Northern Virginia - September 23 - 27, 2026

 Day 1, September 23, 2026

Anthony picked me up early due to a scheduling conflict, for my 10 AM flight, which I truly didn't mind.  I enjoyed coffee and a light breakfast before boarding the flight.  It was a full, but easy flight to Richmond. Upon landing, I quickly found Gary and Jane. We had a delicious salad at an Italian restaurant on the way back to their home.  We rested for a bit, then the kids, Rose and Alex, came home from school.  I always feel so relaxed and loved at their home. Perhaps the serene setting has lots to do with this!

September 24, 2026 - Arlington National Cemetery, Northern Virginia

Happy 79th Birthday, Colonel Kleimon! Gary, Jane, and I drove to Arlington (thank you, Gary) with brilliant sunshine surrounding us. I put all the stones on his gravestone, a Jewish tradition.

Afterwards, Gary surprised Jane (and me) by taking us to Jane's favorite Filipino restaurant, Jollibee.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch.  My personal favorite was the peach/mango fried pies.  Yum!!!

Next, we stopped at the National Marine Museum.  This museum is awesome!  It is designed beautifully and quite educational!

Gary grilled burgers for dinner, I made fried potatoes, and Jane got the other sides ready. We watched a fabulous movie, "Young Washington" which we all enjoyed.

September 25, 2026 - Gainesville, Fredericksburg, and Stafford, Virginia

I drove over to Gainesville, Virginia to visit dear, long term Army friends, Olivia and Roy Beauchamp.  We had such a great time talking, laughing, and remembering good times. I drove back to Stafford to join Gary and Jane.  He surprised us AGAIN by taking us to our favorite French restaurant in Fredericksburg, Le Petite Auberge. 

Then, he took us for yummy custard ice cream at the famous Carl's!  So, we needed to walk off the calories. We drove over to Government Island in Stafford.

We met Onnolee and Meriza at our favorite Italian restaurant, Boscilicas. We've all decided that this restaurant will have to be a new tradition every time I visit.

"

September 26, 2026 - Fredericksburg, Virginia

Once again, Gary surprised us by purchasing tickets for us to attend the Fredericksburg Quilt and Sewing Expo!!!! I will NEVER forget this surprise. The Expo was amazing!  I was wandering around, looking at all the exhibits, and as I turned a corner, I walked by the "Quilting for a Cause Booth" and there was Rose, who had never, ever quilted, sitting at a sewing machine constructing a quilt block.

I was so proud of her!  She was working on a block for the Quilts for Valor Program. The sweet volunteers worked with her until she completed her block.  She's so incredibly talented!

After the Expo, we went to the mall for a quick shoe return (for Alex) and lunch at Chik-Fil-A.  Back home, we rested for a bit, then put together all our leftovers for dinner.  Then we played games, laughed until we hurt.  Finally, Jane, Gary, and I watched, "Ben Hur" which they had never seen.  It was one of Rob's favorite movies, so it was quite appropriate that we watched this movie!

September 27, 2026 - Northern Virginia to Marietta

My time here has flown by. I enjoyed my "last breakfast" with Jane and Rose.  I'm going to miss this. All too soon, we left for the Richmond International Airport.

Until next time, farewell my Virginia family.

Nashville Girls' Trip, September 17 - 21

 September 17, 2026 - Phoenix/Marietta to Nashville, TN

We both had similar travel times, Rachelle flying, me driving. We rendezvoused in the airport and drove the short distance to the city.

We headed over to Puckett's for dinner, which was super delicious.  Rachelle suggested that we split a meal, which was a fabulous idea since the portions were HUGE!!

We dropped our luggage at the Cambria Boutique Hotel and parked my car over on 10th Avenue, a short walk away. We started to explore, and headed over to the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River to watch what was promoted as an amazing sunset.  Well, compared to Arizona sunsets, it was so underwhelming.

We strolled down Broadway and quickly realized that there were A LOT of Philadelphia fans in Nashville for Sunday's NFL game.

It was fun to hear all the music in the various country music themed bars!

September 18, 2026 - Exploring downtown Nashville and Grand Ole Opry

After a delicious breakfast at the Nashhouse, we walked over to Ryman Auditorium for a tour since our Allison Krauss concern was cancelled due to her throat problems. It was really, really fun!

It was an absolute scorcher outside, so we bopped in and out of AC places as needed.  We walked a bit, then did the Johnny Cash Museum.  This was another terrific gem!!

It was time for a wardrobe change for tonight's events.  We stopped at Paula Dean's for a delicious "comfort meal" dinner!

We had tickets for the Grand Ole Opry, which was such a great concert.  The performers -  Ricky Skaggs, Riders in the Sky, Swamp Dog, Jamey Johnson, Eli Paperboy Reed, Deana Carter, Gary Senise with the Lt Dan Band - were amazing. Tonight's performance was the finale for 250 Defender recipients of Nashville Honors Heroes.  It was an honor to be there!

September 19, 2026 - Downtown Nashville

It was an ultra scorcher today!!! Started out back at the Ryman walking down the very stinky alley, shopped on Broadway with half the population of Philly, enjoyed coffee at Elixir, made our own Goo Goo candy,

 strolled along the Walk of Fame

 before touring the Country Music's Hall of Fame. 

 We finally retreated to our hotel for a rest before walking to The Gulch area before dinner at the Nash House. We ended our day listening to live music at our hotel's roof top bar.

September 20, 2021 - Cheekwood Mansion/Botantical Gardens/Bluebird Cafe

We enjoyed leftover biscuits before getting the car to drive to Cheekwood Mansion/Botantical Gardens in the Belle Meade area of TN.

Over 100,000 pumpkins were dispersed over the gorgeous mansion grounds!  Thousands of mums and marigolds were everywhere! 

The mansion was majestic!  We took a self-guide tour that was really fascinating.  The art work was truly impressive.

We strolled over to the charming cafe for a snack! And then continued our grounds exploration.

Since we were so close to the famous Bluebird Cafe, so we decided to take a chance for walk-up tickets. We had some time to kill, so we drove around the absolutely stunning residential area. Once at the Blue Bird Cafe, we had the best security guy, Montgomery, who entertained us while we waited in the inferno type heat for an hour.  Yiippppeeeee, we got in! The cafe was small, and everything it was hyped to be.  The acoustics were amazing, and we truly enjoyed our entertainment, Bob Sumner and band.

September 21, 2026 - The Parthenon, BNA and drive back to Marietta

After a final delicious breakfast at Nash House, we drove over to see The Parthenon before dropping Rachelle off at the Nashville International Airport.  I had a pleasant drive home, stopping at Nickajack Lake Rest Area for a short break, and once more for gas.  Wow, what a truly fun, educational girls' trip.  Can't wait for the next one.