Really a Chilly Day, Low 30s, and a Breeze....

This is supposed to be artsy. Actually, if I had any shame I wouldn't post it.

Well, for some not-exactly-known reason I ventured out today. Yes, it was nippy. I didn't stay long. A few snaps taken at Seashore State Park.

I spent 15/20 minutes talking to Bud Lite (pilot call sign), who manned the office at the park. A nice pleasant fellow who spent thirty years in the Navy as an aviator. Delightful fellow. Said he "likes getting out of the house" and works for the City (VB) at various places. Yep, we're the same age. I wonder if the City wants to hire me.... No question mark, as it's rhetorical, of course.

If anyone, from not in our area happens to look at this, the water is the Chesapeake Bay. The ships are anchored waiting for their turns to go into the port and unload more stuff for us.

If you squint your eyes a little and look to the left of the ship that's furerest to the left, you'll see a couple of the islands that are part of the Bay Bridge tunnel. The tunnel/bridge runs from Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  Edit: I just clicked on the photo and you can see the bridge and islands when it's enlarged. Not a bad snap, if I say so myself.

Virginia Beach, a Few Snaps

The entrance to the Cavalier Hotel

 The Cavalier has been around forever. Always considered a really ritzy place. It fell on hard times and needed tons of maintenance. As a best remember, a family owned it and they had a falling out I guess could be said. 

When the dust settled a developer bought it. Yep, with the blessing of the City and a big pile of the tax payers' money. Guess you could nickname Virginia Beach, the City that just keeps on giving. Recently, the folks who sign the checks became enamored with a basketball team. Yep, they, the city fathers pissed away over a half-million dollars on a survey. My City is big on surveys.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the developer is supposed to be renovating the hotel and building a bunch of houses. We shall see.

It its day, the Cavalier was a grand place. I've attended several wedding receptions at the Cavalier. Sadly, the Cavalier didn't guarantee success in the weddings, only guaranteed a huge bill for their services. The way the marriages went, maybe they should have had the wedding receptions at McDonald's.

I like this one....

 

I wonder how long it would take to wash all of the curtains in this place?

You want crazy? This place, A.R.E. (Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., Association for Research and Enlightenment), draws the believers just like a magnet. Believers? Yes, believers in every whack-job idea that you can think of. Want a degree in all things nutty, well, I'm sure you'll find it here.

Want your energy checked, a tube stuck up you butt to rid you of toxins that don't exist, back rub, chiropractor snap your back, crystals cleaned, acupucture, reflexology, horoscope reading, psychic lessons, you name it and these folks will do it. Hmmm, between this place and Pat Robertson, we here in Tidewater, Virginia have it all covered.

Seriously folks, talking about crazy, take a look here (http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/spa/spa_services.aspx?id=2105).

What the heck, is this? I couldn't resist. If you look really hard, you might be able to make out the first letter of the plate. Yes, it's I. I H8PEPL. I of course, was in traffic, trying to pay attention to my driving. And, I surely didn't want to be stopped for distracted driving or whatever the term is. My photo processing software is bare bones and the plate was washed-out because of the sun. This is about the best I could do.

I think it's kinda cool to carry your message on your license plate. Presently, I have two vanity plates: SKEPTIK and WN PGSFLY.

I enjoy looking at creative plates. Some are a challenge to figure out as folks have to cull the message down to seven letters. There are two I'll never forget and I saw these plates many, many years ago.

WEINER. Yep, this was on a van and I was on I 64, had just passed Richmond and headed home to Virginia Beach. As I passed the van, I waved and pointed to the rear of the van. The fellow smiled and also waved. Of course, this was well before Anthony came on the scene.

DOIOWU2. Yes, this also goes back many years. A clapped-out looking, dinged and dented, ancient Chevrolet, belching smoke, passed me on highway 58, just outside of Suffolk, Virginia.  I bet she had a story to tell.

For years, Virginia has used, Virginia is For Lovers, in their tourist advertising. I guess this plate offers a little contrast to that.

Ahh, I guess we could ponder, Does this person really hate people? Or, is this message meant sarcastically? Or an attempt to be funny?

Actually, I'm a little surprised that the state issued this. There are many that they have refused to issue.

It looked like a young lady driving. I'm not sure if she'd be hired by the goverment to be an ambassador for our state. What do you think?

So folks, if you're so-inclined, ponder for a minute what message you'd like bring to us and get to work on the design.

A Short Day Trip to Yorktown, Virginia

October 1781, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought at Yorktown, with the British surrendering to the forces of the US and France.


Perfect day to get some fresh air. Not sure what the temperature was but it was perfect. A nice bright sunny day. From my door to the battlefield is 37.1 miles.

Wow, these are some crappy photos. Actually, I don't think crappy adequately describes them. More like abysmal.

And, believe it or not I actually know a bunch of stuff about photography. It might have helped if I'd looked at the camera's settings before using it. Oh, well....or, maybe just put in on automatic. Sorry, folks.

Yes, another cannon.

"Le Renard" the "Fox." Click on the image then enlarge to read the plaque.

This is, OK??? Well, compared to the rest.

What's a battlefield without cannon?

Yes, just what I needed, more stuff! Dang, just couldn't help myself. Fifty bucks! I'm going to put the sticker on my car. Yep, everyone will know I'm a seasoned long-distance traveler. Could of been worse, I almost bought three packets of stamps at ten bucks each.


Just a thought. Do countries actually win wars, or is the winner the country who lost the least? Is a war worth the death of one citizen? Some wars it would seem that we, the US, have some idea of how many troops "we're going to lose." Lose? We mean, be killed. So, let's just pick a number. Let's say 5,000. Now, before we begin the war we gather 5,000 of our service people, line them up, and before we go to war, the President has to meet and shake hands with everyone of them, and in essence, say, "Yes, I'm going to declare war and you're going to die." No, I'm not going with you, I'm staying in the White House, will eat terrific food, and have a great place to lay my head down every night.


 
For some reason, when I post this it isn't  the same "look" as when I'm making it. Oh, well.

Well, I Finally Have my Car

This past Monday, my brother and I headed north. We got an early start, the temperature was in the low 30s and a bright sunny day.

The trip took a little under four hours and was a pleasant drive up highway 13 on the Eastern Shore.

The car was ready for delivery and sitting outside.

As a lot of my information had already been entered in the dealer's computer, the processing of the paper work didn't take long. We were soon back on the road headed home.

It was good to have this part of my adventure over.

Yes, the last few days were surely a hassle trying to find a car at an OK price; however, luck figured in and I ended-up with the car I wanted, a Subaru racing blue WRX hatchback.
Now, to get out and use my new car.