My New Life

Ok... No fair... I just read the blog of the guy I spent yesterday with... I cannot possibly out describe the day we had...

For those of you who do not have access to his blog, we drove down to Norfolk (then later to Virginia Beach) in my convertible, and yes, the top was down because the day was like a south Florida spring day, not a late winter Richmond Virginia Sunday. We first went to Nauticus, the Maritime Museum on the Norfolk waterfront. We toured the USS Wisconsin, an Iowa class battleship, then walked down the beautiful parklike path over to Waterside...

Richmond needs a waterfront like Norfolk. Well, it would not look the same, but the access should be similar... I spent many years in South Florida, and in all geographies (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm) any time the waterfront was included in a construction/development plan, the area around it prospered... Richmond make note, the Canal Walk does not constitute waterfront in my book, even though it technically is. I would prefer to wrench my neck and peer over the warehouse rooftops at the James (from Legends Brewhouse) than bake in the stale air of the canal walk, which has all the personality of the concrete walls holding the James' magnificence out...

We had lunch at Hooters, yes I still like Hooters even though I am gay... We checked out the shopping areas in the Waterside complex, then headed back to the car for the short trip to Virginia Beach. It is fun to "cruise" on the main drag (Atlantic Ave, I think) with the top down, lots of things and people to see. We found some off street parking and walked over to the boardwalk, yet another waterfront development plan strikes gold, for a colorful stroll. I think the businesses along the beach mis-judged the potential traffic this weekend, as alot of the places were still closed for the off season. Those places that were open, while perhaps not staffed for it, were taking care of as many of us as they possibly could, with smiles on their faces...

The drive home was equally as pleasant as the drive down. We selected a mutually enjoyable CD and had great conversation between and during the tracks and yawns. It was a long, sunny, windy day for two middle aged youngsters... Not that I am complaining... I dropped my tour-mate off at his house, went home and heated up some leftovers, and tried to watch the West Wing, before falling fast asleep...

Thank you for a wonderful day. More to come....