Having a cup of coffee in Staunton while E has an appointment. Looking out the window it could be summer or the year 2034 since there is no vegetation in the scene. However, do not be fooled. It was 3 degrees this morning when we finally emerged from our hotel room in Harrisonburg. It is not quite 18 degrees now. Single digits are again promised for tonight.
You can see that the building across the street is for sale. This is a sad story. This old hotel, know at the Beverley, was a place for otherwise homeless people to live out of the elements. The owner, apparently OK with this (maybe a subsidy or something) was not really into maintaining the building. So about 2 years ago the building inspector discovered all manor of violations: vermin, water, unsafe construction, etc. and closed it down. The otherwise homeless became really homeless and community groups and social workers rushed to find lodging for all the people. the restaurant on the street level around the corner was closed, the building boarded and put on the market. Now a fine old landmark is sitting without at purpose waiting for a saviour.
Staunton has a long history of making sure that its heritage is preserved but in these still difficult economic times, it will take a while to find the right groom for this bride.
The university car picks us up on Friday afternoon for the road trip to Dulles and the "official" beginning of the trip. Having spent over a week now living out of a suitcase would seem to make finally getting to palace where we can put closes in drawers and closets feel like going home. I'm more homesick for a base of operations than for home. Tonight is a laundry visit as we begin repacking after living out the suitcase. A few things will be shuffled about between cases, but we're mostly just putting things back they way they were last year on December 29 when we left home.
Our "Took"ishiness is high now as the adventure begins.
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