Was that a Bear?

Last Thursday L and I went to Richmond VA. L had a seminar to attend on Friday and I went along for the ride. (Actually, I was the driver.) We spent the night in Richmond on Friday and went to dinner in downtown Richmond which L's aunt recommended. (L's cousin attended VCU in Richmond so J knew where to eat.) We ate at the Tobacco Company. The building was built in 1867 a year after "the Evacuation Fire" (Civil War). (If you don't remember your Civil War history, Richmond was the first capitol of the Confederacy.) It was first a grocery distribution then a tobacco distribution. The atmosphere was great and the food was even better. The servers that I saw were all males who wore black trousers, white tuxedo shirts, bow ties, and black suspenders. The females were hostesses and cocktail waitresses and they all wore black dresses with black hose and black shoes. The restaurant even had cigarette girls ("cigars, cigarettes, tiperellos?")! (Unusual to me since you can't smoke in VA restaurants.) It was definitely a treat.

On Saturday we drove into Washington DC. We learned how to ride the Metro. I'm glad we got a pass because you have to have exit fare. I think that is hilarious...you have to pay to exit the subway! L wanted to know what happens if you don't have enough money to pay the exit fare. Anyone know? I told him I guess you have to stay underground.

We got off at the Smithsonian station. That brought us right to the mall where the Washington Monument was on one end and the Capitol was on the other. I understand how excited my sister gets. Did you know the Washington Monument was started before the Civil War? What an impressive building. All the tickets to go up in the monument were distributed for that day so we didn't get to go up in it. We really didn't have much time because we had tickets to the Washington Nationals baseball game. We did go into the Museum of American History. Part of it was disappointing to me. The entertainment, sports, and music section didn't have any sports and there was a musical instrument exhibit that had very little instruments other than string instruments. The rest of what we saw (we were there for two hours) was interesting.

We got back on the Metro and headed for the Navy Yard. (I was hoping to see Jethro Gibbs, but didn't get to see him.) The station took us right to the stadium. We had good seats. The game was good...White Sox 1, Nationals 0. Plus we saw Zimmerman strike out and the Nationals coach get ejected.

After the game, we headed back home. We were talking about stopping at an exit that has a very good restaurant that serves scrumptious apple fritters but we weren't sure about the name of the restaurant. Around 9:00 there was lightning in the sky...down to the earth...it looked like it went all the way to the road. So we decided to take the next exit...which just happened to be the exit we were looking for! There was a hotel attached to the restaurant which had only one nonsmoking room available. L got us some apple fritters while I checked us in. They were great! And we stopped just in time. The rain and wind were horrendous. (If you are on I-81, stop at the New Market exit and visit the Johnny Appleseed. You won't be disappointed.)

Sunday morning we drove the rest of the way home. Now, I have seen a lot of road kill -- possum, raccoons, deer, dogs, etc. But just on the other side of Christiansburg I saw a big black something on the side of the road. As I passed it, I saw the face. Was that a bear?!? Yes, it was. I had never seen a bear on the side of the road. It was bigger than a cub, but not a full size adult. And would you believe I didn't see any deer?

As we got into town, L asked if I noticed this driver ahead of us. He was swerving all over his side of the road...at that time. As we kept driving, the guy was passing the center line. After almost hitting us and a few others, we decided to call the police. The police officer didn't have to follow him very long before he turned on his lights to pull him over. (Don't know what was wrong with the guy. I'm just glad he was off the road.)

The weekend was exciting in several different ways.