One of the rich rewards of being a US citizen living abroad is returning home. Recently I spent a month stateside attending two important events. The first was my 50th college reunion (that’s right, half a century since I received my undergraduate diploma) and a grandchild’s high school graduation. Each […]
Virginia
6 posts
No culture reveres family more openly than the Mexican. And at no time is this more apparent than during the annual observance known as “El Dia de las Muertos.” This two day extravagance is the culmination of a national fascination which lasts all year long. It’s about family, about death, about […]
Tidy rows of evergreens rise up a hillside as far as the eye can see. Downy clouds sail west against a baby blue sky. Turning off the gravel road families pour out of SUV’s, pickup trucks and classic cars pulling small trailers. It’s Thanksgiving Day plus 1. And, for 39 consecutive […]
It’s a bright and colorful Veterans Day weekend. Peg and I are driving the back roads of Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William and other rural counties of northern Virginia. We are heading to what’s called the Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. Here English settlers first set foot in what […]
As a child, I was confident that Baltimore (AKA: Charm City) was the capital of my home state of Maryland. I had no idea of any other city in my state, so that made sense. Almost a month ago, I finally went to Baltimore for the first true visit in […]
Northern Virginia Chrysalis Vineyard (June, 2017): Norton, the true American grape, at Chrysalis Vineyard, Middleburg, Virginia School’s out. And summer fun is ramping up at Chrysalis Vineyards. The June Pickup Party features a few new twists. On the sunny upper deck, VIP members are shaded beneath broad umbrellas. They casually graze […]