July 4th & a Rainy Beach Trip

Enjoy the July 4th parade
 The heat is on in Northern Virginia this summer!  So far it seems we are on pace for one of the hottest summers on record.  July 4th was no exception.  Despite the heat, Joe and Theresa opted for one July 4th tradition:  the annual Fairfax parade.  Anna opted out, preferring to stay in bed after working the night before.  The parade did not disappoint and included all of the requisite bands, local politicians, Shriners, and of course the Fairfax Library book cart drill team (always a crowd favorite).  Everyone hid in the house for the afternoon and the 95 degrees + heat.  Fortunately, thunderstorms rolled through prior to the fireworks (Anna did reluctantly join her parents for the Fairfax fireworks).

Since Anna has been working hard and this is her last summer before college, the family decided to do a last-minute beach trip to Virginia Beach.  As luck would have it, after no real rain for weeks it rained every day from the first full day until the last full day of the trip.  As the family left Virginia Beach to head home, there was not a cloud in the sky.  Anna took her friend Victoria along, so that ensured she did not need to hang out with her parents.  She also drove separately to accommodate packing, including taking Benny along.  A few key lessons from the trip:

1.  Plan ahead and get a rental beach side.  While we had a great place that was two blocks from the beach, it was a lot of shlepping of stuff.

2.  Don't go to a location where you or your teenager can simply recreate the existing routine.  Thanks to the rain, internet service and Wawa, Anna and Vic spent most of their time locked in the room watching YouTube or other social media platforms and getting sandwiches at Wawa.

3.  Take a vacation at a remote location to truly disconnect (see point two).

4.  Only take 1 car - this would have forced more use of the bicycles and otherwise walking.

Benny enjoying the beach
On the plus side, we had a nice rental cottage that was well equipped with beach gear and bicycles.  There was a bike path at the end of the street to ride downtown Virginia Beach.  The house was also two blocks from a state park with great hiking trails in a cypress swamp, a bike trail, and a bay for boating/paddleboarding.  Theresa got her paddleboard out briefly (15 minutes) before the wind picked up and storm clouds started rolling.  She was able to do a little biking in the morning before the rain started.  We were also treated to air shows courtesy of the nearby naval air station.  Benny was happy to join the vacation and enjoyed walking on the beach and sniffing all of the trashcans (he wanted no part of the water).

You will note this post contains no pictures of Anna.  This is symbolic of how much her parents saw her.  Maybe next time....







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