Image Credit: quotesberry.com

The last weekend in July, Al and I road-tripped up to Doswell, Virginia, the home of Kings Dominion!

Neither of us had been back to KD for several summers, so we were looking forward to meeting up with Katie, Brian, Mike, Justin, and Heaven for a little weekend getaway.

We all stayed at the Best Western Kings Quarters, which was on the KD property. Justin and Heaven had gone on their own mini-vacation in June and recommended the KD package, which included the room reservations and tickets to the park. The hotel was awesome! There was a full-service Denny’s in the place, where we enjoyed a group dinner together on Saturday night. The food was excellent too, and all the staff were so nice and friendly.

Al and I arrived on Saturday afternoon, after a frustrating morning of several traffic jams. While planning this trip, Katie and Justin made a deal. Katie would wear a Ravens shirt, if Justin wore a Steelers shirt. So, naturally, I knew I had to show up in my new Packers shirt 🙂

L to R: Justin, Laura Beth, and Katie.

Even though we could walk to the park from the hotel lobby, Al and I decided to fork over the $15.00 for parking. As we pulled up to the attendant, $20 bill in hand, she looks me up and down. She smiles and says, “What is that on your shirt?”

“That happens to be a Green Bay Packers shirt, ma’am.”

She got so excited she could hardly speak.

“Wow … That’s so awesome … Wow! Well, you know what, you made my day … I’d show you my Packers tattoo if I could [on her leg/ankle] … But because of that shirt, no charge for you two!”

Al and I look at each other, dumbfounded

“Uhhhhh … Wow! Thank you, so much. Who are we to argue?”

She smiles and hands us the $20 back.

“Go Packers, and welcome to Kings Dominion! Have a great day!”

Saturday was full of great fun. The photo above was taken after we’d gotten completely soaked on White Water Canyon.

All of us rode Intimidator 305, except for Justin and Mike. After waiting a fairly long time, we all realized that we were actually in line for the first row. I’m not normally scared of any roller coasters or heights, but that realization made my stomach sink.

Brian rode by himself. Katie and Heaven rode together next. Al and I were last. I remember watching the lift cable come down to hook up to the train and I look at Al, feeling panicky, yelling, “This was NOT A GOOD IDEA!”

For the first time in my life, I closed my eyes on a roller coaster. Sure, it was only about 10 seconds of that first drop, but I was absolutely terrified. It was such a rush though! My hands didn’t stop shaking until about five minutes after we got off the ride though.

I was happy that we rode first row on one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world, but I can’t say I’ll be doing that again.

The rest of Saturday was spent walking the park, catching up, and making our way to the newly-expanded Soak City water park. It was crazy crowded, but I was impressed. It felt like a mini-Water Country was dropped in the middle of Kings Dominion!

Paradise Plunge was one of the best decisions. You step into one of three chambers, either red, yellow, or orange, and cross your arms and ankles. Then, the floor suddenly drops out and you plunge feet-first. It was such an awesome ride!

Al and I both wore our FitBits for the majority of the weekend (We didn’t take our chances at Soak City – They’re not supposed to be submerged at all), and we both clocked around 25,000 steps by the end of Sunday!

We wrapped up at the park and headed back to the hotel for showers and relaxing. We all met up for dinner. Later on, we met up in the room that Katie, Brian, and Mike had reserved. Katie brought Cards Against Humanity, and Al and I brought Epic Spell Wars. We had a great time; we stayed up past 1:00 a.m. killing each other with amazing spells and laughter.

The other awesome thing that happened was Justin had a small gift for Al and I. He had found a frame with a bunch of vintage Star Wars cards online, and he gave us the cards. It’s so cool! I don’t have a picture at the moment, but being surprised with those, knowing that we are big Star Wars fans, was AWESOME!

Sunday was a slower day. We all met up for lunch at the Jukebox Diner – Delicious burgers!

The Juke Box Diner, seen from the Eiffel Tower observation deck.

