I had been telling Teh Bear that NC had a place called Goodberries which was frozen custard. He's got access to frozen yogurt, but not custard. I had promised I'd take him while we were in NC, and despite my rage, I programmed Suzy the GPS to take us to the Goodberries in Durham since it was on our way. Teh Bear was confused, but since we still weren't speaking he didn't know where we were going until we pulled up. Surprise success. Phil even got some custard that I had left over.
We finally decided to start speaking to each other, so the rest of the drive back to MD was smoother than the morning had been. After we got back, I unpacked stuff and started laundry and we enjoyed being still and lazy.
The next day we had planned to get lunch and go on a hike with one of my neighbors, but the hike was cancelled due to the rain. We still enjoyed lunch at the Blue Wind Gourmet in town. She told us of her online dating adventures, of getting shot at when she was out one night, and we shared stories of the GC and NC with her. Teh Bear had never been to Blue Wind before so he was impressed. I fell in love with the crab and corn chowder, but it's a bit pricy, so we won't be going there on a regular basis.
While we were at the Grand Canyon, my LPO called me to ask me stuff since she was writing me up for Junior Sailor of the Year (JSOY). The day that we arrived back in MD, I found out that the boards for the JSOY award were during my leave. Knowing that there were people that knew me on the board, I knew that I had to go to the board. Before dinner, I sewed on my service stripe (that indicates I have 4 years in the Navy) since the day of the board was a few days after my 4 year mark. Teh Bear Army shined my shoes and I got everything staged and ready to go for Wednesday.
That night went went to dinner with Teh Humanitarian, Teh Coast Guardian, Teh Flying Metal Mouth, and Teh Korean. The joke was that I needed to prove to them that Teh Bear was real. We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We discussed my board being while I was on leave and how it was crappy I had to go in on my leave to do my board, but I had agreed, knowing that getting the board together again (and with people who knew me) was practically impossible. Like with most Navy things, sometimes you just have to suck it up.
Wednesday morning, I crammed in current events and the name of the new MCPON. I recited my Sailor's Creed over and over to myself. I was ready. My appointment was around 2, but they were running behind so I was at work for at least an hour. I felt like I had done pretty well. (PS, since I'm writing this 6 months later, I can tell you that my education counted for half of what it was worth since it was already completed and since I was competing with people who were currently working on their education. I didn't get JSOY.)
That evening, we had dinner with Teh Singing Cat Lady and Teh Singing Podcaster at Salsa's. It was Teh Bear's first time there and he definitely enjoyed it. I've never had nachos that good before. It was their first time meeting Teh Bear. We had pretty much stopped counting how much Mexican food we'd had in the prior 2 weeks since it was all so delicious.
After dinner, the most dreaded time of vacation came... time for Teh Bear to pack. He instead chose to watch the rest of his Lord of the Rings trilogy since he had ordered in Blue-Ray. I endured as much as I could before deciding it was bedtime.
The final day, Teh Bear finished his LOTR marathon (much to my stress levels) before getting ready and packing his stuff. His flight was later in the evening so we weren't in a hurry in the morning. We arrived at DCA right on time, much to Teh Bear's relief, and he checked in. I sat with him in the terminal for a little bit since the line for security was short. Finally, it was time. We kissed goodbye and he got in line to go back to FL. I headed to the parking garage, pouting, but holding back the tears till I was in the car.
After a few tears, Yurtle and I headed home.. and vacation was over.
Vacation Recap Map:
Pre-vacationBeing in Denver for the weekend, part 1
Being in Denver for the weekend, part 2
Being in AZ for half the week, part 1
Being in AZ for half the week, part 2
Being in AZ for half the week, part 3
Being in NC for an extended weekend
-Carolina Renn Faire (photos)
-Biltmore Flowers (photos)
Being in MD for the remainder of vacation (this blog)
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