Thursday, September 02, 2010

Virginia and Elaine, Doug, Maggi & Hex


We visited my little sister's home and she took us for a drive around Yorktown. We started by driving over the Coleman Bridge.

The George P. Coleman Bridge is a 3,750-foot-long double-swing-span bridge located in Yorktown, Virginia, and the bridge crosses the York River.

The Coleman Bridge was built as a 2-lane facility in 1952, and it connects the counties of York and Gloucester. The bridge carries Route US-17, a 4-lane arterial highway through eastern Virginia. George P. Coleman, the bridge's namesake, was the Commissioner (agency head) of the Virginia Department of Highways, from 1913 to 1922.




We pulled into Yorktown a very historic city and now a great tourist destination for both historic and recreational reasons.

"Yorktown, named for the ancient city of York in Yorkshire, Northern England, was founded in 1691 as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe. The lawyer Thomas Ballard was the principal founder of the city along with Joseph Ring. It was called "York" until after the American Revolutionary War, when the name "Yorktown" came into common use. "

To accommodate the tourists to the area there is a free trolley

"Operated mid-March through October each year, the Yorktown Trolley provides free service stopping at key places around Yorktown. The trolley comes approximately every 20 minutes, so take advantage of this free public transport, spare the air, and hop on board!" ~ Yahoo Travel


Elaine likes this mural and so did I


Back at Elaine and Doug's home we met Lucky. Not just a pretty face but a great Farmer on Farmville.


Elaine, Doug and Sharyn were already starting the meal - a feast of grape-leaves + ...


... while I roamed around their wonderfully renovated home.


Most of the paintings we unhung but the home had the look of a really fine gallery.


I guess we need to return at a later time to see them all set in place as only a true professional artist can do.


My big sis created this beautiful stained-glass piece with the "V" for our last name superimposed over a "Cedar of Lebanon" - beautiful.


We had talked to Doug about a telescope and he knew just what we were looking for and printed out the information from the Internet.


Upstairs where Doug was were more pieces of Elaine's art and they were magical...


... Seeing these works displays the meaning of creativity as opposed to simply crafting the known.


Their living room was a great and comfortable place to sit and talk ...


... and even Lucky joined in.


Exploring outside I found what was left of a piece with plants growing up through the strands of rope...


... I also found Doug's old bike being swallowed whole...


... and the Roster on a Tin Tree a sculpture I had seen once before...


... looking back I could see the renovated and raised home (left) and the new addition (right) and loved the new look.


A little later Maggi and Hex showed up for dinner...


... and I convinced Hex to model his great Simpson shirt.


I guess Sharyn and I felt a little technically challenged as Hex searched the net, Maggi posted a note on Facebook and Elaine and Doug placed calls.


Elaine and Doug we love your hospitality and your home/studio/gallery...


... and hated to take that last drive to continue the rest of our adventure.

No Scrabble - We really need to get a game in soon.

Quote of the Day ~
"I see them now and still the bright colors are there
But they are too confusing to me - a parallax view
Multi-dimensioned and faceted - there but not there
I will always love their smiles and miss their proximity." PViel from a poem titled "Sisters"


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