Back to the US, Home of the Free...Chick Fil A Sandwich!

Originally Posted June 4, 2016

On June 1, we made our first journey back to the US. During our 2 legs of the flight and 5 hour layover in LA, I kept thinking about that movie, “Snakes on a Plane.” I haven’t actually seen that movie, but given the title, I think I have the general plot line down. I thought about how, occasionally I might have preferred a few snakes to dodge on a plane rather than share my seat with a one year old. Samuel L. Jackson clearly passed up the script for “Toddlers on a Plane” as that was too scary or a movie! In all seriousness, Isla did as well as I think she could have given the length of the trip. At one point, we ordered a beef sandwich and lamb and mushroom pie thinking Isla would have some bites of at least one. Instead, she ate both complete meals. I’m sure you can imagine the poop we had to change in the airplane bathroom after that feast! We are a few days into the trip and the 14 hour time difference has made for some interesting sleeping patterns while Isla adjusts – she mostly just wants to party at 3am which means I mostly want to cry a little at 3am.

While we rave about the food in Melbourne, I must admit I can barely contain myself being back around Chipotle and Chick Fil A. I was especially ecstatic to learn that if you download the Chick Fil A app, you get a free chicken sandwich… Yes please! I made Nate’s parents stop in a mall in the middle of nowhere, WV while driving to our weekend getaway yesterday and indulged in my first Chick Fil A sandwich in 6 months. It was glorious!

We are with Nate’s whole family out at the Stonewall Jackson resort in WV, staying in a cabin on the lake. Yesterday, Nate and I saw a small advertizement for an event called the “Rush Run,” a 6 mile trail run at the resort that starts at 8am. We figured we might as well take advantage of having grandparent babysitters and do it. We went to bed at 11, and ended up awake from 3-5am with our very energetic child whose body still thinks night is day. In the morning, in our exhausted stupor, we decided to just go ahead and do the race. We walked over to the race site, paid our money, and then realized a couple things:

1. Everyone else knew each other and we were the outsiders.
2. No one else was in running clothes. They all looked ready to hike.

As it turned out, “Rush Run” was actually the name of the hiking trail and no one intended to run except us. Being the competitive souls we are, Nate leaned over to me and whispered, “I think we are going to win this thing!” (We did). It turned out to actually be about 7 miles (but it is West Virginia to be fair and I don’t think counting is really their thing) and we never saw any other people on the trails. It was still very pleasant and we enjoyed ourselves. The highlight may have actually been during the hike briefing where they let us know lots of bears are in this area and just to be aware. Then this older women wearing a Sriracha shirt yells, “Um, excuse me, what does a bear smell like?!” Um, what? Nate and I asked each other that question about every mile which kept us giggling instead of just giving up, lying down and taking a much needed nap.