Yesterday, Al and I drove up to Richmond to reunite with our friends Drew, Katie, Justin, and Heaven. The six of us hadn’t gotten together since January!

The main reason for the get-together was this:

Image Credit: http://www.denofgeek.us

All of us were excited to see Avengers: Age of Ultron. Drew, Justin, and I had bought the tickets online late last week.

I won’t spoil anything, but I will say this: If you like the Avengers, go see this movie in the theater. It’s totally worth the money!

The movie was at 5:15, so Al and I drove up in the morning. We hung out with Drew and Justin before Katie and Heaven arrived. We’re all big fans of John Oliver and his show Last Week Tonight, so the four of us watched his episode on Government Surveillance. I hadn’t watched it, and it was very compelling.

Watching that prompted Al to suggest the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply. Al and I watched it together on Netflix a while ago, but neither Drew nor Justin had seen it, so we watched it. It’s startling.

Image Credit: imdb.com

We decided to head to the movie theater after that, and it was perfect timing. Katie was pulling into the driveway as we were walking to my car, so we all piled in my car and headed to the theater. We drove through downtown with the windows down – What a beautiful day! It was so nice to see the bright sunshine after two straight days of rain!

We got our tickets and hung out for a while, getting our popcorn, ICEEs, and sodas before settling in. Heaven met us there. Some of the previews were awesome, including Ant-Man and Jurassic World. There are a bunch of awesome movies slated for release this summer!!

After the movie, we all headed to Cheeburger Cheeburger, which is becoming a tradition with our group. We enjoyed burgers, fries, their crispy onion rings, and shakes. Delicious!

Once we were full, we headed back to Drew’s. Al and I had to drive back last night (I have my final exams this week!), but before we left, I had brought some gifts for everyone:

• Mini-Marvel bobbleheads for all six of us. The cool thing was that they were mystery boxes. I got the Green Goblin, Al and Katie got the Hulk, Justin got Thor, Heaven got the Silver Surfer, and Drew got Galactus.
• A Wolverine mug for Drew
• A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mug for Katie
• A stuffed owl named “Owliver” for Heaven
• A ceramic bank shaped like Pikachu for Justin

It was so much fun!

We also celebrated Heaven and Justin’s graduation from Longwood. Commencement is next weekend, so Drew and Katie gave them cards and gift cards to Game Stop and Domino’s.

Al and I had to leave after that, but we had an awesome time!

Can’t wait until we get together again!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

I hate snow.

This adventure time was delayed for two weeks in a row because of the white stuff.

But, finally, spring decided to arrive in Chesapeake.

It may have been cloudy and spitting rain last weekend, but it didn’t prevent Justin from driving down to see Al and I.

We were finally reunited, almost two months to the day since we last met.

Justin pulled in front of my house about five minutes before I arrived from work. We went inside and he met my mom. I gave him a quick tour of the house, helped him put his stuff in his chosen room, and then we were off to meet Al for dinner.

Image Credit: hamptonroads.com

For dinner, Al and I took Justin to Gianna’s Pizzeria, in the Harbour View section of Suffolk. If you live in the 757 area and haven’t tried this place, it is one of the best! It’s not a chain. It’s Italian. And it’s amazing!

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went to Al’s house to wind down Friday night. We explored YouTube and watched several episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver before calling it a night.

Saturday was dubbed “Opposite Day” for Justin and I. You see, I am a Green Bay Packers fan, while Justin is a Denver Broncos fan. Months ago, Justin and I were talking online about our teams. I think it was Justin who said something to the effect of, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we bought each other shirts for the other’s team?”

Image Credit: endzonenews.com

So that’s exactly what we did.

The hilarious thing was that Justin was noticed at least twice during the day with his Packers shirt. When we went to mini-golf in the mall, the lady working the place said they were her team. So did our server at Red Robin! It was hysterical. Justin almost said something, but decided against it. The three of us had a great laugh though.

We started Saturday off early. Al was getting his car inspected, so Justin and I went over early to pick him up. Then we went out to O’doodleDoo’s Donuts in Suffolk. They have the best donuts!

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

After dropping off a half-dozen donuts to my parents, we went to Al’s.

We thoroughly enjoyed our donuts, including Twix, red velvet, chocolate Pi, mint chocolate chip, and more 🙂

We caught up with the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episodes, then switched to TableTop with Wil Wheaton (Geek & Sundry). Al and I love this series!

We watched one of the most recent episodes, featuring Epic Spell Wars. It looked so awesome, that Al immediately went to Amazon and bought it!

Around lunchtime, we went up to the mall to check out Lunar Mini Golf. It was so much fun!

Image Credit: hamptonroads.com

Everything glowed in the blacklight. We had fun watching kids run around during a birthday party, and we played all 18 holes. You get three rounds of the course for the price of admission, which is only $8.00. The paintings on the walls were really epic too!

We enjoyed lunch at Red Robin before going back to Al’s for more fun.

