Friday, Keven had a half day. Neither of us was feeling very well at that point: my system freaked at renewed sexual contact and I quickly developed a UTI. Luckily, there is a new product that not only relieves symptoms but also has an antibiotic to fight the infection. Praise be! No more peeing in a cup at my doctor's office every other month!
Keven, too, was feeling the after-effects of too much BBQ, so we all stayed in that night. We watched PBS's Texas Ranch House, which proved that only idiots think they can hack it olden times. Those of us with any clue about how things really might have been sit contentedly at home with running water and take-out food, thank you very much. I attempted to do laundry, but that was a hideous mistake. Not only was it expensive ($1.50 for a wash, $1.50 for a dryer cycle, and $1.00 for a box of detergent), but the machines were decrepit and useless. My jeans still smelled vaguely of baby puke even after going through the wash cycle. From then on, we had to be more frugal about what we used and what I needed to wash out in the sink.
Saturday morning, we headed to Penny Lane, a British pub owned by a couple of Liverpudlians, in order to watch the England v Portugal quarter-final game. The place was packed and seats were not an option, so we hunkered down on the floor behind a pool table and in front of an elevated wide-screen TV. Keven ordered us a full English breakfast to share, and I began the slow and steady parsing out of magic distractors from my backpack. Suckers, doughnuts, juice, milk, coloring books, books - whatever it took to get them through 90 minutes. Make that 120 minutes. Wait, make that 120 + penalties. Drat, but that got tough after a while. And the English bastards lost anyway. The pub was a deflated balloon of cynical national self-hatred when we left.
For lunch, we went to a Blue Mountain Cafe in Carytown. It was convenient, no frills, and served simple sandwich fare. I ordered a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for the girls. Ilsa said she did not want a sandwich. When I asked her to try a bite, she did - but then she shuddered so hard that she made herself sick. Again. On purpose. All over her sandwich. No even a sludge on her pants this time, it was so well aimed. She now has a powerful weapon against any attempt to force her to eat something she does not want. And Blue Mountain's staff got a fat tip, and we took our meals to go.
Richard and Jenny, long-time friends of ours from Britain who are currently living the diplomats' fat and happy life in Washington DC, planned to drive to Richmond just after the game. Apparently the entire nation planned the same thing. I-95 was packed and they were on the road for five hours; the drive normally takes Keven two hours. In the meantime, we headed to the pool. The hotel featured a little 8-ft wide circular pool that was only one foot deep - perfect for the girls to splash around in. After about an hour, we went back to the rooms, got dressed for dinner, and greeted our travel-weary friends.
Rich and Jenny liked the idea of BBQ, especially one with the potential for outdoor seating. Luckily, we knew of just the place! We headed back to Double T's in Carytown, anxious to avoid making eye contact with Zorg. We sat outside on the most lovely and tolerable evening we would have for the entire length of our visit. The food was excellent again, and we had a great 90-min meal, all talking and companionship. And no one threw up.
While I put the kids in bed, Keven, Richard and Jenny went to Kroger to pick up some beer. Virginia is so loose with their alcohol laws that you can buy full proof liquor at CVS, a regular drug store. I come from much more Puritanical states like Indiana (where the sale of cold, ready-to-drink alcohol is prohibited in places) and Wisconsin (no alcohol purchases outside of bars after 9pm), so that was amusing. We spent the rest of the night catching up on all manner of events, slipping only occasionally into "remember when"-style conversations.
The next morning, we strolled to the nearby Aunt Sarah's Pancake House (small local chain) for - wait for it - pancakes. Ilsa actually ate her breakfast of dollar pancakes, Juliette loved her waffle smiley face, and we marveled at the sheer American inventor's spirit demonstrated by making a casserole out of hash browns, cheese, and bacon. Gotta love Southern cuisine. Because it was Sunday morning at a pancake house smack between four hotel complexes, the place was packed. But we had a nice meal. Richard and Jenny also presented the girls with their indulgent gifts. Each received a stuffed panda, a star-spangled hair ribbon, and two giant chocolate buffalo nickel candies. The pandas were eventually named Adora (Juliette's) and Ziggy (Ilsa's). They come up with the coolest damn names!
After breakfast, we headed south of Carytown to a place called Maymont: a huge complex of historic buildings, cultivated gardens, petting zoos, nature trails, and wildlife preserves. We spent the first part of the afternoon in the gardens, but DUH - we forgot both sunscreen and beverages. The temperatures that day exceeded 95F/33C. Keven drove to a CVS to equip us more thoroughly, while Richard and Jenny played very handy wrangling roles with the girls. Jenny even endured being "taught" by Juliette while we sat on a bench.
Later that day, we strolled through the children's farm. It says something about their upbringing that the girls are so unimpressed with various farm animals. That, and Juliette knows what parking garages are for. They really are getting the best of the city and country, together. We ate ice cream and walked endless paths in search of "bears" and "foxes" and "bobcats." Damn natural enclosures! How are we supposed to see the animals if they can run and hide in wide, open, environmentally friendly areas?? The closest we got to seeing their vaunted black bears was a bear statue. But by then, the girls were too intent on their ice cream to care. And the whole thing was wonderfully, gloriously free.
The day was absolutely stifling, so dinner was essential if only to cool off. We ate at Nacho Mama's, a very, very tasty Anglo-style Mexican place. No one threw up. All left happy. Richard and Jenny departed for the North and we Loftys went home to our rooms.
