Since we’re all staying home and social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of virus, we’re going to have a lot of time on our hands.
We can blog.
Or Read.
Or binge watch our favorite trashy Netflix series.
But for the crafty and artistic few among us?
Please feel free to steal this idea.
Just be sure to post your versions when you do.
The rest of us are still bored.
As we were leaving the resort for the 12 hour plus drive home, I found this behind a door.
Clearly the previous tenants vacationed in the coat closet and didn’t want to be disturbed.
And yes, you read that correctly. This will be my last blog about the Williamsburg, Virginia vacation.
To think it only took me 60 posts to get here!
So…. it was a grey overcast morning the day we left.
And I have absolutely no idea what this was.
But here’s the Washington Monument….
And the entrance to a tunnel.
Was my husband obeying the speed limit?
No.
He never does, but when you’re riding in a rental Brontosaurus and the lanes get smaller due to construction? My blood pressure ruses when he approaches 100 mph.
I also look out the side window a lot.
Although it’s hard to focus properly at that speed.
Playing with my phone helps…
As does laughing at some slightly painful road names.
Here’s the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
And the toll ticket that cut off our George Washington Bridge exit price on the bottom.
For those of you who have never seen the New York City skyline on an overcast day from the New Jersey Turnpike at 90 mph?
Here you go.
Next up was the George Washington Bridge, where I usually close my eyes and pray to the God of Tequila that I’ll live to see another margarita.
Ironically… as soon as I started filming, the husband slowed down. Which is a good thing since the roads were potholed and in horrible shape.
Traffic was a nightmare.
But it always is.
And every time we pass these massive apartment complexes….
I realize how blessed we are to live in the country.
Was this water blowing off the top of that truck?
No. It was smoke, because something was probably on fire. When we crept up next to it and signaled the driver there was a problem?
He flipped us off.
Ya gotta love New Yorkers.
The rest of the trip was long, traffic laden and uneventful.
We were even too pooped to make our normal pit stop at the tax free New Hampshire liquor store.
Technically I took a few more…. but still.
Why is sitting in car doing absolutely nothing for 13 hours so damn tiring?
Which is definitely better than spreading the other thing that’s going around.
I stopped at the grocery store the other day to pick up some milk for our neighbor, a lovely senior lady whose family is out of town. She was nervous about going shopping and I was happy to help.
Along with the milk?
I brought her a bouquet of flowers to add a little cheer to her self imposed quarantine.
We all need that nowadays.
Got one for myself as well.
Wish I’d thought to arrange her batch before I delivered them…. they were exactly the same, but needed a little tweaking.
Oh well, they made her smile.
And that’s really all that matters.
This is for the food (and drink) people.
An entire post devoted to our final meal in Virginia. (That’s 2 in 3 days so no more complaining!)
(On a side note, it was Bogart day last Sunday and the husband and I did nothing but eat, drink and watch the classics.
The Maltese Falcon. Key Largo. The Caine Mutiny. African Queen. And my all time favorite movie … Casablanca. I cry at the nightclub scene when they drown out the Germans by singing La Marseillaise… every damn time! Good stuff.)
But back to food.
After spending 8 hours in an antique store that day I was in dire need of a cocktail.
Or eight.
And when I saw a sign for Eddie Romanelli’s?
I may have squealed.
I didn’t think this was a chain, but there was one in Wilmington, North Carolina we used to make a pilgrimage to every other month when we lived down south. Their Crabmeat Cannelloni in Carolina Shrimp Sauce?
To die for.
We sat at a high top in the bar area because of it’s… ya know.
Proximity to the cocktails.
Prickly pear margarita?
Come to mama….
Sadly the crabmeat wasn’t on the menu, but the fresh baked bread with herbed olive oil was wonderful.
As was the Caesar salad.
And the sparkling Tuscan lemonade. Fresh, crisp and quite delightful.
Husband had a juicy charbroiled steak with garlic sauteed spinach…
While I indulged my inner Italian with some pasta…. drenched in garlic Parmesan cream and loaded with grilled chicken, mushrooms and peas.
Were there more cocktails?
Maybe….
And damn that waitress for not clearing them as fast as I could drink them.
I’m going to blame the cocktail consumption for this last picture I took on the way back to the resort….
Because I have no idea what it is…
Or what it was supposed to be….
But trust me, it was fabulous.
