A Wet Sunday Morning in Virginia

The Lovely Miss Hayden's Final Recital

Evie and Her Girls

At Katerina's Greek Restaurant

First one up, as even Drew, my son in law, is sleeping in.  Gray skies, a wet deck, some rain herald an inside day unless it clears up later.  It looks like a leisurely Sunday with Halle and Hayden, the good life.

Yesterday, as predicted, was a sunny and warm day.  Since Hayden's recital was at 3:00, we did not do much other than get her ready.  Jill and I did manage a trip to Trader Joe's, for me to pick up a couple of cases of Charles Shaw's finest, and Jill also picked out some goodies.  It was surprisingly empty for a TJ's, especially in a dense area like Northern Virginia, so it was a pleasure to shop there.  When we got home, Drew was back, having flown in from Detroit Saturday morning, getting up at 3:30, to make  his flight at 6:00.  He was staying in Sandusky, Ohio, so he had an hour drive to the airport.  It was good to see him, catch up on his life.  Evie , Jill, and the girls left for the recital about 1:00, as Hayden had to be there early.  Drew and I stayed back, Drew cutting the lawn, me catching up on some reading.  We left around 2:00 for recital, about forty five minutes away at a high school auditorium in Manassas.  The auditorium was brimming with parents and their daughters, the show began promptly at 3:00 and we sat through 24 dances before Hayden appeared on stage, for her two minutes.  She was great, of course, poised and amazingly limber, effortless in her dance steps.  It's fun to watch her mature as a dancer and a young woman.  Thankfully, there was an intermission after the 28th performance, so Drew and I, with our wives permission, of course, took off to Old Town Manassas, to wait for them, as they had to sit through the second half of the performance before they could pick up Hayden.  We managed to find a couple of watering holes, The Philadelphian, your typical neighborhood bar, with what looked like locals, enjoying an early afternoon brew like us.  We then walked around town, as their was some kind of festival, with music in one of the closed off streets, people eating and drinking on the side walks in front of the restaurants.  We went in to Carmella's a fairly modern, hip restaurant and sat at the bar, for one more Great Lakes for me, a Shock Top for Drew.  It was much more pleasant inside, too warm sitting out in the sun.  Drew and I always manage to get some quality bar time in when I visit. as we have a mutual interest, a good beer, a run down bar.

Jill and Drew in Manassas, VA

The gang called about 6:30 and we met them at Katerina's Greek restaurant, where we had reservations.  Jill had heard about it through friends, that it was the hot new place in town.  They gave us a table, unfortunately, just inside the door, so there was lots of traffic but other than that, it was a very welcoming place.  The owner brought over a couple of tastes of wine, even brought me a taste of retsina.  Jill loved the white, which we decided to get a bottle of, and I had a glass of retsina with my meal.  When we lived in Turkey, we always drove through Greece on our  travels to various European countries.  And I always ordered some retsina when I got into Greece, either in Alexandroupolos or Kavala, and only then did I feel like I was back in Greece.  For most people, it tastes like turpentine because, like in the old days, it's aged in pine barrels and some of the pine tar leeches into the wine.  Retsina is living proof that people will drink anything if it has a kick.  We all had great meals, Jill and Evie whole sea bass, cooked Greek style.  I had lamb kapama, basically a lamb shank in a cinnamon and tomato sauce, and it was great as well.  The girls would not try anything Greek, so they got burgers or pizza, and Drew got a Gyro platter.  It was a good place to celebrate Hayden's special night.

Hayden Enjoying Conversations On The Deck

We got home around 9:00 and since it was a beautiful, full moon evening, all of us sat outside for another hour, just enjoying the cool air, the moonlight, having a final drink.  Jill and Drew have an amazing deck, surrounded by trees, so you feel like you are sitting up in the trees.  And the moon kept playing hide and seek,  with the few clouds, adding a special dimension to the night.  We all went to bed around 10:30, tired but happy.

Full Moon Rising

Today we had hoped to go to the pool but because of the rain, we may stay inside.  Late afternoon, my sister Ellen and her husband Walt, who live in nearby Herndon, are coming over for a barbecue.  We have not seen them since our last visit to Bristow at Christmas time.