Friday we had
reservations to stay overnight in Harrisonburg, VA so we could attend the
CrossWalk Adventures Fall Cruise-in. The
weatherguessers were forecasting 50%+ chance of rain, with heavier in the late
afternoon. We didn’t want to sit in the
rain and didn’t think many others would come out in bad weather either….so we
cancelled the motel and decided to stay close to home. I didn’t rain in Harrisonburg! They had blue skies and more cars than they
had at their cruise-in, in the Spring! I
don’t know how to deal with this…. Meteorologists
have so much expensive cosmic equipment, years of data to consult and I’m sure
they make more than minimum wage but they just can’t get a 24 hour forecast
right. I guess it’s not a new phenomenon
because I remember my Dad telling me the weatherguessers would seldom get the forecasts
correct when he would fly his Mustang on fighter sweeps or bomber escort
missions over Japan in 1945….but this is 2014!! We have been kept away from too many really
good events this year because of forecasted bad weather that didn’t materialize.
So….Friday we
visited Fredericksburg, VA and the weekly Cruise-in at the Dairy Queen. It was so very hot that we lingered inside
the DQ after we ate just to soak in the A/C for a little while longer. By the time we did venture outside there were
about 40 vehicles parked and more kept arriving all the time. The Princess told me that was because of the
heat….? It was a little cooler after the
sun went behind the trees so she could be right. Princesses are so sensitive about things like
that. While we sat by the truck, I was
engaged in conversation and let my “golden hour” of optimum photography time
slip away. For various reasons, I do not
like to take flash pictures after dark so the result was I didn’t “take” all
the vehicles by the time we left. Oh
well…. As usual we had a great time and
will visit again the next Friday because Nick says the big tire cars will make
an appearance….if it doesn’t rain….pfffttftt
I have wipers and real tires….hehehehehe
I had done some maintenance
on the truck recently and wanted to put a few local miles on it to ensure I did
it correctly, so we decided to cruise somewhere on Sunday. Dan & Ramona suggested we revisit Tim’s
at Lake Anna, VA for seafood. It sounded
like a good idea to the Princess so we polled some of our regular cruisers and
we set up a 4 car cruise to the lake. It’s
challenging to put together a cruise when the participants are geographically
scattered all over VA….but we did! We
had to drive a few extra miles to include everyone….but it WAS a cruise ya
know! Dan & Ramona and the Princess
& I left Stafford, cruised to Spotsylvania and were joined by Fred &
Debie. Then we cruise together to Tim’s restaurant
where Lou & Arlene were waiting for us.
Lou intercepted me
as we ambled in from the parking lot and asked if we wanted to dine inside or
out? Since I had already made
reservations for inside I was confused (something that is happening with more
regularity lately). I should have
remembered those lessons from the sensitivity training classes about actually
listening when someone is talking to me….think about what they are saying, not
just waiting for the noise to stop so I can talk again. In my past professional life I was very good
at that but in retirement I don’t use all those interpersonal habits that
served me so well for 40 years. So….I
acknowledged Lou but didn’t really think about what he was asking. We are both hearing challenged and when we
get in large groups the background buzz almost renders us deaf. Inside Tim’s the big screen TV’s were blaring
the first ‘real’ Redskins game….the normal background buzz was ratcheted up
about a gazillion decibels…..just short of ear bleeding. Most of the time I could see people’s mouths
move but couldn’t understand if they were asking me to pass the Grey Poupon or
trying to tell me that my hair was on fire!
We got through it….but it’s a task.
After about a half hour into the meal I remembered Lou asking inside or
out? Now I know why….
Most of you may not
know that the Princess likes to eat blue point crabs. She will devour as many as you put in front
of her. And we found out Debie will do
the same thing! But Lou & Arlene do
not eat crabs….what’s up with that? I
thought it was in the Virginia Residency Agreement that you HAD to like to eat
crabs? Lou’s expressions went from
wonderment to disgust to amazement….and back & fourth a few times….it was
fun to watch him as he watched Debie & the Princess devour enough crabs to
sink a small boat! Because of the
aforementioned noise level and Lou’s Italian body language it was like watching
a Mime describe sausage factory. It
really was a fun two (2) hours dining at Tim’s.
The food was a little salty but great which matched the very attentive
service. I recommend this eatery
whenever you are near Lake Anna….and you can get to it by water too!
When we were all
full from the great food or tired from watching the Princess eat, we waddled
out to our rides and discussed the next leg of the day’s cruise. Fred & Debie left for home but the rest
of us decided to cruise to Culpeper and see if Bruster’s Ice Cream was still
there….it was! This is one of the nicest
Bruster’s we have ever visited. It’s
close to Rt. 29 and the parking lot is very spacious….which complements the
staff that is always helpful and quick.
We always try to visit this place whenever we are within…oh….1500 miles
of it! It was going to be dark soon so we
said our goodbyes and cruised 36 miles home to Stafford. What a day….you really have to drive those
hot rods to realize how much fun they are.
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