Thursday, April 29 - After a morning at the nephrology office, Katie and I went to Fort Story military base, located in VA Beach, to view the lighthouses along the coast. There are two lighthouses - one that is really old and no longer in use (we got to climb to the top of this one), and a newer one (that is still pretty darn old) that is still in use. We also spent some time walking along the shoreline at the base, located where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Friday, April 30 - Last day of rotations EVER! The morning was spent watching colonoscopies (now I know what I get to look forward to in 26 years...haha), observing placement of a chest tube to treat a pneumothorax, and meeting with a couple of patients at the nephrology office. After that, we were done. Done with rotations forver. 1600 hours of working without pay were finally complete. Like I mentioned previously, it still hasn't sunk in. Now comes the joy of studying for boards! After work, Katie and I changed into our bathing suits and headed to the Atlantic Coast to spend the afternoon at the beach. Soaking up the sun has become a favorite pastime of mine (with plenty of sunscreen on board, or course!). We had so much fun playing in the giant waves.
At one point during the afternoon, we watched dolphins swimming just a little ways off the shore - so cool! There were probably around 30 dolphins that we saw swimming by. Friday night, the girls hung out together and had a manicure night - Amalia made our nails so beautiful :)Saturday, May 1 - Morning was spent relaxing at the beach. We then went to Norfolk Academy (Amalia and Roberto's school) to watch Roberto's play in the afternoon. It was an abridged version of several Shakespere plays that a group of students had put together to perform, and it was hilarious. Roberto did a fantastic job playing his roles. The rest of the afternoon was nice and lazy - it was really too hot to do anything (close to 90 degrees outside and incredibly humid), so we spent time napping. In the evening, we went out to dinner at an amazing Indian restaurant - I'm heading home with a love for a wide variety of ethnic foods.
Sunday, May 2 - Katie and I embarked on our roadtrip to Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. Sunday was incredibly busy, and keep in mind that it was still around 90 degrees with very high humidity. And we did a lot of walking. Here's a brief rundown of our day:
Church in the morning.
Breakfast with the family.
Drove to Arlington to check into our hotel.
Metro ride into the city.
Toured the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.
Toured the following memorials: Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, Korean War Veteran's Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, Women in Vietnam Memorial, and WWII Memorial (all on foot...that's a LOT of walking. We were very sweaty girls).
Watched helicopters fly to the White House lawn, hang out for a bit, and then fly off (I think Obama was inside one of the helicopters).
And to end the day, Katie and I polished off a small chicken for dinner.
Monday, May 3 - Another day in Washington, D.C.:
Toured Arlington National Cemetary (saw JFK's gravesite, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).
Walked to the Iwo Jima (U.S. Marines) Memorial.
Ate lunch at an amazing Malaysian restaurant named Penang's (I highly recommend the Malaysian BBQ chicken with a side of spring rolls...so yummy!). Oh yeah, and we ate our meals with chopsticks :)
Toured the U.S. Capital building with a private tour courtesy of ND Senator Byron Dorgan's office (Funny story - the tour guide actually ran away from us at one point. There's an underground train that runs from the Senators' buildings to the Capitol, and the guide jumped onto the train as the door was closing, leaving Katie and I all by ourselves. We couldn't believe it! We didn't think we were so horrible that he had to ditch us! We ended up catching the next train, and were able to meet back up with the guide. He felt bad; we thought it was hilarious.)
Walked through the National Gallery of Art.
Viewed the Declaration of Independance, Constitution, and Bill of Rights at the National Archives.
Ate dinner at a fantastic Lebanese restaurant in Arlington.
Went to bed early because we were beat.
Tuesday, May 4 -
Saw a dancing doughnut.
Drove to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home for the last 40 years of his life, as well of his burial grounds. Here we spent time meandering around the grounds, took a National Treasure tour (where we learned about things that occured when the movie was filmed at Mt. Vernon, as well as which things in the movie are factual and which are Hollywood), and toured the mansion.
We also had lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn - delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with bread pudding for dessert.Drove south to Richmond, VA.
Checked into our hotel - Linden Row Inn - a historial hotel of Richmond where Edgar Allan Poe spent time running around as a child. It might be haunted...we don't know. Regardless, we didn't have any encounters with the supernatural.
Toured the Confederate White House in Richmond.
Ate dinner at a restaurant that used to be a pharmacy.
Watched Glee, and then went to bed early (being a tourist is hard work!)
Wednesday, May 5 - Last day of our mini vacation. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel, then headed to the VA Capitol building. The Capitol in VA is older than the White House, and was the first Roman temple-esque building in the United States. We ended up joining a tour group of elementary kids - it's been a long time since I've been on a field trip!
We ate lunch at the Jefferon Hotel, a breathtakingly beautiful hotel. I tried a peanut soup that was fantastic! After lunch, Katie and I spent some time learning a bit of Civil War history at a national park history center near the James River.
By early afternoon, we were ready to head home - it's been a hot few days, and the heat is just exhausting! The evening was low key and relaxing...perfect end to a great mini-vacation.Thursday, May 6 - Beach day! Katie and I spent the afternoon at the bay beach. It was hot, but we had some refreshing water to cool off in. Great day :)
Friday, May 7 - And that catches us up to today! Relaxing day at the home; it's finally cooled off a bit. I'm not looking forward to the cool temperatures of MN, but I am excited to be home for awhile. I can't believe our time in Virginia Beach is just about over! Lots to look forward to, though...within the next month comes graduation, a quick trip to Seattle to get everything settled with the apartment/lease, packing, studying for Boards, moving...it's definitely an exciting time! See you all soon!