One of the things that we were most looking forward to was playing Munchkin. Al bought the game several months ago, and then when we met in Richmond in January, Justin had given Al some extra cards.

We played two games. Before this, Al and I had only played once, just the two of us. It was awesome to have Justin play with us. It’s much better to play with at least three people, if not more.

The second game was better than the first. Justin still managed to win, even though Al and I killed him – twice!

Hoping to play with Drew, Katie, and Heaven the next time that the six of us can meet.

We went back out into the world to get dinner at Zaxby’s. When we returned, we watched a few things on Netflix and Amazon Prime while we ate, including the pilot episode of Fringe. Al was showing it to Justin, and it took me back to when Al and I watched the series together several years ago. It’s definitely a different show, but it is really cool.

On Sunday, Justin and I hung out at my house for a few hours before he drove home. He brought CSI: NY on DVD. That is the best of the CSI series, in our opinion.

This was one of the best weekends ever! I hope that Justin can come back to visit very soon.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Three words can accurately describe this past Saturday and Sunday for me:

Best. Weekend. Ever.

This weekend was MONTHS in the making, and it finally happened!!

There are six of us, three couples – Al and I, Drew and Katie, and Justin and Heaven.

Saturday shenanigans 🙂

Richmond is our usual meeting place, since there are three of us (Al and I, and then Katie) coming from the southeast and then the other two (Justin and Heaven) come from the north and west of the state.

Personally, I feel fortunate that all six of us currently live in the same state!

On Saturday, Al and I left early and made the drive up. I love driving to Richmond. It’s such a straightforward drive, and the traffic is super light on the weekends!

Justin greeted us in the driveway with some Nightwish blasting from his truck – What a great way to start!

After we’d all arrived, we spent a bit of time at the house getting settled.

One of the trickiest parts of the weekend was figuring out car arrangements. I had my Camry, but it only holds five people – And there were six of us.

So, we were trying to figure out the best way to divide the group into two vehicles.

Finally, Justin pulled out his Munchkin cards. Drew and I were off to the side, since we were the drivers. The other four drew a card, and it was divided based on the level on each card. The way it fell, Justin and Katie were with me, while Al and Heaven were with Drew. It worked out – One half of each couple in each vehicle!

We got in the cars and headed to CiCi’s Pizza!

Image Credit: clarksville.citysaver.com

Mmmm, their food is delicious! I got adventurous and tried the Apple Fanta. It was … interesting. It tasted like carbonated apple juice. Not bad!

At lunch, Drew told us that he had a certificate for a FREE dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts – YUM!

We went to the nearest one, and it was awesome! The store showed you the whole process, from the beginning dough, to fryer, to the waterfall of glaze, to box!

Image Credit: businessweek.com

When we first decided to get together for this weekend, it was getting close to Christmas. I was going to a Christmas party that holds a gift exchange every year, so I was explaining that to the group. Everyone buys a $10 gift, and then numbers are drawn. Everyone gets a gift, but gifts can be stolen.

Round 1: Heaven opened Katie’s gift – It was a framed shadowbox that held wooden letters that spelled “LONGWOOD” along with a heart, that Katie painted in the school colors of blue and white. Katie also found a vintage picture of the Ruffner building. It was awesome!

Round 2: I opened Heaven’s gift – It was this awesome sign that said “Things to Do” with a chalkboard section, complete with colored chalk. I can’t wait to hang it up on a wall when Al and I get a house!

Round 3: Justin opened Drew’s gift – It was a puzzle that shows a panoramic view of the Las Vegas strip. Even cooler, it glows in the dark!!

Image Credit: yoyo.com

Round 4: Katie opened Justin’s gift – It was a Wilton cupcake/muffin display stand. Katie loves to bake, so it was perfect 🙂 It looks a lot like the image below:

Image Credit: overstock.com

Round 5: Al opened Katie’s gift – A copy of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on Blu-ray!

Round 6: Drew opened the gifts from Al and I. I found this wicked NERF gun, and Al gave a $10 Google Play card. Drew loved both. He immediately tore open the packaging for the gun and started shooting. Then he redeemed the gift card for a graphic novel that was on sale.

One of the prevalent themes this weekend was playing Cards Against Humanity (CAH). This was the official debut of handwritten cards from Justin and Drew, and it was wickedly ridiculous.

And that was just the first round!!

Drew showed us something awesome for Saturday night:

Image Credit: amazon.com

The one we had basically looked liked this one, except the marshmallow roaster was square. This was so cool!

Image Credit: cheeburger.com

Before we did that, we went to dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger, one of our favorites places! This place makes me feel like I’m in a diner in the 1950s. Their food is awesome! We all had burgers. Their onion rings are to die for!

Saturday night, after s’mores, we settled in to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. One of the best movies!!!

Originally, we were all going to sleep on the floor, but we ended up in two rooms, which was fine.

On Sunday morning, we all woke up at different times.

