Memories of Virginia Beach

I remember it so vividly. I'd wake up early in the morning, swing my little feet over the edge of the bed and onto the carpet. I'd see my dad sitting at the table with his cup of coffee from 7-Eleven and a newspaper. I'd grab a chocolate Entenmann's donut and quietly pull the sliding glass door to the side, stepping out onto the balcony.

I'd immediately feel the warm, August morning sun on my skin and hear the soft crashes of the waves in the distance, the seagulls as they swept through the sky just several arm's lengths away, and the clink of bikes as the lifeguards rode in for the new day. It was a typical vacation morning. Just like the vacation mornings the year before, yet, it never got old.

I still remember the peace I'd feel as a young girl - just me and the sights and sounds of those August mornings. Eventually, I'd hear the glass door behind me push open and I'd look to see my mom's sleepy smile as she came out to say good morning to the coast. My brother would soon follow to sit in the morning sun. The three of us would watch as the umbrella and chair rentals were slowly set up and beach-goers started to fill the sand.

Then, it was our turn. After finishing breakfast and throwing on our bathing suits, we'd all walk down to the beach with our arms full of towels, coolers, bags, and chairs... ready for a full day in the sun. My brother and I would throw our stuff down and race into the warm salt water, seeing who would fall first into the sea. It was tradition :)

After that point, it was just me and the sea. I'd flick my hands back and forth through the water, ride the waves in until my knees were scraped up from the ocean floor, and spend the entire day in my favorite place - the ocean.

At night, after getting showered, and going out for dinner on the boardwalk, and walking "The Strip," my brother and I spent hours out on that balcony watching the evening crowd walk, jog, and sit on the boardwalk below us. It was our happy place, our way to re-charge, our time to be a family :)

I'll never forget our family vacations. I'll never forget these Virginia Beach memories from years ago. They hold a special place in my heart and now, whenever I return, my heart is full of all of the above.

All pictures were taken during our "half family" vacation when I went to Virginia Beach with my brother and his little family this past September :)

San Diego Trip | Part Two

As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm in the comfort of my childhood home, staring out into the familiar backyard full of trees that have now gone bare in preparation for the Winter. I wait now for the 28 foot trailer to be parked in the driveway, signaling the official and very real start of my coast to coast move.

Sigh.

I can't believe this is happening...

I'll share with you now the remainder of my trip out to San Diego, before it becomes home. [If you missed Part One, you can read it here!]

That Friday morning, I woke up and headed off to Apartment #3 which I had high hopes for! I was so excited after viewing it, that I filled out the application on the spot and had a nice, little chat with the landlord about life, theatre, earthquakes, and bugs... obviously. A girl's gotta be prepared! I drove around the neighborhood and surrounding area; checked out the nearby Target and Vons [gosh, I love Vons] and then picked up some sushi for lunch.

Later that afternoon, I had a fun sit-down chat with a San Diego-based jewelry designer which was a blast. On the way to her house, I certainly felt like I was driving the crazy steep hills of San Francisco! After the stop sign in the picture below, the street pretty much drops off...

After that, as I impatiently awaited the dessert date I had later that day, I received a phone call from the landlord that I was all approved and the apartment was MINE! Hallelujah! Yet another surreal moment, knowing everything was coming together. Doors were being opened. My path was being paved right before my eyes!

I could go and sign the lease the next morning. But, first... it was time for a dessert date with some awesome San Diego ladies! 

+ Hollie [from Hollie Takes Notes - now Hello Indigo]

+Tammy [from Lemons, Avocados, and the Bay]

+Jessica [owner/designer of Rose Rags]

and moi :) We went to a fun, little place in the ever-so-trendy and eccentric Hillcrest neighborhood. The place was called Chocolat and is the perfect spot to go if you're craving yummy crepes, gelato, or other desserts!

Hollie, Me, Jessica, Tammy :)

We went next door to a store full of sunglasses and I just had to pick up a pair! Then, we went across the street to probably the coolest thrift store I have ever seen. It was Halloween weekend in Hillcrest which definitely made for some great laughs, especially in that store!

