Off to Virginia!

And Japa and I are FINALLY off to the East Coast for the start of our (super-duper belated!) 10-year anniversary! Hehehehe. Oh well. That's life, I guess.

We left Los Angeles at 7 effing am!!! Sheesh! But at least this flight guaranteed us that we were going to be able to get a rental car; we arrived at 510 pm in Newport-News Virginia. Our original flight had us arriving at 1230 am on July 23rd...and we'd have been out of luck in getting a car since the rental car companies ended their airport stints at 11 pm.

And our rental car? I had reserved for a mid-size car since it was just going to be me and Japa. A mid-size car, i.e., Toyota Corolla or something similar. But since I waited for what seemed forever at the Hertz counter (too many people all at the same time, with ONE Hertz person!), and I apparently had NOT lost patience (or at least wasn't outwardly showing it), the really nice Hertz guy offered to upgrade our mid-size car to either a full-size car (Honda Accord) or a mid-size SUV. And you needn't be a genius to figure out what I chose, right? Yup----the Ford Escape of course! And to top it off, for the SAME price given me online for 5 days, I get to keep the FREE upgraded car for an additional TWO days!!! Whoohoohoo!!! :)

Japa and I get to our hotel, the Wyland (used to be Fairfield) Williamsburg, care of RCI exchange. Although it wasn't a fair exchange --- a 2 bedroom unit for the studio we got--- but what was important was that we GOT it in the first place! Totally lucky! Even the RCI guide had to concede that! Hehehehe.

The studio is obviously small, but you know Japa and me, we made do. I actually put all my stuff in the drawers just so we'd have space in the room because the suitcases were out of the way!

And internet in the room? Uhhhh....unheard of. I am sitting here in the lobby of the Ramada 1776 (part of the complex of hotel chains) just so we'd have free internet connection. :)

The first order of business for the both of us after we checked in was DINNER. We were ravenous! We had breakfast before our flight left Los Angeles. Nothing on the flights, despite the fact that we were in Business Class (a mere $30 more for the upgrade, one-way!!! Air Tran Airways, btw, for future reference). We got to Atlanta, Georgia, and stood in line for the grossest, oiliest Popeye's chicken. Ugh. But it was all that we had time for before our flight left.

So while I was standing in the Hertz line, Japa was busy grabbing brochures and coupons off the information racks and looking through them to find a place for dinner. And he found Captain George's Seafood Buffet. Hehehehe, yes, a buffet. We NEEDED food, and fast!

The food was delish, although I wasn't feeling all that well due, I think, to the ingestion of gross amounts of oil from the Popeye's fried chicken, ugh! While Japa feasted on crabs of all sorts, I had some salad, soup, and tried the fish dishes, some crab and of course, dessert! Japa totally pigged out and thoroughly enjoyed himself with the crab legs, among other things. He seemed to have a bottomless stomach! Sheesh!

Price for Captain George's: $30 per person. At that point, totally worth it. 95% was seafood, and there was even prime rib! :) So yeah, we were STUFFED! We went home, took showers, and just CRASHED.

TTFN!