Christmas Day at Emrick Flats

Our annual Christmas Party at the flat was great fun! We always "piggy-back" on Carolyn and Jim's party on the evening of Dec. 25th. The "Open-House" concept works really well to accommodate everyone's schedule. Usually, folks hit Carolyn and Jim's on the third floor and then mosey up to our studio flat on the 4th floor. Then, usually the roof deck for the view of Richmond looking North - East and West. The familiar Central National Bank Building looms to the South East - as it is so very much a part of the Richmond skyline. It is truly a "Movable Feast".

Christmas in Richmond

After the fun in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Susan and I headed for Richmond. My sweet sister, Carolyn Faye and my Brother-in-Law, Jim told us that they wanted us to go to the Legend Beer Brewery on the James River to meet some friends and see Marsha and Archer's daughter Jessie's Band called "A Good Natured Riot" play. (www.agoodnaturedriot.com) We all remembered Jessie as a little 6 year old with white hair, running around the campfire while Archer played his "claw-hammer style banjo" or his wonderful fiddle tunes. Well, Jessie has grown up - went to VCU and majored in Music - and voila: got a hot pickin band together! Jaybird, Billy Rice, and Frankie joined us as we drank Legend's best ale and listened to some of the best Bluegrass in Virginia.

Christmas in Hampton

Coming to Hampton is going home for Susan and I. Maybe it was our first place - we were on the condo board - we know the people - Hampton is our home. Jim Baugh just bought a condo up the creek from us and invited us over to his place at 3 pm - we had seen our neighbors Mary Lou and Wayne and Bobby and Michelle, Willis, Rob, - so we went to Jim's. What a hoot! Pirate Pete and Debbie - Jim's kids: Ben and Casey - Jim's friend, Ruth - and some other folks were there. We laughed and laughed at each other - Jim was in rare form: magic tricks, close up magic, and finally keyboard concert.

Hampton

Susan and I flew to Norfolk, Virginia - bumped into Claude from AMTI days - after exchanging a few words in French and big huggs - we gathered our bags and met Emile and Diane. They were kind enough to pick up up at the airport and take us to Vickie's. Vickie loaned us a car - and after kisses and huggs, we drove to the beach. Susan and I kissed on the beach where we were married (almost 10 years ago) and drove to the Oceanfront at Virginia Beach and arrived at our old haunt, Bubba's Crab House. Susan and I were meeting some good friends at Bubba's for lunch. I worked with them at Coastal Training Technologies from 1996-2000. Then Ike and I got jobs at CSC. Andy is still there - Hunter is freelancing and Coastal is still one of her clients. Jason and Melissa have moved on and Diane is working on her PhD at ODU. Ike is working at Northrup Grumman. It was sooooooooooooo much fun! We caught up on everyone's lives a bit - and laughed about old times. Coastal was such a great place to work in the early days. Good people and good times.




After good byes, Susan and I drove to Hampton. It is so nice to back at our place. Steve and Anna dropped by and asked if we could join them at the Hampton Yacht Club (down the block past North Sails and the Camera Shop) - Kate came over and then Mike. We opened some wine, and our neighbor Beverly stopped by - yep a party was brewing. So, we followed Steve and Anna as their guests to the Yacht Club Friday Night Social. There we bumped into some other friends. A great night for sure!!

101 Clematis - West Palm Beach

Our Tropical Adventure continues in Florida, as our lease will be ending in February. With Florida leading the country in foreclosures - and the economy the way it is . . . we decided to purchase a condo in downtown West Palm. We have been renting for 2 years, and the time is right. We will miss the incredible view at Marina Grande, but, living in a high rise felt like a hotel - and you cannot walk anywhere. Susan started looking about the first of November, and it is amazing how many places are out there. She found the Loft Condos at 101 Clematis, and contacted our realtor (that's another story) - and we started looking. When we walked into the loft, after looking at about 4 other places, we felt at home. It is small (the way we like it) - you can see the intercoastal (my criteria) - over the bridge to the barrier island to the beach (both our criteria) - I'll be 10 minutes from work (my criteria)- and you can walk to everything, restaurants, shops, library, grocery store, and Starbucks. (Susan's criteria) - Good Feng Shui here, it feels good! After a grueling 2.5 weeks of offers and counter offers - we settled last night on an agreeable price. Today we negotiate with the lending institutions - hopefully to close before we come home for Christmas. No guest room, but our futon opens up into a queen size bed. Hopefully, this will be our new Florida home.