Week 32 - Aug. 5-11

Kings Dominion

Mom and DJ came to visit us in Richmond this weekend.  On Saturday, we took at trip to the amusement park, Kings Dominion.  This is owned by Cedar Fair, the same people that own a number of other parks including Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure to name a few.  It was a nice amusement park.  Lots of roller coasters and big rides.  This is definately a riders park. 

There is a waterpark inside as well.  We did both in one day, which is really too much as we were not able to ride all the rides we wanted to.  The weather was great.  We were supposed to get scattered thunderstorms, but they never hit us.  Only a small rainstorm while we were in the water park, which was great timing.

It was very tiring, but fun.  We stayed until close.  This was DJ's first time riding roller coasters, and he seemed to enjoy them.  Drew and Morgan were pretty much fearless, and Aiden enjoyed most of them.  We will definately go back.

Week 31 - July 29 - August 4

New Favorite Cuisine SOUL FOOD

So my office is south of the James River in Richmond.  The area is called, or was once called Manchester.  Downdown Richmond is essentially accross the river.  I compare it to being on the west side of the Grand River in Grand Rapids.  The neighborhood around my office is a revitilizing area, but was once almost exclusivly industrial, so as you can imagine, most of the good eateries seem to be on the other side of the river......save at least one!

Croakers Spot!  If your ever in Richmond, make a point to go to 1020 Hull Street and find this little gem.  It is highly rated on most of the internet rating type sites like Yelp and Google.  They specialize in seafood and soul food. 

So I must admit, I went here by myself...but what is a guy supposed to do?  Sometimes leftovers just aren't going to cut it for a Friday lunch adventure.  Plus, I like exploring to local establishments to be able to be a good host when my friends and family come to Richmond.

This place is in a really urban area.  Old buildings, buzy street in between an area of newly built urban condos and an area that has, what seems to be condemable buildings.  So I was a little nervous that I may be out of my comfort zone a little, but it was without the slightest insidence. 

As I am catching up on some blogging, I can't recall the dish, but I think it was the Fried Seafood Dinner.  It consisted of fried fish, fried shrimp, and crab cakes, covered with sauted onions and green peppers, with sides of cabbage, grits, and a piece of corn bread.  There was so much food here, even I, could not eat it all.

And it was delicious!  Litterally, some of the best seafood I have ever had.  Oh, and the grits?  They were great too.  Being a yanky, I guess I don't appreciate this southern side, but these were great!

The atmosphere was pretty cool as well.  The waitstaff was fast and friendly, even though it was packed for prime lunch hour.  They had some ecletic music playing, from what I could tell including jazz and some MoTown classics.

The building takes up at least two old storfronts.  In one half, the entrance if for take out only, which was packed, the other is seated dining.  Very nice woodwork inside that looks pretty recently renovated.  This is a definate go back spot.  I think this will be the spot when I am hankering for that grease fix/comfort food and look lazy to make it.

Although, I may have no soul when it comes to dancing, I certainly have soul when it comes to eating!  If they only had a microbrew here, I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Week 30 - July 22-28th

GOOCHLAND (& the Gooches)

What an awesome name.  Are people from Goochland called "Gooches"?  I was afraid to ask.  I guess that's the term I will use.  Goochland is a county that boarders Richmond to the northwest.  Pretty much just north of the James river from Midlothian.  It is about a 10 minute drive from our house to cross the river and be there.

White Hawk Music Cafe

Jenny and I, itching to explore the countryside on our bikes, decided to take an evening ride and check out Goochland.  We took a short jaunt on 288 north over the James River and quickly got off the expressway on our way west. 

It was a beautiful evening, sunny and hot.  So hot, that the wind blowing accross you didn't cool you down.  It was like riding in warm water.  The scenery was great.  Rolling hills, lots of grassy fields as well as trees.  We had hoped to be closer to the river, but being unfamiliar with the area, we stuck to the main road. 

Once in Goochland, we looked for a place to grab a bite to eat.  I use Yelp to find these sort of places.  We came accross the White Hawk Music Cafe and proceeded there for a burger or something.