I sure am lucky to already have a group of friends when I move to San Diego that I just adore. I can't wait for our next outing soon!

On Saturday, after SIGNING MY LEASE and getting my KEYS [!!!!] I spent some time in Balboa Park. It had been years since I had last visited so, while I was familiar with the area, it was still new enough to be a fun adventure for me. Balboa Park is a must for those visiting the area!

Balboa Park is full of museums, gardens, and even the world-famous San Diego Zoo. It is the perfect place to walk, explore, enjoy the beautiful Spanish architecture, and take in all the sights and sounds of San Diego. "Breathtaking" is a great word to describe this historical park!

As I walked through Balboa Park and explored the area that would soon become my home, I felt a way I had never felt before. Truly at peace. I felt as though whatever life brought my way, I would be okay. I felt a happiness so deep in my soul. I had never before been so excited for what my future held.

Moving to a new city where you only know a few people, is such an exciting thing for me. It's the times when you have to create your own world out of endless possibilities that really make me come alive. So, it was in those moments at Balboa Park... being a lone explorer in a park with so much rich history, so many people visiting from all over the world that I felt life.

I really can't believe I get to call this beautiful place HOME in only a few more days! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to visit San Diego and even more grateful for the chance I have to move there. 

San Diego Trip | Part One

Now that I've made my big announcement, I'm sure you're dying to see what else I was up to on my trip/what my new city looks like through my eyes. Lucky for you, I decided to share :) Except, not all the details. If you want my new address to send me house warming cards/gifts, you'll have to ask ;) Just kidding...

Without further ado, let's recap, shall we?

Southwest should seriously hire me, yes? I am totally their number one cheerleader and now photographer. This is what 6am flights out of DC look like as you fly West. Helloooo, sunrise! And then you land in Denver where it is a Winter Wonderland and temps are below 30 degrees and you literally shiver your way back onto the plane. Remember when we talked about the dreaded walk onto the plane here?

But the flight out from Denver is always one of my top U.S. favorites because of the Rockies.

The Rockies and the Grand Canyon are beautiful to fly over. They always make me grateful to live in such a diverse and breathtaking country. The Wild West takes my breath away.

Note: always sit on the wing.

Finally, I landed in sweet Sun Diego around breakfast time [Pacific Time. It was past lunch time for this Atlantic Time girl!] Then it was off to find my rental car and begin the fun that was House Hunters: San Diego!

Yes, that would be house number one and 1/4 of house number one's backyard/resort. The landlord and I talked a great deal about San Diego weather and coyotes. That's right - coyotes. This would not be the only time, either...

Then, it was time to check in to the hotel [where I'd always stayed when I'd visit my brother] and feed this poor East Coast girl's growling stomach. In-N-Out it was. Tough decision.

Let me just say it now - when I'm on vacation, there's generally no holding back. I don't count calories. If I want to eat In-N-Out twice, I will. If I want a shake, you got it. Ice cream in the middle of the day from the vending machine? That might have happened. No shame. The starving that occurred on the flights out and back home made up for it ;)

After In-N-Out, I went back to the hotel to crash for an hour before my last apartment hunting appointment of the day. This apartment was in a different neighborhood, a little further North from the first. I ended up LOVING the apartment but didn't love the street it was on and it was toward the top of my price range. PLUS all utilities. Meh. It ranked #2, with the apartment earlier that day ranking at #3 and the final apartment [that I hadn't seen yet] already at #1. I just had a good feeling...

[Does this remind you of an episode of House Hunters yet? Will she choose the house with the large backyard? The updated but pricey unit just North of downtown? Or the...]

I have a fun treat for you tomorrow and then we'll get back to the remainder of my Sun Diego trip [and a little SoCal get-together I had with fellow blogger friends!] later!

A few of you have some specifics questions about my move and the process I've gone through. Feel free to email me and we can chat!

