Visitors to Florida -- and Washington's next "Snowmageddon"
We get a fair number of Washington friends visiting down here -- and we genuinely enjoy them. They usually liven stuff up.
We've been running around like mad with a gourmet friend, Denise, picking her up last Sunday at Melbourne -- our nearest (40 miles) real airport. (We dropped her back there this afternoon.) She's a big player in Washington infrastructure operations -- so she's heading back just in time for The Big Blizzard, due to hit the mid-Atlantic states late on Friday. Transport there already went crazy yesterday with just a dusting of snow; luckily, the monster storm is arriving with the weekend, and therefore much of DC's usual commuting* won't be a factor in whatever chaos ensues.
I was trying to write about Denise's visit -- though I just scribbled a long footnote that's kind of taken over the narrative...
Sooo, suffice to say we had a busy few days -- starting out with lunch at a historic place called Marsh's Landing in the small inland town of Fellsmere. Tuesday we did Vero's art museum and lunched at an amazing new brew-pub in Central Beach. Despite the cool weather, we biked with her and DID manage a beach afternoon yesterday. There were several other meals together at fun places where we'd previously been with her (she's visited a number of times), and one evening she cooked for us and mutual friends. She also brought some gorgeous Italian wine.
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* Back in the mid-80's (yes, I'm that old...), I myself got caught by one of Washington's absurd snowstorms, trying to drive home from work to my place in the outer 'burbs. After an hour and a half, with the weather worsening, it became obvious I'd not get home on those clogged roads. Luckily, I recalled that a girl named Ginny -- a charmer I'd met the previous year in Germany (where both of us then worked) -- lived near where I happened to find myself.
I managed to find a phone booth at a gas station, looking her up in the directory (remember those?) and ringing her. Sure enough, she'd made her way home and was happy to have me crash with her. It took me another hour to fight my way to her place -- but Ginny was EVER so welcoming. And it was -- truly! -- a memorable night. (Months later, we did the girlfriend thing for a bit, but it never quite lived up to the snow-bound night.)
We've been running around like mad with a gourmet friend, Denise, picking her up last Sunday at Melbourne -- our nearest (40 miles) real airport. (We dropped her back there this afternoon.) She's a big player in Washington infrastructure operations -- so she's heading back just in time for The Big Blizzard, due to hit the mid-Atlantic states late on Friday. Transport there already went crazy yesterday with just a dusting of snow; luckily, the monster storm is arriving with the weekend, and therefore much of DC's usual commuting* won't be a factor in whatever chaos ensues.
I was trying to write about Denise's visit -- though I just scribbled a long footnote that's kind of taken over the narrative...
Sooo, suffice to say we had a busy few days -- starting out with lunch at a historic place called Marsh's Landing in the small inland town of Fellsmere. Tuesday we did Vero's art museum and lunched at an amazing new brew-pub in Central Beach. Despite the cool weather, we biked with her and DID manage a beach afternoon yesterday. There were several other meals together at fun places where we'd previously been with her (she's visited a number of times), and one evening she cooked for us and mutual friends. She also brought some gorgeous Italian wine.
______________________
* Back in the mid-80's (yes, I'm that old...), I myself got caught by one of Washington's absurd snowstorms, trying to drive home from work to my place in the outer 'burbs. After an hour and a half, with the weather worsening, it became obvious I'd not get home on those clogged roads. Luckily, I recalled that a girl named Ginny -- a charmer I'd met the previous year in Germany (where both of us then worked) -- lived near where I happened to find myself.
I managed to find a phone booth at a gas station, looking her up in the directory (remember those?) and ringing her. Sure enough, she'd made her way home and was happy to have me crash with her. It took me another hour to fight my way to her place -- but Ginny was EVER so welcoming. And it was -- truly! -- a memorable night. (Months later, we did the girlfriend thing for a bit, but it never quite lived up to the snow-bound night.)