Daytripping

How far would you drive for just one store you loved? Over three hours?

Because that's exactly what The Girl and I did on Saturday. We drove a very long distance for Garden Ridge.



The Girl had a few items in mind for her bedroom and backyard, and I, remembering how much I loved it in Austin 10 years ago, went along for the ride.

I tried to be helpful when it came to selecting patio furniture. For instance, I gave a thumbs down to these:



And I tried to convince The Girl that flamingos didn't have to look tacky.



I also kept my eye open for cute things that might fit in my apartment. I got the cute part down, although I'm not exactly sure where my new pillows will fit. Between the two of us, we ended up with a very full cart.



And we'd worked up quite an appetite, too. With Virginia Beach not far away, we decided to find some outdoor seating and enjoy a lunch by the ocean.



My crab cake sandwich was delicious!



And it was at this lunch that we both concurred . . we don't like public beaches. At all. So rather than walking around in the sand or dipping our toes in the saltwater, we peaced out immediately after lunch.



See? Too many people for me!



But it wasn't time to head home yet. We were driving through Williamsburg and that meant stopping by the outlets. The J. Crew outlet to be specific. And this one was chock full of quality, on-sale items, several of which ended up coming home with me. Yippee!

Williamsburg is a very cute and historic town, and we saw something of particular interest when taking the wrong exit. Statues of Presidents! We had to stop. Unfortunately, the charge seemed far too expensive to tour a bunch of cement heads. Instead, we attempted to catch a glimpse from the adjoining parking lot.



It was a day full of shopping, nature, AND history. Very worth the long drive!