My brother, Jeff, arrived on Saturday afternoon. We walked out for a cup of coffee at the Shockoe Espresso & Roastery (I only mention because I've had no coffee for months, as it's considered off-limits). After that, our walking tour of Richmond began. We went to Belle Island and saw the old power plant and quarry.
On Belle Island, there was a huge event taking place in one of the old factories, or rather the empty shell where an old factory used to be. I have never seen so many people at an 'independent' event. There must have been at least 1500 people there. There were no signs or tables indicating what this gathering was for. The event seemed to involve college kids drinking beer and doing stunts on heavily modified bicycles. A little bit of online searching revealed that this event was Slaughterama 6, a cycling and 'cultural event'. Unfortunately, because of my immune situation, crowds are strictly verboten, and I wasn't able to get in close to the action. Also, wearing a pink hospital mask makes me self-conscious, and hanging out while wearing it makes me feel weird. However, from what I could see, the event looked like a lot of good college entertainment, with bikes, beer, sun, and fun. Wish I could have played :).
After the island, we walked over to Jeff's old apartment, to see how much everything had changed. We just walked and walked, and reminisced about old times until it started to get late, and we then came back to the apartment. It was a relaxing walk, and we put a lot of miles in. I mapped it on Google Earth last night, and it was well over 10 miles. It's funny that in the city, you can just walk and walk, and become so distracted by the architecture and sights, that you feel as though you haven't travelled any distance at all. I think we could have gone much further without breaking a sweat.
This morning, Jane, my mom, and Margaret and Madeline came to visit. Jeff had stayed over the night. After breakfast, we purchased some coffee - again, I tempt fate - and then took a walk to the Hollywood, Riverview, and Mount Cavalry cemeteries. These are located next to one another. We were on a mission to find the stones of my mother's father, her grandfather, and her grandmother. On our way, we passed the the grave of Jefferson Davis and many grave markers both beautiful and strange. We walked for awhile and were ultimately unable to find my family's resting places, but since I was with my wife, children, and brother, life was good.
As much fun as I had, I want to get home, and am going to try to get some info on what is going on with my return. My numbers are improving, but are still low, but I'm hoping that the doctors will let me get back to my family, and that they'll give me the thumbs up for a return to work. I'm not excited at the prospect of spending a month or two in my basement, but I need to engage my brain again.
Thanks again for reading, for your help, and your prayers. Your support has made made this whole ordeal so much more manageable. Also, congrats to all of my friends who ran in the Charlottesville 10-Miler yesterday! I wish I could have been out there with you, and God willing, I'll be out there with you at the next race. I'll try to convince the docs that I'm ready to hit the pavement again.
No comments:
Post a Comment