Memorial Day Weekend

I live for weekends these days.

On Saturday we went to Monticello with a group of friends. It was a fabulous time.

Lillian had never been to Chick Fil A before (what??) so we stopped there for lunch. I'm on the right, in red.

Frank loves the Chick Fil A sauce so much that he brought a bunch of the extra packets home. I had to take a picture to tease him about.

Then we took a picture because clearly Chick Fil A is THE place for glamour shots.

We got to Monticello around 2 and our tour wasn't until 5:20 so we bummed around in the museum and gift shop for a while.

A tiny replica of the building:

I went a little crazy taking photos in the gift shop.

Cute little tea set:

I can't get enough of blue and white china. I dream of having a blue and white kitchen someday.

This cookbook looked so awesome.

After our excessive tour of the gift shop, we trekked up the hill to Monticello itself, making many stops along the way.

Our intrepid band:

First stop, Jefferson's tomb. My favorite part is his proud mention of religious freedom. A noble accomplishment indeed.

We picked clover flowers and wove them into little daisy chains. It was silly and fun and reminded me of grade school.

I told them, "Look like fairy princesses!" This is what I got:

Thanks, Lillian.

Lee found some four leaf clovers, confirming that he is indeed a leprechaun. My roommate modeled them:

We found a cute little "general store" halfway up the mountain with a huge stand of candy sticks. Those things really take me back to when I was a little girl and used to volunteer at a living history museum that sold tons of them. I loved the times when my parents used to let me get one after "work" (as a junior interpreter). Tutti-frutti was my favorite.

We finally made it up to Monticello for our tour! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but we got a few on the back steps.

Goofing around for our Bullingdon Club "pensive" photo.

After the tour we headed to UVA and to dinner at an awesome pub called The Virginian. I ordered a Cosmo and a rack of ribs, causing Frank to declare, "This is why I love you." Of course he helped me finish the ribs.

After dinner, Frank drove us home - all two and a half hours - while Lillian, Lee and me all fell asleep. We got home around 12:30 in the morning. Frank is a trooper, I must say. 

On Sunday Frank's friend Dean and his wife Morgan came to Mass with us. They're currently Anglican. Frank and I have developed a part-time hobby of inviting our non-Catholic friends to Mass with us. Dean loved the Mass and they both couldn't say enough good things about it. Afterwards we invited them over for brunch and they ended up staying over until well past dinner time, at which point the four of us adjourned to their house for an impromptu dinner. It was the longest brunch date of my life. :) Here are Frank and Dean discussing profound things (probably).

On Sunday, Frank thrilled me by planning a lovely day outing for us. We went to Solomon's Island in Maryland, rated one of America's happiest coastal towns. We went on a boat cruise, toured a lighthouse and saw baby otters at the local marine museum. I love otters (favorite animal) and he planned the trip with that in mind. That man. I tell you.

Admiring a crazy old-fashioned diving suit in the marine museum.

We stopped at the 7 Eleven for hydrating drinks (the day was so hot!) and noticed a sign in the window that cracked us up.

"We have Blood Worms"

Then we enjoyed the most amazing and delicious dinner at a darling restaurant on the pier. This was our view out the window next to our table:

Fresh crabs, definitely a highlight of the day:

And the carnage afterward:

Frank had an enormous and delicious crabcake sandwich:

While I enjoyed mussels in a white buttery sauce. 

It was exquisite, and I don't mean that lightly. Definitely one of the best meals of my life. And the company... I couldn't pick a better person to have dinner with. Happy four months, darling.