It was another beautiful fall day in Northern Virginia with temperatures in the 70’s. All too soon it will be winter weather here with the cold temperatures and chilly winds. We just knew we had to get out of the apartment and do something! After a lengthy debate of what and where, we decided to visit a favorite spot of ours – Old Town Alexandria, founded in 1749. This area is just flooded with history that includes beautiful townhomes and many-chimnied houses from many years ago.
“A busy, historic district along the Potomac, Old Town is marked by cobblestone streets and 18th-century townhouses. George Washington slept at Gadsby’s Tavern, one of the many small museums in the area. Another is Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, opened in 1783. Indie boutiques and foodie spots line King Street, and there are open-air eateries by the river. The Saturday farmers’ market has been operating for 260 years.” ― Google
We started our day with a couple of local errands and then headed down the road. Our first stop was lunch at Bugsy’s on King Street. One block near the waterfront, King Street is now closed to motor vehicles and is a pedestrian walkway of food options. We sat outside and enjoyed a burger, excellent hot french fries and a calzone. Of course a beer and diet coke were also consumed!
Afterwards, we walked around the corner to revisit a favorite Virginia shop where you can find everything Old Town and many Virginia and D.C. items of interest. I added this great sweatshirt to my growing cold weather collection. Sadly, the Christmas shop next door closed its doors so we consoled outselves with a delicious dish of Creamery rocky road ice cream and oreo ice cream as we people-watched from the bench outside. All too soon the ice cream was gone and the parking meter was out of time, so we headed back home to laundry, holiday decorating and an attempted nap.
On our way out of town, we passed the square where a weekly farmers’ market is held year ’round and the holiday tree was up but not decorated yet. We drove by Captain’s Row, a beautiful tree-lined cobblestone street with lots of leaves falling to the ground. We also decided to stop by the Spite House on Queen Street.
Interesting trivia about the Spite House:
America’s skinniest home is a two-story townhouse in Old Town, Alexandria .
Called the “Hollensbury Spite House,” it’s just 7 feet wide and 25 feet deep.
The original owner built the home in 1830 because he was annoyed by loud alley loiterers.
It was another great day, out and about near our Virginia home!
Karen and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful November day in the 70’s and visit a place we have wanted to see for a few years, but never made it there. Nearby there are battlefields, wineries, museums and Patsy Cline’s home that can be visited.
Winchester is about 1-1/2 hours away from our current location. Toll roads or by ways? We chose the by-ways, added a few minutes to the comuute but saved $$ on the tolls and were rewarded with beautiful views along the way. We arrived in Winchester at lunch time and hungry. The diner we thought we were going to eat at, ended up not impressing us so we drove to Loudoin Street area and attempted to find street parking nearby. Unsure if the handicapped parking was no charge – there was a handicap parking sign but no pay parking meter, we asked a couple of people but they did not know either. So, Karen moved the car while I waited at the Water Stree Kitchen for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Our server was great and we enjoyed our meal. Not the cheapest lunch, but it didn’t matter. We were eating outside in a place we wanted to visit, on a sunny November day in Northern Virginia!
Winchester boasts a 2-block walking mall – no cars allowed. We walked the entire area and it was a bit sad that the stores were closed for the most part and the place looked a bit deserted, except for a few homeless people, who did not bother us. After lunch we checked out an antique store and poke around in thre for a while. We came out empty handed. Karen was looking for the perfect birthday gift for a friend and found a store that had items she liked. And that was sum total of our walking mall shopping day! There were some historical buildings along the walking mall that were interesting, from the 1700’s adnd 1800’s. We love checking out the old buildings and fantacising about the days gone by long ago. What was that building orginially used for? Who lived in that building? Was this a one-lane road that horse and carriage traversed? You can just set your imagination to work in a place like this! As we drove thorugh town, there were several older, huge houses and buildings, many with historical markers proudly displayed.
All in all, it was a good day for a road trip. On our way home, we stopped at a favortie grocery store to get a few things that we have been unable to find at our corner grocery store. Life is good in Virginia! Stay tuned for more Out and About blog posts as we find time to travel locally and investigate this historical area.
My apologies for the untouched photos. My computer did not want to behave today! All photos taken by Karen on an iPhone.
Step outside your front door and visit the area you live in – it’s an eye opener!
