Going way back to February

So...I told you that I would eventually finish blogging about February, and really the only part left is my visit to see Chris. Since I'm leaving again on Thursday, I figured I better get on that! It all started the Friday before Valentine's Day. I got on a plane to fly to Baltimore, where Chris would pick me up, and we would head to New Jersey. The flight over was pretty darn interesting, because I ended up sitting next to a girl whose boyfriend was in the same school as Chris, just a few months ahead. We ended up talking for almost the entire 4 hour trip.

After Chris picked me up at the airport, we headed to Chap's Pit Beef. It really does belong on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives...it was in the parking lot of a strip club! I would have taken more pictures, but let's just say that we were a little out of place and I didn't want to draw attention to us being there. The food was pretty darn amazing though, I recommend it if you are ever in Baltimore. I did manage to get one picture of Chris eating his sandwich. Think a really good homemade version of Arby's...they even have their own version of Horsey Sauce.

From there, we started the trek to New Jersey. I never realized how much toll roads really are everywhere in the Northeast. We must have taken at least 4 of them. At one point I had to start driving because Chris was so tired, luckily I was still on Arizona time, so it wasn't a big deal. Plus, we were already in New Jersey, and with the help of Tom Tom, I managed to get us all the way to the house. We got inside and pretty much went to bed...we were both exhausted.

We woke up the next day and got around to finally eating breakfast. That was an experience in itself. For those who have ventured to the EC before, you might have been fortunate enough to visit Wawa. Wawa is this amazing convenience store where you can order your food from a touch screen at a giant counter, and they have people making it for you. The food was soooo good too. Not your typical convenience store taquito or anything. I ended up with a breakfast sandwich on a baguette, and Chris got a breakfast sandwich, and a breakfast bowl. We also got a box of Enteman's donuts and ate the entire box in one day. It was bad, but oh so good. After that we ventured to the library, which has the best selection of DVD's ever. Basically, the library gets a ton of money from the state, and they spend a lot of it on DVDs. We probably watched 6 or so while we were there. We also went grocery shopping, and finished off Valentine's day with Buffalo Chicken pizza and Valentine's Day cake. It's our own little tradition, but each year Chris makes me a heart shape cake. We certainly had a debate over the flavor, but I ended up winning, going with strawberry cake and cream cheese frosting.

Sunday we headed out for pancakes at Uncle Bill's. It was crazy how many people where there. It's one of the few places open there in the winter, so it seemed like everyone in Avalon was there. I had peanut butter pancakes, and was pretty happy, although it only came with pancakes, no sides, and the price wasn't super great. Still good though. After that we hung out until the afternoon and headed out to Stone Harbor and Wildwood. Stone Harbor is a neighboring town, where we did some window shopping, and then headed to WIldwood. We had intended on going to Duffers, my ice cream place of choice, however, it turned out they were closed :( I was very sad, so we ended up going to another diner that Chris used to frequent since we were both pretty hungry. It wasn't the the same, but the food was good. That night we hung out, watched movies, and I made lasagna for dinner.

Monday we just hung out and went to the beach until it was time for us to leave. We had another dose of Wawa on the way back to Maryland, and I had a pretty uneventful flight back. That pretty much sums it up. I did manage to go running once, and we walked on the beach twice. It was amazing how many people were bundled up walking on the beach. Here's a last shot of us on the jetty.

PS. This time around, I am bringing my computer, so I should be able to stay up to date with this trip.

Happy Birthday Dad!

An official Happy Birthday blog-style to my dear Dad, James Richard Schroeder (known to everyone as Jim, or Jimmy if you are one of the few). Yesterday was the big day, celebrating number 52 in style. My parents and I went to a new place for dinner, The TexAz Grill, for some chicken fried steak. I must admit it was probably the best chicken fried steak I've ever eaten. I'll post the pictures from dinner when I can get home and download them. The portions were monstrous!

Happy Birthday Dad from your only child! You've always done so much for me, especially over the past 6 months. I am overwhelmed with how much you've helped me out, from my 6:00am call about a "crisis" to coming over to mow my lawn, to walking my dog almost every single day at 5:00pm. And I certainly can't forget the countless weekends you and mom were at our house helping us shovel thousands of pounds of rock.

What's The Weather?

That's been my question the last week or so. More specifically, what's the weather going to be like in Virginia when I go visit Chris next week. Normally I know its just going to be cold, so I pack up my sweaters and uggs and jacket and call it good. This time around is going to be a little more stressful. First, I am only taking a carry on. That's right, no checked bags for this notorious over packer. The reason? I am flying on an employee pass (thanks aunt cathi!) so I am essentially flying standby. I don't want to mess with trying to check a bag at the very last minute. Second stresser, the weather there is wacko. It was 85, then it snowed the next day. Now, thanks to http://www.weather.com/, it's saying that its going to be in the upper 50's and lower 60's during the day. I'm sorry, but it hasn't been in the 50's and 60's during the day here in Arizona for at least a month or so. I don't even remember what the 50's feel like. What did I wear during that time? So needless to say, I spend way too much time thinking to myself about what I'm going to pack. I want to look cute but casual, after all, I'll be spending a lot of time with Marines, not a whole lot of fashionistas there. I am going to a big bbq though for all of the men and women at Chris' school on Friday, and it's the first time I'm meeting a lot of his friends and instructors.

Any ideas of things I should bring? I bought these shoes yesterday, hoping that I can get away with them and a pair of flip flops and heels for the entire 4 days. Seriously, I take any and all suggestions!