Homeward Bound and Almost Home

The road is long to my old Virginia home

but sunlight shines the way

and I recognize clear skies and

empty roads, and I can

watch the tall trees sway.

It looks like home just there

where the road rises and dips

with its artistic flare, and

where honeysuckle scents the air.

I am homeward bound  

and I am almost home.

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Adventures of BigFoot in the Big City

Baltimore, MD -The View from our room.

I am home from a Big City-BigFoot adventure and happy to be alive and well.

Baltimore is a beautiful old Maryland city, with more than enough to do if you are young, agile, and don’t mind horrific traffic in the inner city.

Strike “young.”

Strike “agile.”

As for the traffic?

A nightmare!

But we somehow got where we were going in spite of white knuckle rides and hysterical screaming at our GPS lady and maybe one or two jabs at each other (to say nothing of unacceptable language).

For solace, we turned to food.

Have you ever had Maryland crab cakes?  They are the best and of course I had to have crab at Phillips’ famous seafood restaurant.  It was just around the block from the hotel, but may as well have been on Mars.

I am back to driving challenges again!  Sigh.

 

But of course, the original purpose of our visit to Baltimore was for an appointment with an expert orthopedic doctor at The Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy.

And a wonderful doctor did spend a whole hour with us, discussing, analyzing, offering advice and answering many questions.

In a nutshell, this Gimpy Gal (me, Big Foot) simply (or maybe not) has an injured “talus” bone that may take a long time to heal.

So it was back to frolicking in Baltimore!

We frolicked over to the Whole Foods place and actually started to get lost in the garage.  But we somehow frolickedstumbled into the place and found the six loaves of decadent bread I wanted so badly!

We would surely not starve with all that in the car right?

At breakfast next morning we managed some exciting sight seeing by looking out the window next to our table (no driving required).

There was a mysterious tent-covered barge-like THING with a giant water wheel and it was parked and floating in the harbor basin, and the big water wheel seemed to turn of its own accord when and if it wanted to.

We took turns guessing what the mysterious barge might be.

And I wondered why technology wouldn’t let me take a picture and ask Google to please identify the unidentified object.  Why couldn’t I just say, “Hey Google, What is this?”

Whatever it was though,  it made for great conversation over pancakes!

Can YOU guess what it really is?

This is the unidentified floating object.

To be continued….

 

 

 

 

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Foggy Mountain Musings

 

My BigFoot “Expert Doctor” is in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It’s about an hour and a half drive over the legendary Afton Mountain.

And even on a clear day you can be confronted with fog.

There are lights embedded in the roadway but it still feels treacherous.

And it may not actually be fog, but the signs say so.  Last time we went “over the hill” we could see a low lying cloud enshrouding the roadway, and then drove right into it.

What a thrill it is to creep along and wonder how bad it could get and would we careen over the edge?

Can you tell I am a worrier?

We have survived the winter with several visits over Afton Mountain and actually this was the first time to experience fog.

From Virginia Living:  “The drop-dead gorgeous scenery disappears when clouds blanket the mountain. Fog and ice make for a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) has addressed safety by installing expensive airport runway lights along the 64 roadway to guide motorists…”

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The End of Blog Fog

It occurred to me this morning that I need to just sit down and write.

Having a blank mind and an idle pen only magnifies an unexplained malaise.  Maybe it started with the BigFoot that continues to plague me, but this is hopefully the end of Blog Fog!

For today I can provide some exciting unexpected writing (and hopefully reading).

Because today I am celebrating a wise purchase.

Not being able to shop afoot I have been keenly watching the internet for life changing “things” to perk me up.  And there it was -THE GARDEN OF EDEN!

Actually it’s a quilt.  A microfiber quilt that promises to “add an extra layer of light weight warmth.”  And it does just that.

But this quilt is also a Garden of Eden to behold.  It is complete with butterflies and flowers, berries and greenery in an overwhelming array of images that take you out of yourself and into paradise and ecstacy.   (Please remove your minds from the gutter though.  This is ethereal stuff.)

Ever pragmatic, Bill says, “But it’s missing snakes and apples.”

Nevertheless, and even though this quilt is a bit too busy to suit my craving for clean clear modernistic, uncluttered lines, I love it.  It is definitely light but warm and cozy-soft, and I drift into sweet dreams where I am lithely running across heavenly fields, no longer dragging the big bad boot behind.

Watch out now my friends in cyberspace.  ‘Tis the end of Blog Fog here in Virginia and the beginning of ecstatic posts to wow you.

