I’m in Virginia Beach for the week for work. It’s going to be a busy week, but hopefully I can get some rest because I’m beat from this past weekend!

Things got started early on Friday afternoon when I headed up to Roanoke. I met up with my dad and little sister, who came down to visit for the weekend. First, we grabbed a late lunch at a local restaurant called Corned Beef & Co. It has kind of become a Blue Ridge tradition. My dad and I ate there the day before the race last year, and Barry and I ate there after the race the year before that.

Once we were fed and watered we headed over to the race expo for Saturday’s Blue Ridge Half Marathon to pick up Barry’s and my bibs and shirts. I also scored this awesome poster!

Before leaving Roanoke we walked over to the finish line since it was nearby. I think it’s neat to see the setup and imagine all of the people that will be there and run through there the next day.

From there we all headed back to my house. Hank and Scout were thrilled to see my dad and sister. We had our typical pre-race pasta dinner and then headed to bed fairly early.

We had an early wake up call Saturday morning and were on the road to Roanoke for the race by 5:45 AM. Barry’s parents also came up to cheer us on at the race and we easily met up with each other once we arrived. It was a hot one this year for Blue Ridge – I’d guess the hottest year they’ve had yet. Barry ran a great race and I felt like I did well considering my training and the weather. All the dirty details on Wednesday!

After the race Barry’s parents headed back home and the rest of us headed back to our house. We recovered a bit before heading out to explore the transportation museum in town that was recently finished. It was really neat! They had this huge replica of town with model trains along with some other neat stuff.

I think they did a pretty good job on the main street through town. On the left is the model and on the right is a picture I took on Saturday.

There was another large room that also had a lot of pictures and old relics having to do with the history of our town and county.

Saturday evening we took advantage of the nice weather and grilled out (pork chops!). I’m glad we went out to the museum and spent time outside on Saturday after the race, because it was cold and rainy yesterday morning. My dad and sister hit the road a little before Noon, Barry was at work, and I spent the afternoon doing laundry and getting packed for my work trip this week (I’m in Virginia Beach today through Friday!). The dogs were quick to take advantage of the vacant guest room. They’re usually not allowed in there…

Overall a fun, but exhausting, weekend that flew by too fast!

What did you do this weekend?
Do you travel for work? If so, do you typically have to drive or fly to get there?