"Do you need a jacket?"
"Do you want a jacket?"
"Don't you want a jacket?"
"Aren't you cold?"
It was like no one in Virginia had seen weather below 50F in 3 years. Every time I happened to be outside or even near a door someone was concerned about the temperature's affect on me. I thought the 50F degree evenings were nice short sleeve weather. Apart from that, I had one great long weekend.
I was excited about seeing my buddy Ian's daughter Rachel becoming Bat Mitzvah. She was still cocooned inside of Nikki when we left VA for CO back in Jul1993. Thirteen years later, she's ready to be recognized as being responsible for the commandments. In the meantime, my own kids grew up.
The trip came together effortlessly. Erwin provided a crash pad, taxi & rent-a-car service & Betty provided a full-service Bed & Breakfast.
The morning of my trip saw me shovelling about 4 inches of snow off the driveway & sidewalks before I headed into work. It was one of those wet sloppy fall snows that Colorado is famous for around Hallowe'en. Tree branches were bent to the breaking point. I did notice the blue spruce in the back yard seemed to be 12 feet tall all of the sudden. I almost left the snow on to strengthen the limbs, but it was just a little to thick, so all the rabble got roused from the limbs.
Driving east to the airport later that afternoon, the roads got drier & drier, until 5 miles from the airport there was little evidence of snow. As I walked to my gate, I passed by a flight that would get into Dulles about 95 minutes earlier than my scheduled flight. I stepped up to the gate & 20 minutes later got an earlier flight & start to my vacation.
I got to my seat & was congratulating myself on being so ever crafty, when it dawned on me my checked luggage probably wasn't quite as crafty as me & that it would probably still be on the flight that got in at 1a. It mattered not. I walked out of the terminal at Dulles, Erwin was parked & waiting in front of the door. We hit a sports bar he knew nearby, caught the last part of a world series game, caught up & had a drink. 90 minutes later, we were relaxed & headed back to the airport. He pulled up to the same door, I walked right into baggage claim. None of the passengers was even to the terminal when the ramp started up & my bag came off first. I was headed back to the car before the second bag hit the carosel!
Friday, Erwin & I made it over to the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. What a great place!
The myriad flying machines were amazing to behold, if not frightening. There was an SR-71 Blackbird (Yay, though I fly through the valley of the shadow of death, I am not afraid for I am at 80,000 feet & climbing! - Sign above the operational hanger of an SR-71)
and the Enola McLuhan, er, Gay. There were biplanes, hang gliders and space capsules. The power of technology to serve man's inhumanity towards man was astounding. But the power of technology was also enough to suspend judgment while we watched an Imax movie about the Mars Rover program. We wrapped the day up with a boatload of sushi & a few brews back home from the keg-erator (Thanks Greg!)Saturday, I headed towards the synagogue in Erwin's car, using the new Google Maps for Treo hand-held devices. The Palm app put me right on the synagogue, right on schedule. Of course, once I got there, I had no clue what to do. I finally approached the gentleman who had provided me with a program & asked about expectations regarding head coverings. He exclaimed they were a reformed congregation & only a third of the folks would be donning, so for once, I was relaxed to fit in with the majority. The service was interesting & inspiring mainly because it was let by the B'nai Mitzvah.
It was obvious Rachel & Chris had been well schooled in Hebrew, scriptural interpretation and the history of their religion. They both did a great job of reading the Torah & the prophets in Hebrew and commenting thereupon. I reflected on the 4000 year old traditions they were carrying forward. Beyond that, Rachel demonstrated grace, intelligence & wisdom. The whole time Ian & Nikki sat up on the dias & beamed. They were obviously & correctly proud. It was a moment that encompassed the future & the past with Rachel assuming responsibility for understanding both. To be honest, I think everyone was beaming!
That afternoon, I caught up with Mel, Ian's sister, Lee & finally got to meet Mort. That night, we were subjected to the manic energy of 40 or 50 12-14 year olds. I had forgotten how loud they can scream just for the heck of it! The best dancers that night were Bridget & Amy. They just appreciated a huge dance floor & couldn't care less about who was watching.
After a great party, we headed back to the hotel for good-byes. It had been a great day to celebrate friendship & history (both recent & ancient).
Erwin & I both got to the house after midnight (he had been at a jam) & slept late the following morning before heading out for a most excellent breakfast of bagels, lox, eggs & coffee. Erwin insisted throughout the entire weekend that he was picking up the tab & refused to listen to rhyme or reason. After a huge breakfast, we walked Odie again, then watched a little football. We shut the evening down with a wonderful home cooked meal with a couple of friends of his, Barbara & Steve. Barbara cooked a great spagetti meal! After dinner we started watching the Cowgirls actually win a game. I'll be glad when they get another coach & more glad when they get another owner!
Monday, I got up & headed out to see Cheryl's mother. Again with the trusty Treo Google Maps app. This time, it took me the back roads
towards Charles Town WV, through Harper's Ferry & right through beautiful downtown Scrabble. I was at the river 90 minutes after leaving Reston & through some beautiful countryside to boot. Betty had lunch waiting for me. (Man! I was treated like a king this weekend!) We went for a walk at The Nature Conservancy Yankauer Preserve. We saw many birds, a tiny little field mouse,
a wonderful view of the Potomac & an interesting little memorial to Zyp. 
Lennie came by & we had a great visit. Just at sunset Jamie showed up! I was really happy to see him & the icing on the cake Kevin showing up a little later. We had a great dinner, talking about everything and catching up. The next morning I helped Betty with a little more work in the garage, then it was back down the back roads to civilization. Erwin & I hit a sushi buffet that made me rue the delicious breakfast Betty had cooked for me. There was a shelf with at least 30 little wooden trays of sushi! If only I had known, I would have allowed for more time to get to the airport!
I got back to Denver & was damn glad I had that big black leather jacket that hadn't been required once in Virginia! It was 30F degrees & very frosty. They laughed at my jacket in Virginia, but nodded appreciatively as we got of the jetway in Denver. I was home by 8p on Hallowe'en.
This was one of the best solo vacations I ever had! Five days of being treated like a king! Everyone I saw was glad to see me & said so! Most of them even hugged me! No schedules, no hurrying or worrying. Lots of good food, good times & most importantly good people with lots of love! It just doesn't get much better than this!
Thanks to everyone I saw in Virginia & West Virginia!
