few deer.
We ended up back in downtown Roanoke for lunch and had a delicious meal at The Cornerstone. Yummy food, very bland decor. They should do something about that. Maybe hire me as their decorator. I can’t decorate worth a damned, but I could do better than the non-decorating job that currently exists.
Did I mention food here is extremely cheap? At least compared to the DC area?
Anyway, we walked around a bit in the rain and bought some peaches, orange tomatoes, honey and pecan jam. I have no idea what pecan jam will taste like, but I’m eager to try it. By the time we stopped dilly-dallying it was a right, proper down pour and we got soaked to the bone. I’m so glad Mike was driving and not me. We couldn’t see anything on the freeway, but he managed to get us home to the hotel.
We spent most of the afternoon swimming, which made Erik very happy. I love to swim too, but the pool here has way too much chlorine and salt. My eyes are still stinging from our swim several hours ago. I even showered afterwards!
For dinner we took a friend’s recommendation and hit Macado’s. We missed kid’s night, but we still had a great meal in a fun atmosphere. Afterwards, we walked around downtown Salem to burn off some calories. We stumbled upon a nice playground and spent some time “racing.”
Poor Mike never won a trophy. I managed to kick three year old butt. I’m not sure how since our vehicles never really moved.
We managed to get Erik out of there before the second onslaught of rain and spent a cozy evening watching him flirt with a 19 year old girl. She was very patient. I thought I was going to have to enlist her help when it was time to leave. The little shit wouldn’t get out of the pool and Mike and I both had our street clothes on. We didn’t swim a second time since it is really gross to put on cold, wet bathing clothes.
Tomorrow we might go in a cave. I’m not sure. I just want to go to a quilt store.
News on Granny: She’s alive. That’s about all that can be said at this point. She’s really mad at herself for having her neck surgery. Even though we all tried to make her understand the risks she refused to listen. Her body does not respond well to surgery so I don’t know what they are going to do with her.