I had lost hope.
Yet again friends and travel were an inspiration. This blog began because of time spent with
friends in Michigan (Joel and Megan Walther) and the persistence of one
Alexandra Sherman; this blog will continue because of time spent with friends
in D.C. and southeast Virginia, and the persistence of one Alexandra Sherman.
Two weeks ago I began an epic one-month trip of traveling
by train from my home in the Boston region that will ultimately take me to the
Pacific Ocean. The first two weeks of
the trip, up till now, have been dedicated to old friends. First I returned to Washington, D.C. to say
hello to some professors of mine and spend the night with one professor’s
family, and to have dinner with one Alexandra Sherman. Then I hit the tracks again to Mathews,
Virginia, where one Rob Ulmer serves as pastor of two United Methodist
Churches. I’m basically a brother to Rob
and Maggie now, and more or less an uncle to the kids. I think.
All of that was a blast and led to plenty of reflection, life changes,
good conversations, motivation and career direction stuff, and good old
fun. More on that after the trip.
For now I plan on focusing on the romantic side of things
and writing about the trip itself. Since
the better half of traveling begins now I’m starting to write again now. Plus, I had done the Boston to D.C. route at
least half a dozen times already so the sights weren’t all that
interesting. From D.C. to Newport News
provided some interesting window-watching, but because of my Civil War travels
a number of years ago I had seen most of that, as well. Thus we begin on the romance of being a
writer/artist set on soaking up experience.
On Friday, March 8th, Rob and Maggie dropped
me off in Richmond, another city that I had been to before because of my Civil
War interest, and I proceeded to write two poems before checking in to my
hotel. I guess it’s true that travel and
new sights fuel the creative juices.
In the afternoon I checked in to The Berkeley Hotel, a
mostly old-fashioned, fancy hotel with an old-fashioned, fancy restaurant and
lounge (The Nightingale) off of the lobby.
If you ever find yourself in Richmond I highly suggest the
restaurant. The hotel is cool, but
there’s nothing terribly special about it.
The restaurant, however, offers excellent service and an incredibly
diverse menu; each menu item proof of chefs’ creativity. You might have to wait a bit to be seated,
since the restaurant doesn’t seem to ever be full enough for a staff member to
serve as a maitre’d. Once you get past
the seating prepare to be wowed.
My meal consisted of: Caesar Salad with crouton strips
and caviar; stuffed grits (grits stuffed with mascarpone cheese) with green
beans, spinach, and mushrooms cooked in a delicious, homemade sauce; Orange
Crème Brulee with chamomile, topped with fresh fruit that perfectly
complemented the custard; and a Roth Merlot.
The Caesar Salad was average apart from the caviar, but the other menu
items were beyond description. My entrée
was presented beautifully to the point that I almost didn’t want to eat it. Other than the salad, each item was rather
expensive but worth it, as long as I ate the crème brulee with small bites.
I sat in the restaurant from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on a Friday
night and was still able to eat in near silence with dimmed lights. It was quite romantic and perfectly located
for people-watching out on the cobbled East Cary Street. Certainly I couldn’t have asked for more.
So began the fancy extravagance of my “vision quest,” as
Dr. Scott Kisker referred to it. I’m not
sure I’m questing for a vision, but many visions have certainly come already
anyway.
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