Another Reunion - Another Great Weekend

This past weekend was spent visiting with friends who were members of the original dinner club until they moved out of the area.  Al and Lynn arrived Friday afternoon, and in spite of her allergies to the kitties, we had a fun dinner with Renee, and they spent the night.  After breakfast on Saturday, we headed to Staunton with Al driving - a real treat.

We were met in Staunton by Carl and Margaret and we had lunch at the Bistro.

The weather was cool but pleasant enough for lunch outside.

The reason we met in Staunton was because of the American Shakespeare Center.  We have been several times now and have never been disappointed in the productions we have seen.  This trip we saw "All's Well That Ends Well", "Return to the Forbidden Planet" (not Shakespeare but a hilarious spoof of "The Tempest"), and Romeo and Juliet."  The actors are amazing because they not only perform in the plays, but each plays and instrument, sings and dances.  When not doing a musical such as "Return..." they provide the entertainment before the show and during intermission.  It's a small cast and you might see the same actor in different roles within the same play.  The Center also has a national touring company.

The performances are done in a replica of the Blackfriars theater in London.  The small, talented, hard working company performs year round.  

We stayed next door to the theater at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and awoke Sunday morning to find it had turned cooler and a gentle rain was falling.  After having a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, George and I took a leisurely stroll down Beverly Street, the main drag in downtown Stanton.  The presence of Mary Baldwin University definitely gives the town a college feel and for a small town there are many fine restaurants and shops.  Here are some of the shots taken during the walk:

This is Beverly Street and on the corner is the historic Bell Tower building that now houses a fun pub on the ground floor with apartments above.

The personal passions of the tenants seem rather obvious.

This is a fun camera store and museum.  The proprietor is not only knowledgeable about cameras, but is a personal friend or acquaintance of many well known photographers.  The museum section of the shop includes one case of spy cameras that are really interesting, especially several Russian miniature cameras disguised to look like other objects, such as ink pens, lighters, etc.  This trip we did not have time to go into the shop, but we've enjoyed visiting with the owner on previous visits.

I've always been impressed with the stainless steel base in the window of the music shop.

One of the galleries had a project making videos of people discussing what they want to do before they die.  Out front they had many brief notes left by some of the participants.

 Some of the dining options on the street.

Where we had lunch before the Sunday matinee.  Later we visited with the owner/chef while enjoying a glass of wine at the CrossKeys Winery.  The restaurant hasn't been open long and she was working on her wine list.  The restaurant has already won national recognition of have many excellent wines at affordable prices.

Lovely hanging baskets were on all of the light posts.  Staunton is a charming and fun place to go for an interesting weekend, especially when in the company of terrific friends.

North Texas State Reunion

This past weekend was spent with my college dorm suit mates and their significant others at a reunion at Joan and Norman's in Fredericksburg, VA.  Judge Linda was unable to join us, but she was definitely missed.

It was great seeing everyone looking so happy and healthy and there was no lack of good conversation.  We talked so much that not many photos were taken and some how we never got around to our traditional croquet match or high stakes poker.  Some other contributing factors:  rain and earlier bed times.

Joan led us on a historic tour of Fredericksburg with a stop at a "Torpedo Factory" like art gallery - artist studios are open to the public and it is always fun to have the opportunity to visit with them and watch them at work.  I'm sure they appreciated our visit because lots of credit cards were used.

Lunch was at the Capital Ale House where the beer menu was bigger than the food menu but everything was great.

Lou and Linda in front of the pub.

There was always lots of laughter.

One side of the table 

The entire group. 

Sunday morning was a relaxed start to the day with shared reading of newspapers (may they never disappear) and enjoying Lou and Linda's microwave omelets and Texas toast.

Joan & Norman's home is wonderful for many reasons but one is the numerous places for reading.  It can also accommodate all of us.

After breakfast we sampled some wonderful wine from Texas and cookies from Central Market in Austin.

The wine and cookies were judged very nice.

Joan brought out a photo of the group at our first reunion so we assumed the pose and recreated (well, sort of) the original shot.  Judge Linda was the only missing person in the current shot.

We're studying the original photo for how we were

How we are.

No gathering would be complete without some couple shots.

Norman and Joan

Linda and Lou

Austin Visit - Spring, 2013

Several events delayed my sorting and posting photos of my trip to Austin, but it was a wonderful trip full of visits with friends and lots of good food.

Thanks to Southwest Airlines, there is now a daily direct flight connecting Austin and DC, using National Airport (sorry - I’ll never call it by a certain President’s name - not going to happen).  

The view from my window

It was great getting to catch up with friends and family.  

John and Michal always generously open their home to me, whether they are in town or not.  This time they were there most of the time I was visiting, except for a brief trip to visit with his mom over Easter Weekend.  There is no way I can repay their constant hospitality and friendship.

Anita indulging me by
wearing the scarf I made her

Marijohn & Anita looking
unhappy maybe because
their glasses are empty

Brian on left, Ethan on right, other
buddies in the middle during lunch
at Moonshine

What a thrill to catch up with high school
buddies:  on the left, Judy, across from me on the
right, Laurie, and joining us, my friend, Michal

John, chef extrodinaire and Texan through-and-through. 

Michal, the leader of the pack

I had a lovely lunch with John and Joanna (note the candles - how elegant).
It was fun getting to try to return the favor by having them stay over with us on their return trip from an African safari.  We hope they visit often and I look forward to visiting with Joanna next year on the Isle of Wight.

When I go to Austin there are a few favorite places I love to visit.  On my trips I can only get to a few of them.  Here are some I saw this trip.

It is always fun just walking around John and Michal's neighborhood where "Austin creativity" is on full view.

You can't get lost with yard signs like this.

Now this is a mail box - just open the mouth and there's the mail.

Good to know Austin is still weird and you can still get tacos on S. Lamar.

It was really sad to see Lake Travis so low.

 

This used to be all under water

I still have a set of dishes from Sunset Canyon and I try to get out to Dripping Springs to add to my collection.

While in the neighborhood, Michal and I found a delightful restaurant/garden shop.

One of the lovely Gazanias in the garden.

This was my first visit to the Oasis since it was completely redone and greatly expanded.  The inclusion of art everywhere was most impressive and I now have another restaurant to add to my favorites list.

This is a terrific seafood restaurant with views of the lake.

Well, it is what they think

Michal and I went on a search for bluebonnets and we actually found a few, but so few we could have counted them with just our fingers.  The good news is we did find some interesting photo opportunities and some lovely Talavera pottery from Guanajuato State, Mexico.

Found in Johnson City

I remember watching the artists in Delores Hidalgo, Mexico, painting this type of pottery by hand.  The working conditions were primative - open large shed with no heat or air conditioning and the artists were sitting on stools.  It is amazing that they can produce such gorgeous pieces.  

No trip to Austin would be complete without a trip to 6th Street  to do some shopping

During the trip I was playing with my new point & shoot camera with the 1000mm zoom.  The red bird was shot from the kitchen across Michal's backyard - amazing!  On my last night it finally rained just a little bit and I got a shot of the rain hitting the pool.

Now that I'm retired, I certainly hope to return to Austin often.