On the road again

When you've spent the past few weeks mostly on the road, it's amazing how quickly the urge to keep moving returns to you. A road trip was definitely in order and this time I decided to fly (or drive) solo. Off to Charlottesville to visit Uncle Tom at Groundhog Hill, his magnificent place in bustling Etlan, Va. Three plus hours was a piece of cake for this road traveler especially accompanied by an excellent audio book, Annie Proulx's Ace in the Hole. Arriving at Tom's in the late afternoon makes for an exquisite drive in that last half hour outside of Charlottesville where it's field after field of horse country. The photo here hardly does justice to Tom's place and was taken after I descended from the house on my way out and through the gate and was too lazy to go back for a snapshot. But the night before I was treated to a fabulous meal, one that unbeknownst to Tom, I've deemed my last supper - it's what I'd eat if I only had one meal left. Fish with capers and lemon, fresh bread and butter and, something new for me, black jasmine rice a wonderfully nutty rice that only Tom would have stocked in his kitchen. An evening of Brothers and Sisters on dvd was the perfect end to the evening.

Even better than arriving at Tom's in the evening is waking up at Groundhog Hill and having coffee on the expansive porch. I departed for Charlottesville just as the crew arrived to work on the shingles. Took a tour through the mall, pedestrian area, of downtown Charlottesville. Emerged from the shopping mecca with only a few used books for the kids and a new pair of shoes more appropriate for my new life as a student. Was hoping to connect with Kent Dougherty, friend from Pingry, and city planner but it didn't work out. Enjoyed a nice lunch at Revolutionary Soup and time alone before it was time to head back to reconvene wiht the kids, MayLynn and Charlie to celebrate May Lynn's birthday.