Over the rivers...

...and through the woods, as the saying goes.

Tuesday of last week, my sister was talking to a friend of hers, and learned that the friend was driving to Williamsburg Virginia for Thanksgiving. The friend's brother lives there, a whole three or four blocks from my grandmother's house.

My sister immediately called my grandmother's house to see if there was anything she could send along to my grandmother, and learned that my father (who lives with his mother most of the time to make sure she is cared for adequately) planned to be with his wife, their daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren for a few days.

In the space of a few hours, plans were made for Ella and me to drive to Williamsburg so that my grandmother would not be alone over the holiday.
We planned for a stop en route, but wound up driving the entire trip in (mostly) one go--all eleven hours of road time plus fuel and food stops, arriving in Williamsburg about three o'clock Wednesday morning.

We stayed in a motel from our arrival until late morning, partly to not show up at the house that time of day and partly because there aren't enough beds at the house these days for two more adults to stay over.

It also allowed my father time to get out of town before we arrived at my grandmother's house.

The relationships between my sister and father, and me and my father, have been strained for many years. In short, I have little use for him in my day-to-day life. The only thing for which I offer him any kudos is that he's doing a fair job of taking care of his mother in her advanced age (she will turn 96 a few days after I type this). Her hearing is poor and her eyesight is diminished, but otherwise she is fairly healthy. She moves quite well. My father jokes about her outliving him, but it is a real possibility, given the hard living my father did for many years.

The driving--all twenty-several hours of it--went without noteworthy complaint. It was just windshield time, although my sister and I did get to talk through some various stuff AND just chat some to pass the miles.

My grandmother is well, although as with many elderly, she can sometimes get confused about just who is in the room with her. It doesn't seem to be dementia or Alzheimer's, but more about her inability to hear well or see well. She has gotten good at shining folks on in her responses to conversation, so it's sometimes a challenge to know whether she really heard what I said to her unless she uses keywords she heard.

The Thanksgiving feast was crab cakes and asparagus instead of the typical turkey and stuff. The difference served several functions, not limited to ease of preparation and reduced mess to handle afterward, less food waste, and better taste. My grandmother doesn't have the appetite of a twenty-year-old athlete--neither do the rest of us, for that matter.

While I was there, I did a couple of odd jobs around the house, as is my wont. There was a light switch that was faulty--or thought to be--so that got changed, and the light fixture controlled by that switch got some needed attention. Some laundry got done, some other chores got managed.

On "Black Friday," my sister wanted to go to the beach. Since we both find the restorative power in sitting and watching surf, we drove to Virginia Beach to enjoy the beach at First Landing State Park. The beach there is far nicer than on the eastern side of Virginia Beach, as there are some small dunes with grasses and a more interesting view than a pile of hotels crowded against the shoreline. It's not quite looking out to sea, but more across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Still, I saw a three-masted schooner or sloop or some such (I'm not good at identifying ship types) sailing out on the ocean.

It was quite warm for late November--the air temperature was in the mid 60s. Water temperature was cool enough that I wasn't interested in swimming, but wading was fine. The surf was mild--most of the breakers were inches tall rather than feet tall. The water was clear.

There were beachgoers, to be sure, but it was far from crowded. Many folks had dogs with them, including one couple from Pennsylvania who brought Acadia (a Golden Retriever) and Timber (a Bernese Mountain Dog). I spent some time with them socializing, and took a number of pictures for them so that they would have family images to enjoy. The dogs were sociable and fun. Timber is a good example of his breed, at some 144 pounds with rich fur, gorgeous markings, and different-colored eyes (one brown, one ice blue).

There were several gulls and dozens of some variety of Plover (I think), a few pelicans, and a few Cormorants. I was unable to get good pictures of the pelicans I saw flying--both were going by just inches above the water for a while, then each would gain some elevation, presumably looking for food, only to again return to flight level one or two feet above the water.

I enjoy watching Pelicans fly and feed.

A couple of seagulls decided that they would cooperate with me for a few moments' picture-taking, to include one doing a seagull dance in the surf. One of the Plovers also "posed" for a few shots.

As we drove toward home Saturday morning, Ella called a friend of hers who lives in Charlottesville. The plan was to visit her for a bit before driving the rest of the way home. Right after one conversation with the friend, my father called, reporting that he was on his way to Williamsburg and would like to meet us at a Taco Bell (oh, joy!!) a few miles west of where we planned to exit to visit Ella's friend. I figured that the change in directions would be manageable, and we changed the plan with Ella's friend. I told Ella's friend that we were using our visit with her as a detox from having had to visit with my father (which should speak volumes about my relationship with him...).

The visit with my father was short to almost mercifully so. The subsequent visit with Ella's friend was pleasant, and shorter than the last time I had seen her--important to me since I wanted to get the driving done. I got home a bit after eleven Saturday night.


Today was a short work day--only one job site, for a couple of quick tasks. I learned a bit more about that customer, including that she had had a less-than-satisfactory experience with a different handyman, and that I would get her business going forward. She has friends who will get recommendations from her as well. I want to earn and maintain their trust, if for no other reason than it's good business to do so. I have some bike work to do for another customer tomorrow.