If if it wasn’t for this nasty Coronavirus:
I could have been spending a nice long weekend here.
A beautiful and rather expensive resort on the Maine coast.
I would have been walking these vast halls….
On the way to our timeshare condo (which go for up to $700 a night in the summer, but which I snagged at the bargain basement off season price of $300 for 4 nights as a surprise for the husband’s birthday) ….
I should have been sitting here…
Fresh out of the hot tub with a cocktail and an ocean view.
I could have, would have, and should have been doing all of those things. But instead I’m stuck inside the house blogging while hiding from an invisible bug that wants to kill us all.
That’s just wrong.
It’s supposed to be almost 60 degrees today, a rarity for March in Maine.
I could have been walking here :
The Rockport breakwater, which leads to….
It’s very own teeny tiny lighthouse.
It’s cute damn it! And I should have been taking photographs for a future blog.
But no.
I won’t be eating at one of the resort’s 2 restaurants.
Or having a cocktail at the ice bar.
Granted, that would probably have been slush by tonight… but still!
I could have, should have, would have been enjoying it all.
But I did the right thing and cancelled the trip so I can social distance, or shelter in place, or avoid the plague…. whatever they’re calling it these days.
But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
The virus.
The pandemic.
The hysteria.
I know, you’ve heard it all before… and entirely too often for your emotional well being.
But now?
It’s hitting home for your favorite chicken and rock loving friend.
Our beloved local pub… that we support on a weekly basis… has shut it’s doors.
So please, for me –
And all those margaritas that anxiously await my return?
This is for all the people who scream about food pictures. An entire blog devoted to a meal.
Though I’m not a fan of oysters….
The York River Oyster Company in Gloucester Point, Virginia seemed like a great spot for dinner.
So we strolled around the marina checking out the boats before heading inside.
It was a little too cold for outdoor seating in December.
So we picked a table with a view.
With a pole right in the middle to ruin any pictures I might want to share.
Yay us.
I started with an Orange Crush which seems to be a very popular cocktail lately.
And then cringed at the thought of anyone wanting red wine in their Mule.
We started with an appetizer order of simply superb steamed shrimp.
They were perfectly cooked and seasoned and just melted in our mouths.
Cocktail number 2?
An Afternoon Delight.
And I dare you not to have that song stuck in your head all day.
Dinner for me was a crab cake and fried shrimp. The most I can say about them is they were decent. The crab cake could have had more crab and the shrimp were a bit overdone. Which was a shame because the flavor was there.
I don’t know what the husband was thinking with this abomination.
A burger topped with bacon and pulled pork…. for those days when your arteries just feel too clear.
He picked it apart and ate everything separately which probably defeats the purpose, but said it was good.
Dessert was a nice tart Key Lime Pie. Don’t give me those sugary sweet versions. When I order Key Lime? I want my lips to pucker.
Yes, like that.
Night descended while we ate.
And while I’d give the restaurant a solid B minus ……
I have to admit they did have a clever slogan.
I think we’ve had this conversation before, but if you’re a business…. hawking vitamins, web design, crptyocurrency, pet meds and/or ways to increase my readership…. I will drop your follow-ship like a hot rock.
I don’t need an inflated follower count and am perfectly happy with old fashioned bloggers who rather read and interact than sell me something.
So, yay me.
I’ve been zapping people left and right lately, and I’m sorry…..
But sex young girls love you can find here?
You didn’t make the cut.
No, not really.
InTheNameOfSeitan gave me pause…..
Until I learned Seitan just means wheat gluten.
Phew!
That could have gone bad quickly.
Toward the end of our tour of the Jamestown re-creation settlement, we were startled by a loud noise.
It was the Lord of Misrule and his motley crew.
The end really is near.
L.L. Bean is closing all U.S. retail locations beginning midnight Monday through March 29 out of precaution for the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19, L.L. Bean President and CEO Steve Smith said in a press release Monday.
Yes… the store that’s open 24/7 seven days a week, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas…. is closing.
For those of you who don’t live in Maine? ( I’m sorry, you really should.)
Or are unfamiliar with L.L. Beans? (Where have you been, under a rock?)
THEY NEVER CLOSE!
Ever.
It’s kind of their thing.
They don’t even have locks on their doors!
Of course this is huge news up here as they employ like half the state…. so I can only surmise one thing.
We’re doomed.
The end is truly near….
It’s been nice knowing you.
River's world..... 