Another trip to Hampton Roads
Jan. 30th, 2005 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damontThe weekend that is now ending is the second in a row that Sallie and I have spent in southeastern Virginia. And for the second weekend in a row, it snowed in Chantilly while we were gone. (And rained in Williamsburg, of course. Plain rain this time around, last night while we were asleep; lots of it, but nothing that froze. No ice on the van or the roads, for which we are very thankful.)
Last week, folks may remember, we went down to see the 40th Anniversary Sinfonicron show. This week, I had a directors meeting for the W&M Alumni Band Organization. And, since that was a morning thing, we made plans to spend the afternoon and evening at Interbaronial 12th Night. Also, Sallie took Friday off, since we knew we had an early start on Saturday. Once again we had reserved space at our timeshare; we ended up in the same building as we had last weekend, but on the top floor (3rd) this time instead of last weekend's ground floor unit.
Friday, we managed to escape home about 11:30 or so. Stopped in Richmond to do some banking, some feeding (of the minivan and ourselves), and some shopping. (Why is it that Total Wine in Richmond carries Kijafa but the stores up here won't? Psigh. At least we have some again.) Fetched up in the 'Burg maybe 6-ish, which was much better than the midnight arrival of the previous weekend. (Thus demonstrating the advantage of not having to change plans at the last minute due to stuff beyond one's control such as weather.) Firmed up Saturday plans and relaxed most of the evening, with a side trip for supplies.
Saturday, met fellow directors Mike and Mike at the Capitol Pancake and Waffle House for breakfast. Then off to the meeting while Sallie went shopping in the historic area. Once the meeting ended we went headed south to Suffolk for the SCA event. We got back to the 'Burg around 11 pm. Now, I'd been dragging, and had about another 2 miles to drive and figured I had just enough in me to finish the drive. So there we were at the weird intersection where the Route 60 bypass merges into Capitol Landing Road and then turns off. There's a police car passing us going the other way. And right as the nose of the police car is right next to the driver's door of my van... WHOOP goes the siren, right in my ear, FLASH-WHIRR go the psychedelic lights, right in my eyes. That woke me up... I peeled myself off the inside roof of the van, finished the drive back to the timeshare, and shook for an hour and a half until the adrenaline wore off and I could sleep. Sheesh. (No it wasn't us the cop was after, but the car going the other way that the cop had been tailing. But couldn't he have waited another 2 seconds?)
Sunday, we slept in, endured the sales pitch, had lunch, packed and came back to No.Va. The weather, which could have caused us a truly nasty return trip, went through the DC area faster and with less precipitation than it might have. Thank heaven for small mercies. BTW, it is a calumny to state that us traveling to Williamsburg in the winter causes bad weather in the VA-DC area. I have done so EIGHT times in the past four years, and winter weather has only been a factor on three of those trips. Nevertheless it's going to be April before I go back, when such conditions are far less likely to occur. (Not impossible; there's been more than one year when I watched it snow in the 'Burg in late April. But one shouldn't bet on such an occurrence.)
(WARNING: Non-SCA folks may be confused by this part.) We had gone down to the event primarily to help an old friend cook the feast, and got to see another old friend who was also helping in the kitchen. In the kitchen I met the current seneschal of Rencester (the branch at W&M that Sallie and I had named and had helped start), who was talking about why she tends to avoid court unless someone she knows is getting an award. Anyone who understands the divine sense of humor knows what happened next -- she got called out of the kitchen into court to receive her Award of Arms. (Which in itself is a Grand Old Tradition, certainly in Atlantia and probably elsewhere too.) The feast seemed to go well; I thought all the food was good, and if anyone went away hungry it was their own bloody fault.
Tomorrow, I guess, will be spent clearing off Dora Sue, and shoveling out our side of the street around her so she can go places.
Last week, folks may remember, we went down to see the 40th Anniversary Sinfonicron show. This week, I had a directors meeting for the W&M Alumni Band Organization. And, since that was a morning thing, we made plans to spend the afternoon and evening at Interbaronial 12th Night. Also, Sallie took Friday off, since we knew we had an early start on Saturday. Once again we had reserved space at our timeshare; we ended up in the same building as we had last weekend, but on the top floor (3rd) this time instead of last weekend's ground floor unit.
Friday, we managed to escape home about 11:30 or so. Stopped in Richmond to do some banking, some feeding (of the minivan and ourselves), and some shopping. (Why is it that Total Wine in Richmond carries Kijafa but the stores up here won't? Psigh. At least we have some again.) Fetched up in the 'Burg maybe 6-ish, which was much better than the midnight arrival of the previous weekend. (Thus demonstrating the advantage of not having to change plans at the last minute due to stuff beyond one's control such as weather.) Firmed up Saturday plans and relaxed most of the evening, with a side trip for supplies.
Saturday, met fellow directors Mike and Mike at the Capitol Pancake and Waffle House for breakfast. Then off to the meeting while Sallie went shopping in the historic area. Once the meeting ended we went headed south to Suffolk for the SCA event. We got back to the 'Burg around 11 pm. Now, I'd been dragging, and had about another 2 miles to drive and figured I had just enough in me to finish the drive. So there we were at the weird intersection where the Route 60 bypass merges into Capitol Landing Road and then turns off. There's a police car passing us going the other way. And right as the nose of the police car is right next to the driver's door of my van... WHOOP goes the siren, right in my ear, FLASH-WHIRR go the psychedelic lights, right in my eyes. That woke me up... I peeled myself off the inside roof of the van, finished the drive back to the timeshare, and shook for an hour and a half until the adrenaline wore off and I could sleep. Sheesh. (No it wasn't us the cop was after, but the car going the other way that the cop had been tailing. But couldn't he have waited another 2 seconds?)
Sunday, we slept in, endured the sales pitch, had lunch, packed and came back to No.Va. The weather, which could have caused us a truly nasty return trip, went through the DC area faster and with less precipitation than it might have. Thank heaven for small mercies. BTW, it is a calumny to state that us traveling to Williamsburg in the winter causes bad weather in the VA-DC area. I have done so EIGHT times in the past four years, and winter weather has only been a factor on three of those trips. Nevertheless it's going to be April before I go back, when such conditions are far less likely to occur. (Not impossible; there's been more than one year when I watched it snow in the 'Burg in late April. But one shouldn't bet on such an occurrence.)
(WARNING: Non-SCA folks may be confused by this part.) We had gone down to the event primarily to help an old friend cook the feast, and got to see another old friend who was also helping in the kitchen. In the kitchen I met the current seneschal of Rencester (the branch at W&M that Sallie and I had named and had helped start), who was talking about why she tends to avoid court unless someone she knows is getting an award. Anyone who understands the divine sense of humor knows what happened next -- she got called out of the kitchen into court to receive her Award of Arms. (Which in itself is a Grand Old Tradition, certainly in Atlantia and probably elsewhere too.) The feast seemed to go well; I thought all the food was good, and if anyone went away hungry it was their own bloody fault.
Tomorrow, I guess, will be spent clearing off Dora Sue, and shoveling out our side of the street around her so she can go places.
