Auto Train Adventure

Easter brunch was brief, I mentioned, but I never said why. Well, we had an appointment to visit Florida via the Amtrak Auto Train. After inhaling our banana pudding, we hoped in the car and headed south for Lorton, VA.

We boarded the train at 4:00, and off we went!

A delicious supper was at 5:00 in the dining car...

And lots of laughter was found there, too. :)

Oh, and chicken.

And a little more laughter.

Then we walked over to the lounge car for a round of Bhonanza, also known as the Bean Game. Only one round, mind you, 'cause by the end we were all ready for some sleep. (Not that there was a lot of that, either.)

And by sunrise next morning, there it was: Florida. Good to be back.

Easter Sunday

was bright and cheerful, as all Resurrection Days should be!

We took our annual picture in the yard -- look here to compare it to past years. I think we've done a lot of growing up here in MD!

After church we had a whirlwind of an Easter brunch with our fellowship group (plus one dear family). It was a fun, albeit brief, time to celebrate Christ's love with believers.

Yeah, we're gonna miss these folks.

Passover

In Which Henley Turns One...

(And some Russell twins, just 'cause they're too cute not to post. :D)

Williamsburg, Day 2

Did we choose a good time to visit Williamsburg or what? Tulips AND Cherry Blossoms?

And delicious looking vegetable gardens?

(It's unanimous around here...)

And little baby lambs?

And crazy, overtired girls double-buckled for three hours?

Williamsburg, Day 1

To start, the Palace Gardens were at their finest for our two days in Williamsburg with flower beds brimming over with tulips of every color imaginable.

After spending a good bit of time wandering around the gardens, oo-ing and ah-ing over the flowers and animals, we headed back to the rest of the town.

We saw some tradesmen, toured some homes, and the like.

Day one? A success.

Another Colonial Adventure

This time, however, we went with our dear cousins from VA and friends from PC. We started with Jamestown. The original Jamestown, that is. Instead of opting for the (expensive) living history site, we stopped by the original building site on the James River, upon Aunt Lee's suggestion. And are we ever glad!

Walking around the site was fascinating -- volunteers were strategically positioned to help visitors get their colonial bearings, and beautiful monuments marked momentous locations (like the landing spot of the first English settlers and Confederate earthworks from the War era).

By far one of the neatest things at Jamestown was the archeoarium which housed a thrilling collection of finds from the site. We're so glad we stopped.

After Jamestown, we drove down a little ways to our nice condos for our visit (thanks to Groupon!).

And pulled pork sandwiches sealed the deal: this little trip was getting off to a great start.