In addition, since I'm an experienced cross-country mover, I figured I'll blog throughout the process with any tips and advice I have for those of you who want to be gutsy too ;)

Sometimes You Need to Get Away

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." -

Isak Dinesen

I've always believed that quote to be true and this past Thursday thru Sunday certainly proved that. My mini-vacation to Virginia Beach was a success! As I mentioned before, VA Beach is kind of like a second home to me. It is the place I spent every single Summer growing up - all the way through my early twenties. The drive down to the beach was full of nostalgia. From the way it felt to drive through the tunnel to where we stopped for lunch. I was so excited for this much-needed trip.

I got a lot of time on this trip to just think. Away from the computer and work desk and traffic and social media, this was life. Days full of moments of life felt in every aspect.

My mind was clear. I felt alive. I was happy. I was me.

My heart is bursting at the seams to write about those things. So, while I prepare those thoughts, here's a little of what my Virginia Beach journey looked like:

Let me start off by saying that I've been to a lot of different U.S. beaches/vacationing spots and Virginia Beach will always [minus California] be my favorite beach to visit. It has everything I could want in a beach: hotels, an amazing boardwalk, nightlife, tons of restaurants, history, attractions!

Upon arriving in VA Beach Thursday afternoon, we checked in to the Marriott Courtyard on 37th and Atlantic, then headed to the beach to put our toes in the water.

After showering, getting ready, and doing a little more balcony people watching, we walked a few blocks to dinner at Doughboy's! Doughboy's is a VB "must" in my opinion if you like delicious pizza! I ended up going with the Mediterranean pizza and it was literally one of the best pizzas I have ever had. [Note: Be sure to pick up the little Sunny Day Guide in your hotel or on the street. It is full of coupons!]

The rest of the night was spent on the balcony, enjoying the ocean breeze and doing a lot of people watching on the boardwalk.

On Friday, after enjoying a light, yummy breakfast in our hotel, I walked a little bit of "The Strip" and looked in some shops. I don't care how cliche and gimmicky those beach stores are - I still love them. Then, we headed out to the beach for a day of fun in the sun. The weather was perfect!

That night, we decided to walk the boardwalk to one of the newer VB spots, Neptune's Park on 31st Street. At that point, we didn't have a good plan so we aimlessly walked around trying to decide where to go for dinner and settled on a buffet. My family never went to the buffets growing up, so why we went this weekend, I'll never know, ha.

Let me just say that I am a seafood junkie so eating anything other than seafood or Doughboy's at the beach, just wasn't an option. Although the food at King of the Sea [the buffet we went to] wasn't the greatest, I got my seafood :)

After stuffing our tummies, we headed back to Neptune's Park for a live band! They played tons of fun cover songs and lots of dancing was involved. There was a nice breeze off the coast and the weather was so perfect for the last evening of the Summer! I ended the night with a killer run. Killer. I actually beat my best mile time which I set back in 10th grade and hadn't been able to beat until now! I was so ecstatic and feeling good so I sat on the boardwalk to stare out at the ocean of blackness as I cooled off. Another great night it was.

Mind-clearing can work wonders, friends!

The final day, Saturday, was full of decent waves for the East Coast. I woke up that morning to watch the sunrise [again.] Seriously, who AM I? As the sun rose into the sky, surfboards filled the water :) First, we spent some time by the pool/waterfalls. The rest of the day we were out in the salty Atlantic challenging those waves and, boy, was it a rush! I've always felt so alive and at peace in the ocean.

For dinner that night, we went to the far South end of "The Strip" toward Rudee Inlet to a place called "Big Sam's." It was definitely one of those "hole in the wall, local" spots but aren't those always the best? This one sure was! Get this - it was the only place we went to that actually had a wait! It was right on the water and the smell of seafood was in the air! I got the Oysters Rockefeller! So yum! If you're like me and love everything about surfing, sit in the first booth and you'll be with Kelly Slater ;)

We left and enjoyed a tasty ice cream treat because you have to get ice cream at the beach, right? I couldn't believe how exhausted I was [and how sunburned my lips were!] so I was about ready for bed once we got back to the hotel and I packed up. I enjoyed one last sunrise the next morning before driving back to Northern Virginia...