We hung out for a few more hours, and then capped off the weekend by exploring the replica of the Eiffel Tower.

The base of the tower, waiting for the elevator to take us to the observation deck.

Best Western Kings Quarters, seen from the Eiffel Tower observation deck.

Partial panorama of the park, including Volcano and Intimidator 305.

Justin and Laura Beth.

Al and Laura Beth 🙂

Photo montage!

Re-creation of a photo that was taken in 2010.
L to R: Laura Beth, Brian, and Katie.

The whole gang!
L to R: Al, Laura Beth, Brian, Justin, Heaven, Katie, and Mike.

WindSeeker ascending – View from the Eiffel Tower observation deck.

The guys.
L to R: Al, Justin, Brian, and Mike.

The girls.
L to R: Laura Beth, Heaven, and Katie.

The Longwood crew! All five of us are Longwood University graduates 🙂

Heaven and Justin holding “Robin,” their prize from one of the arcades.

Thanks for the memories, KD!

The Kings Dominion 40th Anniversary sign.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: amazingquot.blogspot.com

Lyndsey came to visit this weekend. She and I talk on the phone regularly, we try to talk at least once a month; but we haven’t seen each other since May 2014.

On Friday, Lyndsey arrived around 7:00. My mom made delicious pork kebabs with pineapple and peppers, yummy! We all shared stories and laughs for a good while, before Al, Lyndsey, and I left for Norfolk. Nick’s band, Without Lines, was headlining a show at Belmont House of Smoke.

Before heading to Norfolk, we dropped by Al’s house for him to get his camera and earplugs for Lyndsey. As we drove near the house, several neighbors were outside. There was a mama black bear and her three cubs, high up in a pine tree!

Bad Weather Birds played first – They were pretty good. All three of us had earplugs in, which was a good thing, considering we were sitting next to one of the speakers! Their cover of “Don’t You Forget About Me” was awesome!

Then, Without Lines took the stage and proceeded to rock out!

Check out the photos below:

Bad Weather Birds – Brent, John, Joe, and Padric.

Without Lines – Left to right: Dani, Nick, Dan, and John.

We didn’t get home until close to 1:30 a.m., but it was totally worth it.

On Saturday, we all slept in. It was wonderful!

Around noon, Lyndsey and I went to get lunch for the three of us at Zaxby’s. Yum!

At Al’s, we watched Penguins of Madagascar. It was cute 🙂

After lunch, we made a decision on seeing a movie. Earlier last week, Lyndsey had said she was interested in seeing either Spy or Ted 2.

Image Credit: http://www.caroljoynt.com

It was such a funny movie! Melissa McCarthy was a great choice. It was a good story too. We all laughed our asses off! All three of us would highly recommend it.

After the movie, we headed back toward Al’s. We stopped at Gianna’s Pizzeria on the way and picked up a white pizza and garlic knots. My car still smells amazing!

We ate dinner, and then Al and I introduced Lyndsey to Munchkin. So much fun 🙂

On Sunday, I got up early and got ready for church. Lyndsey and I enjoyed breakfast, before heading off to church. Yesterday was our new senior pastor’s first official Sunday. The church was almost full, which was a very pleasant sight to see. Pastor Randy gave a great message on prayer.

After the service, there was a “Welcome Home” brunch for Pastor Randy and his family. Pastor Randy is married to Robin, and they have three sons, Robbie, Ricky, and Ryan.

The food was delicious, and there was lively piano music from one of our talented women. Then there was a short set of welcome to the Duncans. Then the whole Duncan family stood around the piano and serenaded everyone with a beautiful song, “He Touched Me.” They all have great voices!

Lyndsey, Laura Beth, and Al 🙂

Lyndsey and I went back to my house, where we proceeded to talk and reminisce for several more hours. Finally, after 5:00, I directed Lyndsey to BJ’s so she could get the cheapest gas possible, and then she left for home. She had a safe trip and texted me last night to say she had gotten home safe.

This was such an awesome weekend!

Definitely not waiting another year to get together.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