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Goose Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia

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Joy at The Fat Tuna

“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.”  

~Jonathan Swift

If you are ever in Williamsburg, Virginia and you’re hungry (especially if you are hungry for shell fish), I discovered a place I would drive three hours to go back to.  It is called The Fat Tuna Grill and Oyster Bar.

I was yearning for  seafood  and though it is available “inland” where I live, it is oddly not quite satisfying.  But on our trip to Williamsburg I learned I  had forgotten the joy of consuming fresh oysters on the half shell and big fat broiled shrimp dipped in butter!

And that is exactly what I ordered at The Fat Tuna – oysters on the half shell and broiled shrimp.

Ambrosia!

Bill doesn’t know it yet, but I am planning a calculated semi-yearly blitz urging him to join me in return trips to Williamsburg – just for a repeat of that dinner!  Tomorrow would not be too soon.

But back to my somewhat less than professional food critic’s review:

I was oohing and ahhing so much the smiling Manager came over and touched my shoulder in gratitude for such exuberant appreciation of the chef.

I loved the service too.  “Star” understood  and she was truly a star in bringing us fabulous warm hush puppies and corn bread for starters.  I am off grains of course, but had a taste of each to set me swooning for more.   Selected sides were green beans cooked to perfection and fabulously delicious coleslaw.  And Key Lime Pie for dessert – the real thing!

The Fat Tuna is a casual dining destination – meaning it is not hoity-toity and you don’t have to dress up but it is pleasantly appointed.

Can you tell how much I love this restaurant?

If you love seafood too and you are anywhere near (or even far), The Fat Tuna is the place to go.

 

1433 Richmond Road
Williamsburg,Virginia 23185

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Williamsburg Adventure

Chownings Tavern – Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

The Way We Were

Tavern Reception Team

Bill and I have been escaping the past several days, on a brief trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia – not the first time for sure.  There is always something to see and do and never enough time for any of it.

The main allure of this incredible place is the ability to experience a “living museum”

where you can see and feel the past

whilst knowing you are viewing it from the future.

O.K. I know this doesn’t make much sense but it is perfectly true.

But we had another reason to visit the area this time.

We stopped at the MAI Conference being held at the Williamsburg Lodge!

Our friend, Pete, is the organizer and MAI stands for Mid Atlantic Innkeepers, so it was a conference and trade show for Bed and Breakfast people.

Attendees are either eager Hosts and Hostesses, eagerly Aspiring hosts and hostesses, or eager Suppliers of eager hosts and hostesses.

In any case, they are all delightfully friendly energetic people enjoying courses, classes, and camaraderie dedicated to optimizing the travel experience in today’s bustling new world.

Here are photographs of our friends who were working so hard to make the conference a success.

MAI Organizer Pete Holladay
http://midatlanticinnkeepers.com

Beautiful Friends Phebe and Katherine

Bill Wondering Where We Were

Believe it or not, the Williamsburg Lodge was a stop on our bus route around the periphery of Colonial Williamsburg.  We had lunch at Chownings Tavern along the way.

Bill tried the Shepherd’s Pie with Root Beer to swig it all down.  And I had Brunswick Stew and hot apple cider.  We were serenaded by a lovely lady in period costume who played the fiddle and then we were visited by a fellow who looked like John Adams. Then we heard a fife in the back room.

Talk about being transported back in time!

How I would love to vacation again in Colonial Williamsburg – but via a time machine back to 1734.  Then I would return of course, to all my modern conveniences!

Well, a lunch hour at the Tavern in the restored Old Towne will have to do.

A Colonial Street of Homes

 

Wood Pile at the Ready

 

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Lizzard Warning

Photo from:  WTVR CBS6 Richmond on Twitter @tristateweather .

Lizzard warning issued for Long Island.  As seen on northern state parkway.

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Look Mom! No Hands!

There is a major freeway in Virginia that boasts a long stretch of empty beauty.

No signs.

No buildings.

No commercial invitations.

No bathrooms either (the only downside).

But this big highway is wonderfully different.

It encourages liesure driving and a happy feeling of  enormous freedom.

The scenery is delicious too.

It is much like bike-coasting down a long softly sloping hill.

And although I know it is not particularly safe, I feel like hollering,

“Look Mom!  No hands!”

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What is This Plant?

I should probably know such things but in admiring beauty and color I tend to forget who plants really are.

Eliza?

 

 

 

 

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