On the Road Again…

Well, I turned right around from Lilies and went on the road again. This time I headed east. I got to Ginger and Don’s on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Jimmy, Justin, and I went to the Rush concert in Raleigh, NC. From there we headed north and stayed at a hotel south of Richmond.

Thursday we were in Richmond for most of the day. I went to VCU Hospital to get antibiotics for what I think is Lyme Disease from Lilies while the lads went to the Museum of the Confederacy. They happened to be right next to each other. I went through the fast track check-in, a fortunate thing given that it still took 2 and a half hours to get a prescription for antibiotics. They boys, however, really enjoyed the Museum and the Confederate White House.

From there we looked for food near the Edgar Allen Poe museum. This was sort of an adventure as nearly every place was closed, but we did find a Dominican place. Jimmy and Justin were a little unsure of Dominican food but I really enjoyed it. Justin is more willing than Jimmy to try different stuff πŸ™‚

After that we did go to the Poe museum which I thought was really fun. I think they liked it, but I think Justin will appreciate it more after he reads some Poe. I believe he’ll love Poe given some of his other reading habits, though he might have to grow into some of it.

Last night we stayed at a hotel in Williamsburg across from an Ichiban restaurant. Both of them said they really enjoyed such places and we had a very good time, though the poor cook had to adjust for my seafood allergy and their aversion to vegetables.

Today we went to Jamestown. This was fun and I really enjoyed the museum and the movie. There were plenty of archaeological tidbits to ooh and aah over, including textiles. However, the living history part was a little too packaged. I’m also enough of a Calontiri to dislike people in garb wearing mundance shoes, even if they look very close to period. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and Justin had a blast running over the reconstructed ships. Jimmy didn’t like it as much because of the steps and ladders with his knee.

Then Justin and I went to the Yorktown Victory Center. This was very impressive and the living history here was significantly better. I tried to take a video of the guy blank-firing his musket a couple of times, we’ll see how it turned out. Rhianwen would have enjoyed looking at the tents, which I’d guess are Panther’s but not sure.

While we went there, Jimmy hung out on the beach looking at the girls. Strangely enough, he preferred that to a museum πŸ™‚

Now we’re at a hotel in Newport News. We’ll try and do the NASA Center at Langley AFB, maybe the Mariners Museum, maybe the USS Wisconsin, and hopefully a harbor cruise. We’ll try and at least swing by Kitty Hawk, which is on the way back to Ginger and Don’s where we’ll end up tomorrow evening.

Sunday it’s up to Maryland and staying at Vels’ for a couple of nights. Monday is a meeting with Dr. Richard Abels. Tuesday is dinner and hanging out with Marty and his wife who I’ve never met yet. More before then.

10 thoughts on “On the Road Again…”

  1. You got sick too, eh? Berend and I have been down with the worst flu ever this week! Hope the antibiotics help you out, babe!

    Have fun on the road-trip…

  2. Sounds like you’re doing big chunks of the tour we did in 2001 (just after 9/11- that was fun!). Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, the Wisconsin, the Mariners’ museum, and we did the cruise on the American Rover (although all the ships had bailed off to the Gulf when we were there and they wouldn’t let people into the drydock area.)

    If you had been there two weeks ago, you would have seen a Viking boat parked by the Wisconsin containing Unnr…..

    1. I would love to see a picture of a longship next to the Wisconsin. I love juxtapositions like that.

      Two weeks ago I was several days into Lilies though πŸ™‚

  3. Other than you getting sick (and I hope you feel better soon), it sounds like you had a great trip.

    The Dominican food sounds yummy. I’m an “adventurous eater” in that I’ll eat almost anything once (as long as it looks interesting and smells good). And I tend to favour Poe most often when it’s around Hallowee’en (or when I’m around a campfire or reading it by flashlight in the dark).

    I’ll be wearing mundane shoes all Pennsic again — my feet are big-and-wide (11W in womens’ shoes) and I need the support. But, as usual, I’ll be mostly covering them with long skirts, so hopefully the sight of them won’t bother you too much.

    Personally, I’d rather look at museum exhibits instead of looking at girls. Pretty girls can be found almost anywhere — unlike the sight of someone firing a musket.

    1. You know I never noticed your shoes, you’re doing a good job covering them up. I’m OK with that. Part of my problem wasn’t that I could see them, though, it was that someone was getting paid to historically re-enact and did not go to the trouble of getting the right shoes.

      As for pretty girls, I see your point. However, he’s 16 and has a different perspective.

    1. Yeah, I guess I am a shoe-Nazi. I just think it’s so jarring. I will say, I don’t go around peeking under skirts for people’s shoes. I go around peeking under skirts for something el… er… never mind πŸ™‚

      1. It was the “even if they look very close to period” comment that got me. I don’t wear period shoes (mostly it’s been a cost thing for me so far), but I have a pair of BΓΈrn leather slip-ons with a seam at the toe that don’t (in my opinion) jar.

        I will agree with you on folks who wear running shoes, hiking boots or Teva’s with otherwise historical clothing.

        1. Context does matter here to me. The person in lovely Elizabethan with mundane shoes peeking out periodically or the wonderful 14th century armor with cleats or the fantastic Saxon with wrappings over his hiking boots, those bother me. The person in their own camp, kicking back and relaxing, I don’t even notice. I also don’t notice non-period shoes on newbies, because I don’t expect it of them. For people who I know who’ve been around a while, whose kit is better in general, sometimes yes.

          I will also point out that these people that prompted the comment were getting paid to be period, not simply the SCA.

          Of course, I will furthermore point out that I go around in Birkenstocks far too often myself, though hopefully my new pair of shoes I’m getting at Pennsic will reduce that. I only have the boots and at times they get tiring πŸ™‚

          In the SCA we expect an attempt, and most of the time we get that. I obviously didn’t notice your shoes weren’t period so you must be making a very good attempt :). I also come from a kingdom with a ton of boot and shoe makers so I have easy access to shoes so I also have higher expectations.

          I guess what I’m really saying is: “Very close to period is perfectly acceptable in the SCA, but not ideal. Do the best you can given your resources and reflecting any personal foot issues involved. Very close to period is, however, not acceptable when you’re getting paid to be period.”

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