So, there you have it - some of the happenings of my reunion with Virginia Beach. I'll never get enough of that place. It comforts me, rejuvenates me, and brings me back to what is important.

Off to an Old, Familiar Place

I've written three different drafts in one day. Four, if you count this one. Sometimes I just want to write because I feel like I have so much on my heart. But most of those drafts go unpublished because they never feel like enough. It's so hard for me to express myself lately.

I've just been this changing person.

In one year, my religion has changed, my marital status has changed, my family dynamics have changed, my social life has changed, and my friends have changed. I've teeter-tottered back and forth on a few of those things which I had the power to change. Part of me couldn't let go of what other people would say or think.

I am tired of feeling bad for the life I want to live. Whether that's who I was before or not.

Life changes. And it changes you. It sure changed me.
As I wrote last week, I'm learning to take the power back. I'm learning that it's okay to go after the things I want and to say "no" to the things I don't. 

I made the last minute decision this past Sunday night to go on a mini-vacation.

I need this time away from DC to just focus on the things
that matter to me at this point in my life.

I'll be leaving tomorrow to go back to the place where I spent every
Summer growing up and a lot of time while in college. 
I won't be blogging [although I'm sure I'll be tweeting and Instagramming - because let's be honest, I just love my bloggy friends too much!]

When things get crazy in life, when you have big decisions to make, and some life-changing plans to make - I think everyone could use a little time away. Clear the mind. Nurture the soul :) I'm hoping this change of pace and scenery will help clear some of the fog and will help rejuvenate me for what's to come.

There's something about going back to an old, familiar place - the familiar sounds, the smells, the way it all feels... Here are some hints about where I'll be:

In the mean time, sign up for Project Inspire here!
I'm also in need of some new songs for my playlist while my toes are in the sand and in the water :) So, leave the jams you're currently listening to in the comments below!

Seagulls and the sound of the waves crashing, here I come!

A Vegas Goodbye

Now, here's the last of Vegas. [Find the first two recaps here and here.] Also, I'm being featured today on Hollie's blog. You'll be sure to learn a thing or two about me so head on over there, too :)

Back to the recap. Since the Neon Boneyard had been such an unexpected disappointment, luckily, I had planned out another [and final] fun day for us. Thanks to my go-to Vegas girl Katy, I heard about the Shark Tank pool at the Golden Nugget and HAD to go! I have absolutely zero desire to ever swim with sharks, pet a shark, etc. so I really have no idea why this appealed to me so much. Maybe because it’s AWESOME? How many times can you say you’ve gone down a slide that went straight through a shark tank?!

So, we woke up and headed downtown to the Golden Nugget. If you’re not a hotel guest, it costs $20 a pop to get in. It probably would have been worth it if we could have stayed all day, but we were only there for 2 hours or so. The chaise lounges are super comfy, but limited. So, the earlier you get there, the more prime real estate you can get.

Soon after arriving, we were headed for the shark tank! We climbed the stairs and off we went, down the slide! The slide is enclosed and yellow but toward the end, everything goes kind of dark until you’re hurled into the pool. I didn’t realize it the first time going down, but the dark area is the shark tank! It happens so fast you can’t really see anything but it’s still fun! Now, this shark tank is smack dab in the middle of the pool. So, not only can you see all the colorful fish and big sharks through the glass, but you can watch other people go down the slide!

Another cool touch the pool had were the chaise lounges in the water! There’s a very shallow section of water with about a dozen white chairs in it, allowing you to lie out in the sun while also feeling the refreshing cool water!

