Sometime during the night I got up, got dressed and left the hotel because now I am running down this dimly-lit alley. And, right behind me is a giant oyster...chasing me! And, right behind the oyster, there's a giant slice of coconut cake...how did inanimate objects grow arms and legs?!?! And they're carrying these bells (dinner bells?), and they keep ringing them...why won't the ringing stop?!
Wait...it's the telephone ringing...my 4:30AM wake up call. I'm not in an alley, I'm still in bed. Whew!...that was close!
So, I stagger out of bed...make coffee and pack up. By 5:30AM, I'm on the road for the 544 mile trip to visit my friend, Roxy, in Virginia. By the time that the sun comes up, I'm already in North Carolina when I see something...something horrible. It's...It's...snow! Yuck! I'm already missing Florida...cold spell or not.
It's a long drive today...all the longer when I hit heavy traffic coming into the Washington, D.C. area. By the time that I get to Roxy's in Sterling, Virginia, it's after 3:00PM...I've been driving for almost ten hours.
Roxy moved back to Virginia a few months ago from the Grand Rapids area, and she's sharing a house with her ex-mother-in-law and one of her daughters. It's a homey, comfortable place...with five friendly cats and one friendly dog. I'm tired after all of that driving, so a short nap is a real treat.
Then...it's time for dinner. Roxy suggests a local place called Sweetwater Tavern. There's a wait for a table, so we slide up to the bar for a cocktail while we wait.
Soon, we're sitting in a booth looking over the menu...steaks look good. Roxy orders the "drunken ribeye", and I order a Filet...well seared on the outside, rare on the inside. The waiter has a problem with my order...there is no "searing" at Sweetwater, as he explains it, just "rare, medium rare, medium and well done". Fine, I order mine "rare". Then, there's a problem with my salad order...I want blue cheese dressing, they only have "Caesar, raspberry or balsamic vinaigrette". Fine, I order the "Caesar". Another problem arises regarding potatoes...I order French fries, they only serve "mashed". "Obviously", observes our waiter, "you have not dined at Sweetwater Tavern before". No...obviously not.
Still...the food is pretty good, limited selection notwithstanding. And...I'm having a nice time visiting with Roxy.
After dinner, it's back home for a little TV and more conversation. I'm still tired from my trip, so I opt for bed early where I watch a little TV...joined by a few cats...just like home! The big story on TV is a huge storm predicted to hit the Eastern Seaboard sometime tomorrow morning. They're predicting up to 30" in the D.C. area...with a good chance to beat the prior record snowfall.
I'm heading up to Princeton tomorrow to rendezvous with my friends Bill and Kathy Lamping, who live near Princeton, New Jersey...where we'll be meeting up with Gretchen and Roger who are visiting Princeton on business...this is going to be great fun!
Still...as I'm drifting off to sleep...I'm thinking about how to get the jump on all that snow.
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