Beauty and the Badge: Day 2

This next day actually makes it among the top 5 in my life. I haven't actually made the list of my top 5 favorite days, but I just know this one would be there if I did. The beginning plans for this date actually date back to October, 2011! Our date had to be good since is was over a year and a half in planning.
It was a gorgeous summer day, and Andrew and I had taken the weekend to go to Shenandoah National Park. Well, as fate would have it, we never actually made it to Shenandoah. We drove near Shenandoah and around the Shenandoah mountains but never quite made it to the park itself. We did however make it to many great places. Our first stop that beautiful morning: McDonald's, where we devoured our breakfasts of champions. Our second stop: the Luray Caverns. This was such a neat place. We played around in the gift shop before our tour was ready. There was a skunk hat that Andrew wore the entire time we were in there but never actually purchased. When the time came to descend into the caverns, Andrew reluctantly retired his beloved skunk hat, and we waited patiently in line. We had both been to caverns before, but I believe things like that never really get old. Seeing God's beauty in such a remarkable way, UNDER ground was refreshing. I still don't understand how anyone can visit places like that and think it all happened by chance.
When we left the caverns, we decided to make our way to the Natural Bridge Zoo. This is where the day went from great to unbeatable. We drove for probably an hour to get there. The anticipation was riveting. We had only one main goal for the rest of the day: RIDE THE ELEPHANT!!!! You see, I had the amazing privilege back in 2009 to ride an elephant in Thailand. This was probably the one part of my trip to Thailand that Andrew was really jealous of. Riding an elephant had apparently been one of his lifelong dreams, and I had accidentally beat him to it. So today was the day. We were going to ride an elephant together! We made sure as soon as we arrived that the elephant was in good condition and ready for our combined weights of about 260 pounds! Well, he was :) Unfortunately, the line was too long to ride him right away, so we decided to walk around a while. This zoo was awesome. The Natural Bridge Zoo ABSOLUTELY beats the Virginia Zoo tenfold. Natural Bridge has more rugged qualities that make it feel much more natural. (I know I sound like a geek/animal enthusiast but take my word for it) We watched the cutest monkeys ever communicate with one another. We took pictures in fake snakes and of Andrew wrestling a "croc". We watched people take pictures with baby tigers. We played peek-a-boo with a real bear. We drank sweet tea. And we finally made it to the front of the line to ride the ELEPHANT. Although our ride was only about 30 seconds long (compared to 30 minutes in Thailand), it was sensational! We got our picture taken and seriously shared so much joy. It sounds so corny, but these seconds were amazing. The excitement I felt wasn't so much about riding the elephant as much as it was about being able to enjoy something that was so special to my best friend WITH him. The rest of the day could have gone miserably, but we still would have been floating on cloud nine. When we had completed our fun at the zoo, it was time to head home.
We pondered the thought of going to the actual Natural Bridge but upon seeing the price, quickly decided we'd save that for another, richer day. We were also able to satisfy one of my deepest desires that day. Many of you already know that I went to Liberty for three semester. During those last two, I drove home pretty much every weekend. Every weekend I drove, I passed an ice cream shop. Every weekend I'd tell myself "Andrew and I will go there together. I don't want to go alone". We'd actually attempted to go there when he helped me move back home, but wouldn't you know, they close on WEDNESDAYS? Wednesdays??!!.... Luckily, this day was a Sunday. Far from Wednesday, so I had a good feeling about this day. We drove and drove, and I began to lose hope. I was also scared because I started to think we'd passed it and that Andrew might be a little annoyed at my poor sense of direction that would cause us an extra 45 minutes of driving... Just as I lost hope, I looked up and had one of those "Aaaahhhhh" moments (that was supposed to be the Angels singing noise) Anyway, we pulled in. I knew my decision was critical at this point. I could not get the most expensive item, but whatever I picked had to be special. Well, I got a chocolate fudge sundae. It was great! Not really worth all the time I'd fantasized about it, but it did the job. Andrew got a milkshake that he said was "okay". I don't regret our decision to stop because it gave me the satisfaction to know I would not have to wrestle with my regret of never stopping to go there. This day was spectacular. I really mean that. It was an incredible day of relaxation and enjoyment between the two of us... and the ELEPHANT!!!