Wait, that's not all! Friends and Fine Art in the RVA.

Weary from international plane travel as I was, my Maneuvering was not to end. After arriving home to the heat and humidity of the Old Dominion, and immediately wishing I was back in Scotland, I turned around the next day and drove to Richmond, or RVA as the cool stickers now proclaim.

One of the 4, LJP, was up from Down South and although we had recently gathered at Reunions, plans were laid for another meeting. He had flown in on Saturday as I was flying home, so I attempted, key word attempted, to recover from jet lag and threw some clothes in the truck and headed south on Sunday.

The first order of business was sustenance, so we returned to a favorite of mine, the Burger Bach.  I may have mentioned this to some of you, but do yourself a favor and check this place out if you are in Capital City. A "New Zealand inspired gastropub", they make some delicious burgers and beef alternative burgers, I recommend the Kiwi Chick. Their french fries are spectacular with a wide variety of dipping sauces. I recommend the Cilantro Sauce. Bellies full, we retired to DCV's residence to meet up with CRE2. We caught up and told stories for several hours before decided to head out again, this time for dinner.

For the evening we chose Mekong, a Vietnamese restaurant with an extensive beer menu. It was quite good, I got the shrimp clay pot, once we got our food that is. It did take quite a long time to get the main course, but we survived with drinks and appetizers. Although, at one point I thought CRE2 was going to stroke out after trying to explain to the server that he wanted a Captain and Coke. The waiter kept repeating a "Captain Martin and Coke?" before CRE2 had to resort to writing it out long hand. I know CRE2 likes his Captain Morgan, but he'd been better off with a simple "rum and coke".

I must apologize to my friends because I was barely conscious during dinner and by the end I almost had to resort to propping my eyelids open with toothpicks. I knew I was in trouble before then, when during the drive down my eyes started to cloud over with sleepiness. After finishing at Mekong, we returned to DCV's and I truly passed out almost as I walked through the door.

The next morning I awoke earlier than usual because I was still on Scotland time. People told me that the jet lag coming back wasn't as bad as the trip over but my experience was the opposite. Perhaps it is due to my attachment to Scotland!

BEB made us a spectacular American breakfast (no blood sausage here!) that we enjoyed in their back garden. LJP went out for a run and DCV and I drove around looking for trouble. Finding none, we returned to the house, got cleaned up and then decided to visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Art.

No, that isn't a typo, we decided to visit an art museum. As A-school classmates we all developed an appreciation of art, all for different reasons. Here are some of my favorites from the museum:

The Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Be sure to check out the sculpture garden and the water features as well.

Appropriate for visiting architecture admirers.

Allegory of Marital Fidelity

 

One of the first wings I gravitated to was the Paul Mellon collection of British Sporting Art. I developed an appreciation of American Sporting Art after visiting the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. This is also well worth a visit if you're out in Virginia Hunt Country.

The Caledonian Coursing Meeting, probably my favorite in the collection.

These equine and livestock sculptures were quite impressive.

Buddha watching Buddha. Meditate on that!

The Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver is fascinating. The intricate engravings are amazing!

No, not an exhibit. This was lunch, a pesto mozzarella wrap that was fantastic and in the cup at the top, a chocolate mousse. Yep, that's how I roll.

After grabbing lunch in the Museum cafe, we hit up the Art Nouveau and Art Deco collections. This bedside clock was a favorite and reminded me of an A-School professor we all had.

A fantastic bedroom set.

The writing desk to go along with the bedroom set.

I would like this to be in my living room.

Frank Lloyd Wright, always a favorite.

"Time and Tide Wait for No Man"

Who doesn't like some Louis Comfort Tiffany?

Bierstadt has long been one of my favorite painters. This painting may seem recognizable to some, especially my co-workers. It's of Harper's Ferry back when it was in Virginia.

Part of the Confederate Widows and Orphans Home on the grounds of the VMFA.

 Suitably cultured, we returned to DCV's residence again and planned the rest of the day's adventures. Despite the heavy rains earlier in the day we managed to squeeze out some pool side time at Lewis Ginter. Well fed, cultured and rested, I had to take my leave from good friends to return home.

Thank you all for tuning in to these episodes of OnManeuvers, I'll be back again, hopefully soon!