Al and I went downstairs to see if anyone else was up, and we managed to scare Katie half to death!

The three of us were talking in the kitchen, and then Justin joined us, then Heaven. Al, Justin, and Heaven went into the living room after a while, and Katie and I stayed in the kitchen to start breakfast – I made blueberry muffins and then Katie put cinnamon rolls in the oven.

Drew was the last to rise, and then we had breakfast. Drew had made pigs in a blanket the night before – Yum!

After we ate, we went upstairs and put in The Fellowship of the Ring while we played more CAH. We played another round, and then we all went through the gigantic deck to find out the rest of the handwritten cards. Let’s just say that we all blushed at some point!

This video is further proof. Enjoy!

Drew also gave each of us a coloring book to take home. I brought an epic 400-page Avengers activity book that he loved!!

Before we all parted ways on Sunday, we took a bunch of pictures in front of the house. Enjoy!

Al and Laura Beth 🙂

Drew and Katie 🙂

Justin, Heaven, and Drew’s kitty 🙂

The Guys 🙂

The Girls 🙂

The gang’s all here 🙂

To Al, Drew, Katie, Justin, and Heaven — THANK YOU for an epic weekend!

Cannot wait to be reunited again, hopefully SOON!

You guys are the best. I feel so lucky to have such a great group of friends!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

I love traveling. And any time I’m able to take a road trip, I make time for it!

Al and I drove up to Richmond yesterday to hang out with our friends Drew and Justin. We had a fantastic day!

After arriving at Drew’s house, we piled in his mom’s Ford Fusion and headed to lunch. We went to Cheeburger Cheeburger, a great 1950s diner style restaurant that has create-your-own-burgers, syrup sodas, and milkshakes. It started in Sanibel Island, Florida. We all got burgers, along with either fries or what they call The Best of the Best – fries and onion rings. Their onion rings are some of the best that I have ever had – So crispy and crunchy!

After lunch, we got back in the car and headed for Thunderbolt Indoor Karting for some go-kart racing. This place is amazing!! It has a small arcade, party room, and this massive track. The karts can go up to 45 miles per hour! We paid for one race, which is 16 laps. This is a serious track — Closed-toed shoes, racing helmets, and neck braces. It was awesome! Drew won our race. Justin was second, I was third, and Al was fourth. It was a blast! There was even a three-level podium where you could pose for pictures! For more info, check them out on Facebook.

Courtesy: media-cdn.tripadvisor.com

After the rush of go-karts, we drove a little ways down the road to the Putt-Putt Fun Center for more fun. As soon as you open the door, you are greeted with a massive arcade where you can win tickets for prizes. Go out the back door and you see three Putt-Putt courses, bumper boats, and their own go-kart track. The center has a great deal – Three activities for $18.00. We all got a ticket where the 1, 2, and 3 were marked off when we went to the stations.

We played a round of Putt-Putt first on Course #1. It was some tough competition. There are 18 holes, all with a par 2. We took our time and had a ton of fun. Yours truly emerged victorious.

It was hot and humid yesterday, so we were all very sweaty by the end of Course #1. We made our way to the bumper boats. This was the best – It was bumper cars on water, plus each boat had a “Squirt” button! We drove around the pool attacking each other with refreshing streams of water. It looked a lot like this:

Courtesy: myputtputt.com

After we were sufficiently soaked, we picked up our clubs for our second round of Putt-Putt. We completed Course #2. This was a closer match than the first. Justin and I were neck-and-neck for most of the 18 holes. Finally, Justin emerged as the victor.

As we left the Putt-Putt Fun Center, we ordered Domino’s pizza and went to pick them up. The car smelled amazing!

When we got back to Drew’s, we set the pizzas aside and started the batter for our Brownie Bowl Sundaes. You can find the recipe here!

As the brownie bowls were baking, we settled in to watch The Wolverine. Justin and I had never seen it, and it was pretty good from the beginning. We never finished it, but it was good entertainment as we ate the pizza and waited for the brownies to finish.

Those sundaes were awesome! Drew added some Hershey’s instant pudding to keep them moist – SO GOOD!

As we were eating dessert, we went upstairs to finish the movie. We ended up searching YouTube for Key & Peele sketches and Epic Rap Battles of History, and then the conversation switched to the San Diego Comic-Con, which wraps up today. We all freaked out when we learned that there was news of a Batman vs. Superman teaser trailer. It was finally released this morning, but unfortunately, by the time of this writing, it had been removed from YouTube 😦

Here are some of the epic pictures released so far:

Courtesy: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images

Courtesy: http://www.independent.co.uk

Needless to day, we are all STOKED!!!

We switched gears to play several rounds of Sour Apples to Apples – So much fun!

Courtesy: http://cdn.outblush.com

This was a fantastic Saturday. Al and I were so sad to leave, but we had an hour and a half drive to complete.

Justin and Drew, we need to do this again soon!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