Keven, too, was feeling the after-effects of too much BBQ, so we all stayed in that night. We watched PBS's Texas Ranch House, which proved that only idiots think they can hack it olden times. Those of us with any clue about how things really might have been sit contentedly at home with running water and take-out food, thank you very much. I attempted to do laundry, but that was a hideous mistake. Not only was it expensive ($1.50 for a wash, $1.50 for a dryer cycle, and $1.00 for a box of detergent), but the machines were decrepit and useless. My jeans still smelled vaguely of baby puke even after going through the wash cycle. From then on, we had to be more frugal about what we used and what I needed to wash out in the sink. Saturday morning, we headed to Penny Lane, a British pub owned by a couple of Liverpudlians, in order to watch the England v Portugal quarter-final game. The place was packed and seats were not an option, so we hunkered down on the floor behind a pool table and in front of an elevated wide-screen TV. Keven ordered us a full English breakfast to share, and I began the slow and steady parsing out of magic distractors from my backpack. Suckers, doughnuts, juice, milk, coloring books, books - whatever it took to get them through 90 minutes. Make that 120 minutes. Wait, make that 120 + penalties. Drat, but that got tough after a while. And the English bastards lost anyway. The pub was a deflated balloon of cynical national self-hatred when we left.For lunch, we went to a Blue Mountain Cafe in Carytown. It was convenient, no frills, and served simple sandwich fare. I ordered a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for the girls. Ilsa said she did not want a sandwich. When I asked her to try a bite, she did - but then she shuddered so hard that she made herself sick. Again. On purpose. All over her sandwich. No even a sludge on her pants this time, it was so well aimed. She now has a powerful weapon against any attempt to force her to eat something she does not want. And Blue Mountain's staff got a fat tip, and we took our meals to go.
Richard and Jenny, long-time friends of ours from Britain who are currently living the diplomats' fat and happy life in Washington DC, planned to drive to Richmond just after the game. Apparently the entire nation planned the same thing. I-95 was packed and they were on the road for five hours; the drive normally takes Keven two hours. In the meantime, we headed to the pool. The hotel featured a little 8-ft wide circular pool that was only one foot deep - perfect for the girls to splash around in. After about an hour, we went back to the rooms, got dressed for dinner, and greeted our travel-weary friends.
Rich and Jenny liked the idea of BBQ, especially one with the potential for outdoor seating. Luckily, we knew of just the place! We headed back to Double T's in Carytown, anxious to avoid making eye contact with Zorg. We sat outside on the most lovely and tolerable evening we would have for the entire length of our visit. The food was excellent again, and we had a great 90-min meal, all talking and companionship. And no one threw up.
While I put the kids in bed, Keven, Richard and Jenny went to Kroger to pick up some beer. Virginia is so loose with their alcohol laws that you can buy full proof liquor at CVS, a regular drug store. I come from much more Puritanical states like Indiana (where the sale of cold, ready-to-drink alcohol is prohibited in places) and Wisconsin (no alcohol purchases outside of bars after 9pm), so that was amusing. We spent the rest of the night catching up on all manner of events, slipping only occasionally into "remember when"-style conversations.
The next morning, we strolled to the nearby Aunt Sarah's Pancake House (small local chain) for - wait for it - pancakes. Ilsa actually ate her breakfast of dollar pancakes, Juliette loved her waffle smiley face, and we marveled at the sheer American inventor's spirit demonstrated by making a casserole out of hash browns, cheese, and bacon. Gotta love Southern cuisine. Because it was Sunday morning at a pancake house smack between four hotel complexes, the place was packed. But we had a nice meal. Richard and Jenny also presented the girls with their indulgent gifts. Each received a stuffed panda, a star-spangled hair ribbon, and two giant chocolate buffalo nickel candies. The pandas were eventually named Adora (Juliette's) and Ziggy (Ilsa's). They come up with the coolest damn names!
After breakfast, we headed south of Carytown to a place called Maymont: a huge complex of historic buildings, cultivated gardens, petting zoos, nature trails, and wildlife preserves. We spent the first part of the afternoon in the gardens, but DUH - we forgot both sunscreen and beverages. The temperatures that day exceeded 95F/33C. Keven drove to a CVS to equip us more thoroughly, while Richard and Jenny played very handy wrangling roles with the girls. Jenny even endured being "taught" by Juliette while we sat on a bench. Later that day, we strolled through the children's farm. It says something about their upbringing that the girls are so unimpressed with various farm animals. That, and Juliette knows what parking garages are for. They really are getting the best of the city and country, together. We ate ice cream and walked endless paths in search of "bears" and "foxes" and "bobcats." Damn natural enclosures! How are we supposed to see the animals if they can run and hide in wide, open, environmentally friendly areas?? The closest we got to seeing their vaunted black bears was a bear statue. But by then, the girls were too intent on their ice cream to care. And the whole thing was wonderfully, gloriously free.
The day was absolutely stifling, so dinner was essential if only to cool off. We ate at Nacho Mama's, a very, very tasty Anglo-style Mexican place. No one threw up. All left happy. Richard and Jenny departed for the North and we Loftys went home to our rooms.
2 comments:
"The food was excellent again, and we had a great 90-min meal, all talking and companionship. And no one threw up."
This made me laugh. :o )
Sorry about the game ;) I'm sure they're over it now. I wish I were a fly on the wall on Ronaldo returns to England for the next season. YIKES!
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