I'm writing today from my sister-in-law's house in Virginia, not too far from Washington DC. A trip with two full days here to visit relatives, to get a taste (especailly for Lisa, who originates from the USA) of American and international foods that are rarer that a unicorn in Melksham, and to catch up on what's in the bookstores on the computer shelves, in the computer stores, and on other bits and pieces.
Chance would be a fine thing. We flew in Thursday, with predictions of a storm from dawn on Saturday; yesterday was spent from first light right though to way past dark in a round of visiting - people, places, stores, and we got back late and tired. And, yes, all the important stuff complete.
When I looked out the window, dawn today, all was quiet. It's very cold, and the air is so dry that there's an electrostatic discharge every time the dog come up to say "hi". The road is just turning from the black of tarmacadam to a pure white as gentle flakes have started to settle. Chance for a really good family day here. Every cloud has a silver lining.
(written 2005-01-22, updated 2006-06-05)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z200 - Places [66] A Taste of Ireland - (2004-09-28)
[70] Red Luas - early life and times - (2004-10-02)
[92] Hard work, Hard sell - (2004-10-18)
[218] Golden Nugget - (2005-02-17)
[403] Full circle - made it back to an old haunt - (2005-08-05)
[670] Architectural Heritage - Devizes - (2006-04-04)
[685] A couple of days away - (2006-04-15)
[713] Pictures from my travels - (2006-05-07)
[727] A journey, an arrival, a people - (2006-05-21)
[730] Reading the newspaper and working with other restrictions - (2006-05-23)
[740] Finishing up in Dhahran - (2006-06-01)
[778] Weekend in Ireland - (2006-06-26)
[886] Signs of Leek - (2006-10-04)
[1147] A picture (mostly in words) of Helsinki - (2007-04-14)
[1204] Spot the difference - (2007-05-25)
[1229] Where am I? - (2007-06-11)
[1244] FolksFest Bristol - German beer, Bratwurst and music - (2007-06-24)
[1298] From Leeds - (2007-08-10)
[1307] Troy, up state New York - (2007-08-17)
[1425] Melksham v Ely - (2007-11-09)
[1456] Right up to the top of the City - (2007-12-03)
[1457] A day in Ljubljana - (2007-12-04)
[1460] Christmas fare in Ljubljana - (2007-12-05)
[1524] Nottingham - just text! - (2008-01-30)
[1536] A Weekend in Liverpool - (2008-02-10)
[1537] To Wales - where theres still a toll on the bridge - (2008-02-11)
[1590] All Change, Portsmouth Harbour - (2008-03-23)
[1617] Steam Engines at Bressingham - (2008-04-20)
[1624] From Freddie the fallow - (2008-04-27)
[1638] Pictures far apart - (2008-05-10)
[1639] Minehead Marauder - (2008-05-11)
[1652] Old Sarum airfield brings back fond memories - (2008-05-24)
[1714] Hillier Gardens, Hampshire - (2008-07-20)
[1715] Pictures from South Hampshire - (2008-07-21)
[1730] Punting on the Cam - (2008-07-31)
[1755] Istanbul - (2008-08-15)
[1804] Colvin and Carlisle - (2008-09-20)
[1807] A sad town in the sunlight - (2008-09-22)
[1837] Alfred the Great - (2008-10-13)
[2205] An evening walk in Carrickfergus - (2009-05-29)
[2207] North Antrim Coast - a jewel thats well worth a visit - (2009-05-29)
[2316] Guadalajara - a special tour of a lovely city - (2009-08-01)
[2387] to Clifton Down and Avonmouth - (2009-08-30)
[2392] Lymington, New Forest - some pictures - (2009-09-03)
[2411] Further North - long summer days and lovely countryside - (2009-09-19)
[2624] Skyline and looking up in London - (2010-02-04)
[2733] Travel Troubles and Jesus again - (2010-04-21)
[2754] At Arlington and the Pentagon - (2010-05-07)
[2799] Nuremberg - some pictures - (2010-06-08)
[2802] After the Perl course in Nurnberg - (2010-06-11)
[2808] From home to Nurnberg - journey pictures - (2010-06-13)
[2809] Frankfurt in 90 minutes - (2010-06-13)
[2897] The Land of the Black Labrador - (2010-08-01)
[2907] Dartmouth, Kingswear and Torbay - (2010-08-07)
[2985] Right place, right season - (2010-10-04)
[3064] On the way to the course this week - (2010-11-22)
[3070] Belfast, on a cold November evening - (2010-11-25)
[3175] The Rhine in winter - (2011-02-19)
[3185] Day Trip to Hereford, in pictures - (2011-02-26)
[3204] Two views of a war memorial - (2011-03-17)
[3297] A long day, a long journey, and families and similarities the world over - (2011-05-22)
[3330] A lot of exercise this week - (2011-06-21)
[3353] Off the beaten track - non-quite-so-tourist spots - (2011-07-10)
[3393] Rodwell Trail, Weymouth - (2011-08-15)
[3529] Sharpness, Gloucestershire - a place in transport history - (2011-11-25)
[3595] Looking up - (2012-01-27)
[3603] Another cold night - (2012-02-03)
[3631] Getting around Dublin by public transport - some observations - (2012-03-01)
[3654] On a sunny afternoon in London - (2012-03-15)
[3667] A modern area of Cambridge - some thoughts provoked? - (2012-03-22)
[3803] A Walk on the South Bank - (2012-07-13)
[3854] Busmans Holiday - I like being a busman - (2012-09-02)
[4011] From Salford - (2013-02-19)
[4052] The PHP course this week is in... Salford - (2013-03-26)
[4125] The first Luas of the morning - (2013-06-29)
[4182] Welcome to Salford and Oldham - (2013-09-30)
[4184] A fond memory - (2013-10-02)
[4203] A weekend away - Four in a Bed returns to Happy Donkey Hill - (2013-11-09)
[4214] A busy week, and a long flight - (2013-11-24)
[4220] Thun, Switzerland - (2013-12-14)
[4331] Musings on a Welsh town - (2014-11-28)
[4348] Taking my life in my hands in Swansea - (2014-12-11)
[4411] Location, location location. And a chance of a giggle! - (2015-02-01)
[4477] Yesterday - off on leg one of our holiday - (2015-04-29)
[4479] Pictures from around Rekjavik - (2015-04-29)
[4480] Crossing between continents - (2015-04-30)
[4486] Newark to New York - the PATH suburban railway - (2015-05-05)
[4488] Election day, 2015 - (2015-05-07)
[4490] What and where are the Azores? - (2015-05-09)
[4497] Around the world from Melksham - (2015-05-25)
[4643] From last July (2015) - (2016-02-08)
[4671] Ruby training, half a world away - (2016-05-14)
[4683] Saudi Arabia or Weymouth? - (2016-05-22)
[4729] The oldest part of Los Angeles - (2016-11-23)
[4730] San Juan Capistrano - (2016-11-23)
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