The rest of the day progressively went downhill. I started realizing that all the hopes I had had for this being a refreshing trip of growth and togetherness were being put out by reality. The reality was, I saw the same man I had left eight months earlier in Utah. I was so afraid to admit it to myself – that he hadn’t changed, that I was still so unhappy with the way he treated me; the way he treated life. As the hours of our last full day together passed, that reality crept in. It was a painful, heart-wrenching blow to see that after all this time, and all the hope I had in my heart, I still had made the right decision to end our marriage.  Everyone wants to believe in love. Everyone wants to see the good – to see two people work hard at repairing something that had been shattered. I wanted SO badly to believe that that could happen. But it didn't.

Later on, we headed off to dinner at The Hard Rock Hotel followed by an evening on Fremont Street. The Fremont Street Experience is a must! I had wanted to visit this place for so long. The canopy that hangs above the street is the largest LED screen in the world! Every 15 minutes or so, a new “show” starts and everything around you stops as everyone looks up to watch and listen to a medley of music from artists such as Bon Jovi and Queen.

Then, once the show is over and the lights come back up, all the street performers start up again. But these street performers are the real deal – unlike the trash you’ll see on The Strip. There was an Al Pacino impersonator, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Wonder. You name it, they were there and they were GOOD! There are amazing street artists, saxophonists, and concerts going on all simultaneously. Quite the “Experience!” Has anyone ever done the zipline down Fremont? Is it worth it?

After a while, we left and went for a drive, although the time was filled mainly with silence. My eyes felt like they were constantly welled with tears as the reality finally sunk in for good. This was it. I could have listed a hundred different ways that he continued to hurt me and be so careless with my heart. But that was it. Through the loss of my mom and the end of my marriage, I learned something important: Sometimes time changes nothing at all.

I packed my bag that next morning, with this feeling in my gut that I couldn’t ignore. This was really it. No matter how many times he told me we’d continue to see where things went, it’s like my heart already knew this was the last chapter. I sat and waited as he showered and packed, checking my watch as time sped past. I had a flight to catch but that didn’t seem to phase him as he went along his merry way. For the first time ever in my life, I missed my flight. We had arrived at the airport too late for me to check in. He, of course, still managed to make his flight back to the city where we once lived together. After I hurriedly figured out a new flight leaving an hour later, we walked toward Security. We kissed, said, “I love you” and just like that… I knew that would be our final goodbye.

Goodbye, Vegas. Goodbye, love.

April in Vegas [Part Two]

It’s time for recap #2 of my trip to Vegas in April [you can catch part one here!] I feel like we probably spent 50-60% of our time in Vegas at the Venetian/The Palazzo. That’s definitely what these pictures hint at, at least! These pictures would also hint at the fact that I was hardly ever the one actually holding my camera throughout this trip as 50-60% of the pictures are of me… ha.

The Venetian is one of my favorite spots on The Strip because, well, Venice is one of my favorite places that I’ve visited. I love how so much of the resort closely resembles a lot of the sights in the real town itself. The electric blue water would be one of my only complaints.

I can’t get over how quickly time passed that day. Before, I knew it, we were headed back to Henderson to get ready for a double date dinner at PF Changs. Have you had dessert there? You really ought to get the Banana Spring Rolls: Crispy banana with coconut-pineapple ice cream. It’s like this dessert was created for me from Heaven. This was probably the highlight of my trip! Okay, just kidding. The sharks were…

After dinner, we took an evening drive over to the apartments I had taken a tour of the day prior [yep, that’s right. I was planning a potential move to Vegas.] Then, we headed back to The Strip. The Venetian to be specific. At the beginning of my trip, the ex had said he wanted to record a bunch of fun footage on video of us and put it together into a montage with music. So, the goal for the night was to get a lot of footage. We got A LOT. Me walking. Me walking some more. Pointing at random things. More excitement. Here’s an unedited version of what he had me doing:

The day left me exhausted with still a lot to be processed and thought about. Check back tomorrow to find out how this story ends [and to see some sharks, too.]


Where do you spend most of your time in Vegas?