My Weekend Away

As I posted last Friday, I spent the weekend with my family in Richmond, VA.  I took the train from New Carrollton, MD early on Saturday morning and returned around noon on Sunday.  A very quick trip but a lot of fun.  I'm going to let the pictures in this post tell the story of my weekend rather than prattling on and on.  Enjoy the show.

A brief introduction to the purpose of my visit.  My nephew, Nathan, received his black belt in karate on Saturday.  He asked me if I would attend and told him I would.  My sister and her husband and Nathan picked me up at the Staples Mill Road station in Richmond on Saturday and we immediately headed to the event with a stop along the way to pick up lunch, which was divine.  Chicken fingers and potato wedges and blackberry cobbler from a local deli topped off with a Diet Orange Crush.  Now I ask you, . . . does it get any better than that.  I don't think so.  Nathan and I bought $7 worth of Scratch & Win lottery tickets and won $1.  I will be mailing that $1 winning ticket to him later this week.  (I thought I left it in the car but I found it in the back pocket of my jeans when I got home.)  After lunch we made our way to the venue, which started promptly at noon.

There was a large number of participants all achieving some level in their martial arts training.

Here are some shots of Nathan practicing before his actual test in which he had to break a board - no easy task!!  He is the handsome fellow in the center of each picture.

And here is a picture of him preparing his moves for the instructor.  (He is the second one in, last row.)

Nathan receiving his diplome.  I was hoping to get a shot of him when he turned around but that did not happen.

It was so wonderful to see him and all the others perform their moves.  Martial Arts training teaches children discipline and responsibility which is so important.  He will be a stronger and better person for having gone through this training.  We are expecting big things from him later in life.

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I started taking pictures soon after the train left the Staples Mill Road Station in Richmond.  Here is a shot of the business class car on this early morning train headed north.

Here we are at Quantico Marine Corp Base in Quantico, VA.  It was very brisk on Sunday morning as you can tell by the way this couple is bundled up as they make their way to the station.

As we were pulling away from the Quantico station, I got this shot down Main Street.  A step back in time.  This sort of reminded me of the Main Street in Orange, VA where I grew up.

A little further down the tracks we crossed the Occoquan River in Occoquan, VA.  I particularly like this shot with the menacing clouds overhead.

As we reached Washington and were getting closer to arrival at Union Station, I got in this shot of the Washington Marina.  This is a wonderful section of town where many dock their boats all year round.  A little further down but out of sight of this shot there are fresh seafood vendors set up along the banks of the Potomac selling all sorts of fresh seafood brought in from the Cheasapeake Bay.  Anything you could ask for they have.



Just before we entered the tunnel that would eventually take us to the main platform of Union Station we stopped and I was able to get this picture of 6th and D Street, SW.  The city has been actively upgrading both the SW and SE parts of the city over the past several years.  This is one of those areas that has benefited from those efforts.  Once filled with blight, you see here that the area is clean and well maintained and is once again a vibrant part of the city.

Another shot further down D Street, SW.



Once we reached Union Station, I took the opportunity to record some of the activity going on there.  The gentleman climbing down the side of this locomotive had been perched further up with his trusty bottle of Windex cleaning the front windshield of this locomotive.  Doing his part to make sure everyone enjoyed a safe trip to their final destination.

This is my train, the Amtrak 88 Regional with a final destination somewhere in New England.

We left promptly at 11:25 AM.  It has been my experience that Amtrak is superb in keeping to their schedule.  I was the first stop in Maryland.  Only a short 7 minute ride to New Carrollton, MD.  And once I arrived and made my way up the escalator, my chariot awaited.

Little Baxter was in no mood for pictures as is evidenced here.  He was glad I was back but not so happy to record the moment on film.

And so ends my slide show of my trip to Richmond this past weekend.  As I said earlier, it was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad I took the time off from my busy schedule and traveled down to see everyone.  To my wonderful nephew Nathan, I love you more than you could know.  I am so proud of you for achieving your black belt.  I am glad that your mother and father have signed you up for another 3 years of martial arts training and I cannot wait to come back for the ceremony when you achieve your black belt, level 2.  To my sister Gwen and her husband Randy, thank you for inviting me and shuttling me around this weekend.  I love you both.  To my sweet niece Sarah Paige, you are a light in my life.  You are so talented.  Keep drawing and painting.  I hope to one day fly to New York to the opening of your gallery.  I love you.  To my mother and grandmother, I love you both.  Take good care of yourselves and I hope to see you again very soon.