Aunt Jane always makes dessert

July 28

It was the smell of sizzling bacon and fresh waffles that drew us out of bed this morning as Aunt Judy had prepared a feast before our departure! Before leaving Wilmington we wanted to make sure everything was still good with the car so we took it for an oil change and check up at Midas (thank you, Safeway coupon!). With the assurance from the mechanics that all was well, we loaded the car, said our goodbyes to C’s family and prepared to roll out, but not before Aunt Judy filled our arms with food for the road. We were sent off with so much water, fruit, and Stromboli for lunch that we didn’t think we would go hungry for the rest of the (two day) trip! Although we have to say, the Stromboli looked so good that it hardly made it to lunchtime.

C drove us through quaint downtown Wilmington and pointed out some of the sights like the battleship along the waterfront, a gourmet Italian market, and the Cotton Exchange. She also informed us that Wilmington was the lovely filming spot of One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek. We were not asked to be extras in OTH, despite our previous experience in New Orleans.

Nothing much happened on the drive to Richmond.

C & B were really excited to arrive in Richmond since the last time they were there (for K’s graduation) they only saw a tiny bit of the city. K took them on a lovely tour of all her favorite spots in the area including Maymont, a beautiful former estate turned park. Maymont provided us with a chance to stretch our legs a bit as we wandered around looking at the bears and bald eagles that lived in sanctuaries there. K then drove us past the Jefferson Hotel, the fanciest hotel in all of Richmond. It houses a famous staircase which has provided grand entrances for some of the South’s greatest leading ladies – from Scarlett in Gone With the Wind to our very own K at her Ring Dance for the University of Richmond. Finally, we took a quick tour of K’s alma mater to check out some of the new building construction that had been started since she had left.

When we passed the football team practicing, C started chanting “Go Wildcats!” and singing the Villanova fight song. K was not amused. (U of R and Nova are big football rivals.) Rather than digress into a chanting match (which, lets be serious, a Wildcat would out roar a Spider… until the Spiders bit back), we decided to head to K’s Aunt Jane and Uncle John’s. We were all anxious to know what was on the menu, especially since we knew that Aunt Jane always makes dessert!

We got to K’s family’s house, and chatted for a while with Aunt Jane until Uncle John came home from work. Once he came home, we had a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops and veggies – we really have been spoiled lately with all this home cooked food! And after we ate… the long-awaited dessert! Tonight’s was Aunt Jane’s all-time favorite summer dessert – frozen pineapple torte! We were soon stuffed, and could only stay up a little bit longer to chat some more before going to bed… can’t believe it’s our last night of the trip!

Mileage to date: 8,828

States visited: North Carolina, Virginia

Yellow car count:

C – 363

B – 381

K – 419

Highs and Lows:

Group high – Aunt Jane always makes dessert

Group low – Missing Jonathan in Richmond

C high – Finally getting to see the pretty side of Richmond

C low – Saying goodbye to family

B high – Food (from both Wilmington and Richmond)

B low – Running out of Stromboli so early

K high – Seeing Aunt Jane & Uncle John, dessert

K low – Not seeing the otters at Maymont