When we got there, we were hesitent to go in because the back of the cafe was full of people having some sort of jam session and we thought it might be a private event, but the person behind the counter welcomed us in, so we were commited.  This was a neat place.  Adorned with string instruments, they have a paninni style sandwiches, soups, coffees and thankfully some a small selection of longnecks.

As we sat, the musicians played on.  They were just sitting around picking bluegrass.  They took turns picking a song to play.  One person would play the tune for a while, then others would watch and pick up on it and join in.  It seemed that they would be in full swing after the first verse and corus.

The highlight was a little girl, probably 8-10, who what playing the fiddle.  For the most part, she would pick along with the rythem, but took a turn playing "Amazing Grace". 

Jen and I were very happy to find this place and enjoy a sandwich while we listened.  Being on a schedule to get home before dark, we only stayed about 30-40 minutes, but I could have listened for hours.  Pickers came and went as they all seemed to be friends and welcomed and helped each other.  It was a really neat experience.

We headed back south of the James, to the middle class subdivision we call home.  Although we sort of stick out riding rumbling Harleys through the docile neighborhood.  We will definatley visit the Gooches again!

Week 29 July 15-21

Virginia Beach

So we are here....living in Virginia.....unpacked (sort of)....time to explore!  Of course our whole family loves the water, so naturally, we headed to Virginia Beach on our first excursion.  It was a cloudy day, although it had been so hot that if felt good.  From Midlothian, it is about 2 hours away.  Half way there is Williamsburg.  We stopped there for some lunch at a local place called 6 Crabs that I found on Yelp.  We sampled the local cuisine, including soft shell crab, (not a fan now).  Williamsburg in itself would be an entire day adventure, but we were on a schedule and moved on.

We went through Norfolk.  It was awesome to see the aircraft carriers in the bay.  Virginia Beach is on the other side of the bay so we had to cross a bridge/tunnel (again...really cool.)  On the other side we took a side excursion to see if we could get a Navy tour of the base, but the last tour had left by the time we got there.  Again, another excursion destination.

Now we were only about 30 minutes from the beach.  For a cloudy day, the beach was pretty full.  This was the first time the kids got to touch the Atlantic Ocean, and Jenny said it was her first as well, although she had been to the Gulf and the Carribean.  We got to spend about an hour on the beach before thunderstorms blew in.  This was a great excuse to get going.

We packed our things and headed back home (about a 2 hour drive).  It was good to get out and experience some of what Virginia is about, although most of it was spent looking out a car window.  When Drew gets her cast off, and the weather is sunnier, we will leave earlier and go back.  Now we just need to figure out what to do next.

Week 28 July 8-14

Starting a New Job

As far as career changes go, I don't think that I have had very many changes in my career path.  My last employer, I was with for 11 years.  I started this week with Taylor & Parrish Construction, Inc. in Richmond VA. 

Starting a new job is like starting the first day of school.  There are a number of things that you don't know and for the most part, they are the minor things.  The cultural things, that from a career standpoint don't mean much, but from a personal standpoint are very important. 

When I took this position, I thought, or at least have an idea, of what I would be doing.  It would not be much different from my past experiences, but it seems that the other personal things seem to be the cause of the most wonder.  Will I like my coworkers?  Will they like me?  Will it be fun, rewarding, challenging?  All of these things, that I know I will not have a feel for for a few months, if not longer. 

When I look back on my career at Granger, I remember that for at least the first 4-6 months, I really didn't like it.  During my time there, I had the opportunity to work in different offices as well as on differnt project long term assignments.  Each time was like starting a new job, and each time, I really didn't like it for the first few months.  Each time, however, when faced with a change, I know I was enjoying my current "job" and not eager to change.

This feeling out period is something that I know is a process that needs to happen, but it is what I hate the most.  Not having a clear picture of your current situation is frustrating, even though you may never have a clear picture of your current situation, at least with time, you have expectations. 

