Slow Roasting In Virginia

Halle And Her Dad

Fall Morning In Virginia

 Well, I am sitting in Virginia, in our daughter Jill's living room watching the temperature climb.  It might be a record-setting day, with highs in the mid-'90s.  Halle has already left for school, at an uncivilized  6:40.  So it's just Drew, my son in law, and me, watching the local news, sitting with our laptops.  At 8:00, he goes upstairs to work, as he teleworks from home most days now.  Saturday, however, he's off to Kazakhstan for a week, keeping us safe.

Yesterday was a long day, starting at 5:00 when we woke and we were on the road by 6:00 to Buffalo, where I was having minor surgery on my arm, removing a melanoma. The office was busy, organized, and my surgery was quick, 20 minutes,  and we were out and on our way to Virginia by 9:15.  I felt fine and drove the first two hours through New York, then Pennsylvania, on Rt 219 that goes from Buffalo south to Interstate # 80 in Pennsylvania.

Autumn Colors

It was a beautiful drive, as the trees are just beginning to turn.  Evie then drove for the next four hours, with a stop once for Mc Donalds.  About an hour and a half from Jill's, we stopped at the Shenandoah Market, where we always stop either coming or going because of their great veggies, fruit and bakery.

We walked into Jill's at 4:30, ten and a half hours after we left the lake.  Both Jill and Drew were home so they helped us get in our stuff and we quickly were catching up on their lives with a beer, talking mostly about their 20th anniversary trip to Booth Bay Harbor, Maine, where they eventually hope to find a house and retire.  They love Maine.  I don't blame them.  We left for Halle's volleyball game at Patriot High School at 5:45 and walked into the gym just as the game was starting.  Unfortunately, their team lost in two but Halle played well and it was fun to see her interact with her team and be aggressive.

A Patriot High School Volleyball Family

After the game, we drove to a nearby wings place called Velocity.  It was a busy place but we found a table and ordered wings of course, grilled for Evie and me and they were really tasty, as good if not better than those from the Bemus Point Casino.  We picked up Halle after eating and were home on their great screened in porch by 9:00, enjoying a libation, talking and watching the Nats game.  Halle joined us, enjoying some corn chowder which Evie brought especially for her.  We were exhausted by 9:45 and decided it was time for bed, the end of a long but finally good day.