Last Thursday began my wild, wonderful weekend quilting adventure, and I arrived home Sunday evening--tired but excited about the friendships renewed and the fun I had--and the sewing that was accomplished!
Since I was driving through Williamsburg on my journey to Hampton, I wanted to stop and visit some friends we knew when we lived in the colonial city for ten years back in the 90's. I planned a full itinerary!
My long-ago homeschooling friend, Christine, and I met for lunch here at The Old Chickahominy House on Jamestown Road. Have you ever experienced eating here? It's quite popular.
Here's the porch sign below that greeted visitors and announced their pies of the day:
We both enjoyed Miss Melinda's Special - Cup of Brunswick Stew, Old Virginia Ham on Hot Biscuits, Fruit Salad, Homemade Cherry Crumb Pie, and Tea. It was so nice to see my friend again. Thanks, Christine!
Next on my itinerary: I invited myself to our former neighbors' home who used to live in our cul-de-sac and who now live in an independent-living facility. We have fond memories of our neighbors hiring the kids many times to help in their yard and reminisced about our time in Williamsburg.
She knew I was headed to the quilt festival, so she showed me her sampler quilt, below. It was beautiful!
Unfortunately, I didn't quilt when we lived in the same neighborhood for her to give me tips...I was too busy homeschooling those years!
Next stop: Duke of Gloucester Street! One of our favorite past times when we lived in Williamsburg was walking down DOG Street, finding the Colonial Bakery, and buying a gingerbread cookie and hot apple cider.
Another long-ago homeschooling friend, Beverly, and I strolled the street for old times sake! She treated and bought us both cookies and ciders as we walked and chatted. Here's Beverly with one of the colonial interpreters:
My sister-in-law in Connecticut used to work for Colonial Williamsburg as an interpreter, so these next pictures are for her--maybe she'll recognize some of the workers pictured:
My last stop in Williamsburg was to the home of our Japanese neighbor who lives directly behind our former home. Chiaki was in our neighborhood Bible study along with this couple who also was invited to dinner at her home:
Chiaki prepared some traditional Japanese appetizers for us...three dishes this southern girl had never experienced before. The cute little pouches to the left are Inari Sushi, and the food to the right is Sushi with Smoked Salmon, with capers on top.
And the mango shrimp fruit dish was delicious, consisting of mango, shrimp, parsley with lemon juice, curry powder, olive oil, salt/pepper, and ginger. It was quite spicy, and the fruit was delicious:
The rest of our menu included piping hot beef stew with a flavor unlike any I'd experienced...very delicious. Bread and a green salad accompanied our meal. Dessert was Banana Nut Cake topped with Vanilla Honey Yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. Chiaki worked hard in the kitchen for us!
Whew! What a day full of renewing friendships! I enjoyed myself a lot! I still had a half-hour drive in the dark ahead of me before I arrived at my quilting friend's house for the night.
The next day's plans were to attend the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. Stay tuned for more from our wild wonderful quilting weekend. We've only just begun our adventures!
~Deb