So far so good though.  I hope I start to fit in soon.  I hope this process is fast and this is the right spot for me.  It is pretty overwelming when you not only start a new job, but also live in a new area.  There is absolutely no comfort place.

I talked to a friend on the phone the other day and he said,"You hit the reset button on your life."  I never thought of it like that, but he was right.  I just try to think of it as exciting rather than scary. 

Week 27 July 1-7

The MOVE

Our "stuff" was on its way to Richmond on the 28th of June.  Our house was pretty much empty and we were staying at Mom's.  Our goal was to spend a few days with our family and relax, but there was still a lot to do.  I think I was at the house in Belding every day before we left.  I don't think it was so much that there was a lot to do, but rather hard for me to leave the house empty, entrusting it to property manager to rent for me.  Regardless, the house looked great when we left, and I trust our property manager.

We did get to spend at least a couple of days by the pool, and had firewords on the 3rd.  We spent the 4th with the Van Oost family at mom's and put the finishing touches on packing that evening.  Our plan was to head out bright and early on the 5th, anticipating a 12-14 hr drive.

Early on the 5th, we headed out.  There was a storm that night that had a number of trees down.  We made a quick stop at the cemetary in Stanton and again in Sheridan, then we were on our way.  We really didn't plan a route, just trusted the GPS.  I was driving the Trailblazer hauling a U-haul trailer, while Jenny followed in the car.

Our route took us through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and into Virginia from the north (DC area).  It took us all of 15 hours.  Again, we could have planned better.  We did have a number of bathroom and gas stops that were not really spaced well.  The drive was long and hot.  It was stressful hauling the trailer and limited to 55 mph for most of the trip. 

By the time we got to Virginia, we were all ready to be done driving, but had about 2 hours to go.  We pulled into Richmond in the dark.  Although we went by downtown, you couldn't really seem much of that or the James River.

We spent the first night in a hotel.  Then next morning, I went to the Property Manager's office a picked up the keys for our new home in Richmond....we actually (Midlothian).  We arrived at the new place on Friday morning (July 6th.)  Our pod showed up on Saturday the 7th.  It was terribly and unseasonally hot that weekend.  On Sunday, the thermometer read 108 degrees.  Welcome to the south. 

With so much to do, and so much unknown, it hardly seems like we are living here.  It seems more at this time, that we are on vacation.

Week 26 June 24-30

Downsizing

Since we were getting ready to move to Richmond, VA, this week I had off from work.  In fact, I was unemployed.  Our POD with most of our belongings was going to be picked up on Thursday the 28th, so this left very little time to get everything packed and loaded. 

During this process, it was interesting to me, to see how much stuff you accumulate of time.  We had lived in our house in Belding for 12 years.  There is so much stuff that is on the boardline of keeping it or not.  Of course there are "no brainer" things like the kids school pictures, etc., that there was not question that we were keeping.  And there are the other "no brainers", like broken kids toys that we had lost years ago, only to be found again, that had no problem finding their way to the garbage. 

What was hard to get rid of were the boarderline items.  Most of these were my things.  Things like a padlock, a set of hinges, a box of screws, wood shims, fishing lures,....on and on.  Things that would some day come in handy, so I kept them, yet when would that some day be?

I threw away or sold in a yard sale boxes and boxes of nails and screws.  What was one of the first things we had to buy when we arrived in Richmond????....Two boxes of screws.  I had an awesome cafeteria dining table I salvaged from a prison.  It had 8 seats and a stainless steel top.  Then whole thing was made of steel with plastic seats.  I had visions of this sitting on our lower patio in Michigan.  I must have moved thing thing in the garage and from the garage to the shed a dozen times over 3-4 years.  I could have had it put together in an hour.  Ultimately, Jenny had to practically beg someone to buy the damn thing for $25.

It sure stinks having to leave your "treasures" behind, those "treasures" you pick up along the way, but I guess it was a good thing to ultimately purge this junk so I can start accumulating more.  Who knows, maybe I'll end up with a picknic table I'll actually put together and use.