NC, Fall Fun, Trials Week

Two weekends ago, Mike and I went to North Carolina to visit with his family. 

When Mike picked me up at work, we couldn't resist starting off the trip with Captain Cookie! He has a storefront one block away from me. I got ginger molasses with pumpkin ice cream and Mike got ginger molasses and funfetti with black cherry ice cream.

Traffic was horrible on 95, but Mike was a champ driving and we made it to Raleigh in time for dinner with Leslie. I was still feeling a little ill with a sore throat (Mike and I had been sick the whole week prior), so I opted for a ginger martini at dinner and spicy Thai soup. 

Saturday morning Leslie and I did a Pilates class together that was offered by her apartment building! I didn't realize how much I'd been neglecting my stretching and yoga! It was hard but a great way to start the morning. Plus, mike got to sleep in.

We spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning in Burlington with Ween, Daddy Jim, and Jim. Leslie ate lunch with us on Saturday. I should have taken more pictures of Ween's meals, but let's just say there was homemade pumpkin ice cream. No time for pictures:)

On the return trip Sunday, we stopped by Raleigh again for brunch at Tazza kitchen. I was intrigued by "bacon butter".

Huevos rancheros for Leslie and me. Mike got his usual:)

Rupert was SO happy when we finally made it home! He spent some time re-claiming Mike's lap as his spot.

This past weekend, Rupert had to go to the vet on Saturday morning for his rabies shot, and then we had a "Fall party" on Saturday night watching scary movies and making things with apples other people picked. 

So there is a video circulating online about how to make these rose apple pastries. Steph was the mastermind, but I can actually say I assembled about half under her supervision. They are the best, and I can't wait to make them again on my own!

Mike has gotten really good at making cast iron skillet pizzas. He even put spinach in this one for me❤️

This week is a big one for Mike. He has a trial that should be finished by the end of it, and then he'll be moving on to his next rotation in "internships" (command services). This is all my understanding of it so I'm sure I'm getting it wrong. What this means is he's working late a lot and we don't know yet if we'll be able to travel to Williamsburg for our Hallowscream vacation at Busch Gardens this upcoming weekend. Hopefully we will!

Ships Move

I am not on a carrier right now. I was supposed to be on one for the week, but as our CO told us, "this is a good lesson in the Navy. Stuff happens and ships move." "Stuff happens" may or may not be a loose paraphrase of the actual phrase he used. We are in the Navy, after all.

In addition to ships, we also move. The Sunday before this past Sunday Kelsey and I (and most of my command) ran a half marathon. 

It went well!

There was some collateral damage.

Some other junior officers from my office.

That Monday I had permission to skip work and hang out with an honor flight coming from Indiana. All of the veterans on the flight fought in Vietnam and most had never seen their memorial. They all made fun of us for being staff officers, which was fair coming from them. They seemed to appreciate having folks in uniform to accompany them. The random tourists at the monuments also seemed to be blinded and dazzled by the summer whites to the point that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I had to say "one more person and then no more pictures." 

In another work outing, last Friday we got to put on our civilian clothes and take a tour of the Naval Academy. It was the most beautiful college campus where students aren't allowed to enjoy themselves that I've ever seen. Highlights included watching the lunch formation, which included a bagpipe procession to the tune of the theme from Top Gun. Well done, pipers.

The pipers get a place of honor in the center, as it should be.

More importantly, last weekend we were able to meet up with Courtney and Ashton and Melissa. There will be lots of times that I can be on a ship, but Ashton will not be this cute forever, so that's a fair trade.

And Ashton understands the import of the season.