Where else can you visit an embassy AND do some Christmas shopping? The answer: Our nation’s capital, Washington, DC! We started our holiday shopping early this year and plan to attend several other local Christmas Markets in the next two months. What do you do when you are not ready to travel internationally because of health safety issues? You visit the embassy! We took some time Saturday morning to visit the Czech Embassy and do a little early Christmas shopping. One of our fond memories of the Czech Republic was visiting Cesky Krumlov – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – a couple years ago.
As we traveled along a beautiful, winding road with fall trees, meandering water and waterfalls and huge arched bridges, we marveled at the beauty around us. We passed such icons on our way as the Watergate Hotel, the first Marriott Hotel in the United States, Kennedy Center, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and traveled over the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. Where else can you see all these historic places on a scenic drive to an embassy Christmas market?
The market was full of beautiful glass ornaments (one of which came home with us), jewelry made with Czech beads, traditional pastries, wine and food. There was also a live nativity complete with animals. The only thing really missing was a place to sit! This lack of seating is typical of the European markets we have visited.
We love going to Christmas markets both overseas and at home. The plan is to visit as many as we can locally. Not that we really NEED any more Christmas decorations but it’s fun looking and finding that one thing that speaks to you and says, “Take me home.”
Here’s a bit of history about Czech Christmas traditions –
Christmas is the most important holiday in the Czech Republic. The main part of Christmas is celebrated December 24 and is called Generous Day. It is a time when families get together, observe thousand year-old traditions in order to give thanks for the past year and bring fortune and good health to the next, and prepare the most festive dinner of the year.
Our diploma cover and front cover for the 50th Reunion Yearbook
Unfortunately for the Class of ’71, our original 50th reunion plans were canceled due to COVID-19. Our overall theme for the reunion is Celebrating Us…Remembering Them. Our evening celebration is Peace, Love and Friendship. Classmates attending were encouraged to dress in 60’s and 70’s attire.
We had a great turnout for this reunion. Many classmates will be attending one of our reunions for the first time. A busy weekend is planned – Dinner celebration on Friday night, visit and tour of the old stomping grounds aka school on Saturday and a casual get-together at a country bar that has hosted our class get-togethers during previous reunions on Thursday night. I have not attended many of our reunions. It’s always interesting to see how much we’ve grown up and changed over the years. Many classmates have been married for 45+ years, have children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.
For over a year, I have been working on a 50th reunion yearbook using Shutterfly. We started out by asking classmates 10 simple questions online and then they submitted their answers. It’s been interesting reading about the many successes of my classmates. It’s also been a bit sad reading about the deaths of spouses and children. A page in the yearbook has been dedicated to classmates who have passed on over the years. I’ve also dedicated a page spread to those classmates that served our United States militaries during a very troubling time – the Vietnam War. This book was a labor of love and I’m proud of the published result, even if it was a bit difficult to get 120 clean copies in the end.
What is a guilty pleasure? A guilty pleasure is something that “one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.” Many classmates chose chocolate. Many chose bourbon, scotch, wine. Some classmates chose not to reveal their guilty pleasures or said they did not feel guilty about anything! Gardening, food, sports, spending time with family and friendships were answers to what they like to do in their free time. Hobbies varied from sewing to painting to “making stuff” to cooking or in general, just enjoying life.
My classmates are all over the world. I find it interesting that many have stayed close to home but a few have wandered a bit further. Bermuda, UK and Australia come to mind. Most, however reside somewhere in the continental United States, many in the greater Rochester area.
The over 100 classmates that responded to the survey represent many areas of our school culture – sports, music, theater and other school clubs such as DECA, honor society, cheerleaders, library, pep squad, chess and too many more to mention. These have been listed as their fond memories of high school. Also several teachers were mentioned; many had the same remembrance. Probably the two most common mentions were a female Physical Education teacher and a Music teacher. Other teachers were fondly mentioned as being guiding lights for future careers and personal development.
As time drew nearer to the reunion, a few classmates had to cancel for various reasons. Such a shame to miss such a momentous occasion! But, once again COVID rears it’s ugly head to put a damper on many events so why should our 50th reunion be any different? Even after all the stress, planning, worrying, re-planning, this 3-day weekend was great. We had a selfie booth, a couple of photographers, a DJ, a beautiful venue, games and lots of surprises, not to mention the 50-page yearbook full of memories for the class of ’71.
Not only will this 4-day trip include reunion plans, but also I have a luncheon planned with my sisters-in-law and significant others and a lunch with my nephew and his family. Karen has plans to see an ‘old’ friend who lives in the area. Busy! Busy! It’s going to be an exhausting 4 days in Rochester!
