Back from the Break.

"Virginia is for Lovers®." Throw into the mix a few whiny, pre-teen kids, some parents who (slightly) despise their children and unpredictable, uncertain weather, Virginia becomes more of a trying experience. Like the away episode of The Brady Bunch, where Bobby finds the bad luck tiki idol, except ours was embodied in a 6 year old, the whole vacation bordered on The Surreal Life without Flava Flav and Corey Feldman.

This vacation wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, meant to be an amorous one. The BF had thought it fun to hitch along with his brother's family, whom I'll refer to as the A's, to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. Colonial Williamsburg was on the short list but we never made it. JA was also joining us and she would be sharing a room with the BF and I. In the process, the brother's neighbor, the S's (husband, wife and two kids) had invited themselves along. Taken in small doses, they're tolerable, however, extended exposure is not recommended. The A's were reticent when the S's "requested" to come along. Reality: The S's had already booked before asking and the A's were less than joyful with their accompaniment.

With all this to look forward to, we still went.

Wednesday

We set out on Wednesday morning by car. The drive was uneventful.

Along the way I discovered that AutoLove had been subjected to more external abuse from other parked cars. I seethed as I mentally figured out the what, where, when, why and how the streaked scratches occured. Someone apparently opened the backdoor of their truck with spare wheel attached, rubbing it good along the passenger side front lamp and hood area, most likely the night before by my parent's home. I'll be returning to the scene of the crime with a bag of hate.

Things learned:
Maryland is FILLED with state troopers. Be wary.
When the BF's brother, J, says he knows where he's going, good chance he's wrong.

Having set out at 9:30 from SI, we arrived at our hotel by 4:30PM.
Not a bad drive. The S's were already there. We'd hoped to hit Busch Gardens that night. It started to rain and thunder as we unloaded the cars and there was plenty of lightening, so the park was out. We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel bar, a highly overrated experience, especially as this began the cycle listening to the whining of the S kids. We ate overly priced hotel food and drank many beers, played pool, darts and whatever else that would keep us busy.

I checked out the "new" work out facility which included some elliptical machines, treadmills, steps and dumbbells, of which the heaviest was 35 lbs., with no benches to be found. Great. It was obvious I'd benefit more from rest than trying to do any kind of work out.

Wednesday was a wash. Literally.

Thursday

We headed out to Busch Gardens as early as we could. The weather was overcast and iffy. We were hoping to get in as much as we could before any inclement weather came in.

If you've never been to Busch Gardens, here's a brief description: a pale version of Epcot Disney, recreating Europe as one long American propaganda-filled, beer commercial. Dig? It's got four roller coasters, if you're into that sort a thing, which I'm not. We hit the Roman Rapids (yes, I know, C-H-E-E-S-Y) to cool off. Most of us were soaked, but figured that that would dry off. Big mistake, big. The humidity made it impossible. We were moist for the entire time we were there.

Some of the group ran off to the roller coasters and the rest of us hung out. It was now I was subjected to the incessant whining of the youngest S child. Completely unbearable. Of course, he whined to his mother as his father would crack him upside the head. Kids these days, they are so manipulative. He'd only do it when it was in the presence of someone beside his family, knowing full well that his mother would want to shut him up and not embarrass herself by smacking him upside head. I'm not for physically disciplining a child, but he certainly pushed my limits. I did however shut him up by whining louder, mocking him.

We stayed till 4 when we all decided to return to the hotel and change for Water Country. We were all hot and needed to cool off. The weather was still cloudy and overcast, threatening to rain, but held and fortunately continued to hold at the water park. Arriving late was a great idea as most people had started to leave. We were able to run through a few rides with little to no wait.

The evening was relatively quiet with more of the same from the night before, beer, darts, pool and food in the hotel. Yawn. I ended up staying up late, watching the Discovery Channel which I don't do often but thoroughly enjoy, for the simple reason that, I'm fascinated by history, shipwrecks, and human feats of engineering. These were all found in "Raising the Kursk."

Yes, it's been * start semi-sarcasm* a fantastic vacation. *end semi-sarcasm*

Friday

Weather was spotty and uncertain (again). Thursday in reverse, Water Country and then Busch Gardens. At WC, I took my place my the *start cheesy* Hubba Hubba Highway *end cheesy*, a lazy river deal and stayed there. The kids ran like maniacs to the rides but since it was earlier in the day, I wasn't going to wait 15-20 mins for 30 secs of ride. It's all cock tease and no orgasm. JA nearly fainted from heat stroke and I was more than happy to take her back to the hotel, as was the BF. We'd learned to just avoided being around the kids. They just weren't fun.

We hit Busch Gardens later. The roller coaster group ran off to hit the remaining coasters, the loop-de-loop ones. Magnificent engineering, guaranteed cookie toss if I went. We took in a few shows, one in faux Ireland, a la Riverdance. To be honest, it ran a bit long in the tooth. We waited till 10 for the final park show Imaginque. It was very Cirque du Soleil and lots of fun.

It was back to the hotel for a little beer and bed. Although the History Channel had something on Jack the Ripper, no TV.

Saturday

Avoided the kids and slept late. It was the best morning, weather-wise. Figures. Packed up and headed out. It was a long drive with plenty of traffic and bad weather. Nothing to report except I wanted really let out with AutoLove but BF was watching my speedometer and told me to slow down at 90 mph. Party pooper.

End madness, I mean vacation.