Postcards from the road: August through Labor Day

 

Being a road warrior can be tiring, but it provides an opportunity to sample life away from LaLa Land.

I will occasionally post pictures from my weekend side trips, along with commentary.

Here is the first installment.

My client’s office is easily one of the finest facilities around.  It is comprised of several building spread over a spacious industrial campus on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia.

I have a choice of three cafeterias, each with its own unique concessions, including a sushi bar and a Starbucks. What more do I need?

The client's office

 

Virginia may not be Napa, the Santa Ynez Valley or Temucula, but it does have a number of fine family-run wineries. I made the rounds of some wineries in Northern Virginia over a year ago. This was my first foray into the state’s central vineyards.

 

While small in size and relatively unknown beyond the region, the wines are of surprisingly high quality.

 

I attended a wine and cheese pairing at James River Cellars in Hanover County, about fifteen miles north of Richmond.

 

James River Cellars

   

 

Awards earned by the ten-year old winery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many country roads branch off US 1 near the winery. I drove to nearby Scotchtown where I came across a church built in 1736 and the home where Patrick Henry lived at the time he delivered his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” address.

 

Fork Church (the small gravestone to the right marks the resting place of a Confederate soldier who served in an infirmary unit).

Patrick Henry's house

I took a trip to North Carolina to watch the Richmond Spiders play Duke at Durham.  While there, I visited friends in Greenville– a city that experienced the scourge of Hurricane Irene.

I was impressed by how quickly downed trees were cut and placed on the roadsides for chipping crews. 

The Tar River had spilled over its banks and still inundated some areas even  a week past the storm’s departure.  Angelenos should take note: we don’t want Hurricane Wendy to blow through Los Angeles in 2013. We are already underwater.

You can’t be in the heart of NASCAR country without encountering a classic car.

 President Obama is scheduled to speak at the University of Richmond this Friday. I doubt my schedule will allow me to visit the campus, but I will see what I can do.

 

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