AFTER THE REUNION UPDATE:
I think we all need a t-shirt that says, “I survived my 50th high school reunion!” Such a great event took place that took 2-1/2 years to plan, many stresses (venue, wine glasses and yearbooks come to mind), connecting with our original graduating class to make sure they all knew the plans so they could attend. It was a momumental job taken on largely by one person, using the internet, email and Facebook.
Except for some inclement weather, the weekend was a huge success. Below are my event recaps as posted on Facebook.
Thursday Night – Nashville’s It was a night of friendships lost and friendships found at our casual gathering of the class of ‘71 at Nashville’s, Thursday evening. Lively conversations were everywhere. Reminiscing and catching up. It was good to see so many familiar faces and to put names with those not readily recognized. I truly wish more classmates would participate in our reunions. I know that I’m guilty of being absent from many of the more recent ones. I had a nice conversation with Carl Hansen. Gave Edna Ash a hug. Received a bear hug from Jesse Ingram. Chatted with Kathy Doherty, Jane June, Quentin Gordon, Gloria VanGelder, Mary Ellen Toomey, Sam DeCicco and too many more to mention. I had my picture taken with Janet Magraw, Marcie Greer, her daughter Dawn and my daughter Karen Rosington. Chatted with a few more on my way to or from the little Cowgirls room. Stopped and talked to a couple of the guys – Rich Ferguson and Alan Lowe. Talked with Amy Camardo. And the list goes on. Queen Janet was the perfect hostess. She never sat down. She graciously accepted her due from the appreciative classmates. And enjoyed many glasses of Merlot. Looking forward to tonight at the Wilder Room. I’m sure more fun and connections will be made. Addresses, emails and phone numbers will be exchanged. Food, wine, and Carol Messina’s games enjoyed. Tons of selfie pictures created. And the 50th Reunion yearbook pages well turned. Until tonight…
Friday Night – Wilder Room The ‘big’ event night at the Wilder Room was a great success thanks largely to Janet Magraw’s ongoing efforts on behalf of our class. Mention must also go out to Carol Messina, Paula Summit, DJ Bobby Rocker, Amy Camardo, the staff of the Wilder Room and of course the classmates who attended, and danced the night away. Of special note is the 50th wedding vow renewal for a classmate who was married before graduation, before her husband went to boot camp. Our photographer for the night, Karen Rosington, captured the evening’s moments which will be shared at a later date. I must also mention the inclement weather, for historical purposes. I hope you enjoyed the yearbook. I had so much fun putting it together for all of you! Next stop: back to school!
Saturday Noon – RH Central School, James E. Sperry Building Back to School with the class of ’71 walking the halls of the James E Sperry building. It was a big school our sophomore year and even bigger in our ‘senior’ years!! Too much walking for this graduate. The breezeways are now enclosed. The library has tons of books but lacks the ambiance of the old library. The new gym is at the back of the building as a newer addition. The auditorium has new seats. The cafeteria looked the same. Comments on honey buns and peanut butter cookies were in the air. To these tired eyes, the dedicated colors of the halls and lockers were different. Luckily for a few late comers, the principal’s office was closed and no tardy slips were given. And our 50th reunion is now complete. Connections that were lost may have been found. Peace, love and friendship to all.
Family Time Friday, Karen and I treated my 3 sisters-in-law and their significant others to lunch at a local Spencerport restaurant. It was good to see them, get hugs and update each other on what’s been happening. Saturday, it was my intention to treat my nephew and his family to lunch at another local favorite spot near the lake, but his long arm beat out my short arm when it came time to pay the bill! Afterwards, we drove along Edgemere Drive, contemplated stopping at Abbott’s, stopped at the Rochester Genesee Lighthouse for some updated pictures and headed back to our temporary base in Henrietta.
All too soon, it was time to return the rental car and get on a regional jet in the fog to head to our new home in Virginia. During the time I worked on the yearbook, I had surgeries, injuries, hospital stays, computer issues and moved a few times. But I met my deadline to finish the yearbook before our (cancelled) July reunion plans. The next problem involved getting a clean, published copy as Shutterfly had issues printing the books. Almost 400 were shipped to get the original order of 120 clean copies! Each book was unwrapped and looked through carefully to check for “blue measles” that appeared on several pictures. Finally, we had enough yearbooks, which I believe were enjoyed by all.
Now I have almost 900 pictures that Karen took throughout the weekend to look through and choose the best ones to share with everyone!
Twenty Steps at a Time 