Awake: 6:31am Temp 55 sleep 7+01 sunny overnight @ Newport News, VA.
Katrina calls from the Atlanta airport questioning where we are & if we’ve heard from Nick & Zack. She couldn’t talk long as her plane was beginning to board. A few minutes later, Nick calls from the Norfolk, VA airport. They have arrived & are waiting for Katrina.
We drive our Suzuki into Norfolk using our Lady Garmin & she guides us straight to the Courtyard Marriott. There are many one way streets in downtown Norfolk but our GPS makes it look easy. With street parking meters downtown being so expensive & limited on time, we opt to use the day parking @ the Marriott for about ½ the cost.
Inside the hotel, we take the elevator to room 810 & greet our kids who arrived shortly before we did. Nick, Eriko, little Jerry, Katrina & Zack all looking good & healthy and maybe a little tired.
The only scheduled event for today is the rendezvous @ Virginia Beech behind the Ramada Hotel @ 1:30pm. Nick rented a Dodge Durango making it possible to transport all of us around in one vehicle but 1st; the kids want something to eat. Directly across the street is the Macarthur Mall & on the 2nd level, a food court. Most of us have large slices of pizza except for Zack who ordered a Bourbon chicken meal. This eating & talking took some time so we may be late for our meeting with the other folks.
Switching the Lady Garmin over to the Durango was quick & the programming easy so we’re on our way with Nick & his (6) passengers. (2) blocks away from the beach, Eriko feeds the meter many quarters giving us (3) hrs to enjoy the sand, sunshine, & water.
We found our party right where they said they would be: the Senior Footes; Melissa, Kevin, Matthew & Andrew; Kevin’s sister, Eileen with friend, Justin; the wedding couple, Billie Anne & Jason; and a Foote grandchild, Brennan.
The grandchildren loved playing in the sand; the older kids enjoyed wave jumping & throwing the Frisbee & us seniors enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives + seeing the kids having so much fun. It was a great (3) hrs @ the beach.
Nick returns us (7) to the hotel, but now, everyone is hungry. We begin walking up Granby Street, the street of many restaurants. After covering (3 or 4) blocks, the group voted to give “Kelly’s Backstage Tavern” a try. It was a good choice. Kathy & I share a Tuna steak dinner & everyone else enjoyed their selections. Back to the Marriott, we say our goodnights to the kids, & now, they are really tired & ready to get some good sleep.
It takes K & I a good 40 min to return to our campground, but today was a good start on our mini Monte & Kathy family reunion + meeting some of the wedding party members.
Lights out: 11:51pm
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