We went out to a retirement party around Middlegate Nevada. It is out highway 50 dubbed "The loneliest road in America" and while there LaVar took me out to the "shoe tree". The only explanation I could think of was, when you live in a very desolate place, one has to think up things to do and look at so you will have something to talk about. Look how high some of these shoes are..... just how did they do that? We were amazed that some of the shoes looked like they were nice ones not just trash. Tennis shoes, cowboy boots, high heels and a few pieces of women's underwear. Just missing Nevada I guess since the weather forecast for it to rain here the next seven days. Aaah, better than the 98+ humidity and the heat near 100 I'm guessin'.
Many of you may have heard about Luke. Micah called Monday when he heard. We are so sorry to hear about Luke. Adam Brown said that Luke had found his place in the Army and was being a success there. Luke had grown into a gentle giant of a man. When we came back to Fredericksburg from Albuqerque it was a shock to me how big he was, and when I talked to him he was gentle and had good convictions. He will be missed. We are all praying for his family.
Army Pfc. Luke J. Brown loved life and loved people, his older brother said today.
“He could always pick me up when I was down,” Paul said.
Luke Brown, a 27-year-old soldier from Spotsylvania County, was found dead Sunday morning at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was stationed.
Brown was one of two servicemen with links to the Fredericksburg area to die in the past week. Marine First Lt. Jason Mann was killed when a roof collapsed on him Thursday in Afghanistan.
Brown, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, joined the Army in January 2007.
His brother said today that Brown always joked about his size as a paratrooper: he was 6'3" and 250 pounds.
“He would say he was always the last one out of the plane and the first one down,” Paul Brown said. “He could always make a joke.”
Luke Brown grew up in Spotsylvania and was home-schooled, but was very active in his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
He attended Germanna Community College before he enlisted, Paul Brown said.
Brown had four brothers and a sister who all live in the Fredericksburg area, along with his parents. They're still waiting to learn the cause of death, but they believe it was accidental.
Chris Grey, director of public affairs for the Criminal Investigations Unit at Fort Bragg, said Brown was found dead in a vehicle in a parking lot.
He said an autopsy is under way by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Grey said the Army is not yet releasing information regarding Brown’s cause of death or other circumstances surrounding the death because it is still under investigation.
Here is a day in the life at a hotel (or is it motel) .... I come out the door and it is so confusing it all looks alike.
Residence Inn by Marriott
On the 3rd floor is the Guest laundry.
It is so light and clean, it is probably the cleanest place in the whole motel.
Then back down this look alike hallways to our suite (2 rooms).
We had been in a one room place where the only window looked out to a stuccoed wall. That got to me, so for a $1.00 more a night (:0) we got 2 rooms. After all the work of moving our stuff. We brought alot of stuff with us because with the truck we could, I sat on the couch and was amazed at how much body odor I had, but with the humidity blah blah. After a good shower and clean clothes I sat down again only to discover that the change in me didn't change the smell, aaaaah, I discovered it is the couch. EEEEw gross! So with the help of my Odorban, and a blanket and a sheet. I have the problem covered up for now.
Here is the offender now. The blue couch.
The real estate agent called and they think that maybe Thursday or Friday if my friend Jane is out of the house, we can close. The old owner is going to have things "Professionally Cleaned", we didn't ask for that but that is so nice since several animals have been living there for some time now. So as Sam might still say, that is something to be happy about! Another thing is that a couple from the ward invited us out to dinner at an Italian Restaurant and we will go to their place after. Nice
We have been to the Freemason Abby in downtown Norfolk many times now, the first time was when LaVar just got off the George Washington. Not that he needed a scrumptus ( that is not how that is spelled) meal. They ate very good on that ship. Anyway, I was ready to splurge again for Wednesday "LOBSTER NIGHT". I made reservations early, got nicely dressed, and picked up LaVar and we headed out for the " best meal ever". We had in the back of our minds to ask people to surely make a Wednesday stay when they came so we could repeat this wonderful experience with whomever. Well they brought the salad and that was wonderful as ever, then they brought us this whole lobster, eye balls, legs, full body, on a huge plate. The tail was stuffed with blackfin crab. I noticed that my fellow had what looked like Guacamole smeared all over the main tail section. HUmmmm, LaVar's didn't and so I asked the waiter who was more that willing to tell me that it is "tamale" (have no idea how that is spelled), and that it is whatever was in his intestines. OK! that was revolting enough, but at $19.00 a dish you just suck that up, just an expression not the facts. However the next thing I was going to eat was the claw since the tail section was going to take some guts, ok I meant that to have a double meaning. Well, this jelly like thing was now on my fork, what to do? I thought nothing could taste bad with drawn butter on it right? AAaah, yeah, I'll save you from a report on that but suffice it to say, I didn't eat the other claw and went for the potatoes and string beans ( that were excellent by the way) I rationed those out to clean my palate between bites of salt water tasting tamale mixed with wonderful crab meat (not eyeing me from my plate with out legs, antennea, and other body parts). Ok that is enough for you to get the idea. We will not be taking any novice to sea food eater, like us, to any wonderful restaurants in the future, nor will we be repeating that experience is our sincere hope.
So sorry mister, or miss, lobster but your sacrifice and waste has saved other innocents from becoming our meals in the future.
This home is now ours. It is scheduled to close in about 2 weeks maybe sooner. We are just a few short blocks to the beach, there is water to see from the houses porches but not the ocean. Yesterday there was a LCAC a hovercraft boat that can carry a tank. This one was coming down the "inlet" (because I don't know what to call it yet) down in the water, and was slow and loud, I understand the when hovering they are quite fast and all one sees is the spray.
We will be glad to get into our home and out of the motel.
We don't have our Fallon home with anyone in it yet, and we are missing it.
Here is East Beach Virginia. This is the neighborhood we "must" drive through to get to our home. The story goes that here on the beach of the Chesapeake Bay, (also known as "Big Bay" because there is a "Little Bay" also) there were run down apartments by the thousands and about a million people lived here. The drugs and crime was just awful. Pizza deliveries never would go there. Police were on constant watch but bad things were simply out of control. The city of Norfolk bought the whole place, piece by piece. They relocated the people and tore down the buildings. They made rules sold the land again bit by bit and made these two very nice neighborhoods. This one, East Beach, has rules governing every thing.
The homes must have a Victorian look but all are very new. They all look sweet and small but many just keep going back and fill the lots that they are built on, which are pretty small.
Many have these "Carriage Houses" behind them. They are actually 2 car garages with an apartment over them. An apartment can run $1200 on up. They only have maybe 2 rooms, one is a kitchen- living area and the other a bedroom. They have their own entrances and functions alone but it is a well established practice to rent these out hopefully to a graduate student.
These homes are close to a million dollars with carriage house. $600,000- $800,000 were the ones we got to see. There are Townhomes for less but still about $500,000 and most are sold.
There is a clubhouse with an exercise room, pool and play area. (not pictured here).
This is my favorite home. It had a sign on it earlier that it was for rent and as maybe you can tell it is just steps to the beach to the left. I actually don't know what they rented it for but my guess is that they do that for a few months or maybe weeks in the summer and that helps pay for it. Isn't it just romantic, its so cute! They all have wonderful hardwood floors that are "varnished". How would you say that Tyler? Polyurithaned? Just a easy clean up, simple style.
There is a croquet course, court whatever and a Bocce ball court, tennis, and picnic area. People ride around in golf carts. They also have these wagons with big wheels that they take all their things to the beach in. There are a an amazing amount of people with children in this place. Maybe they are just here for the summer but they look like families that are around for a while.
Please notice the SIDEWALKS
And here is the reason they come. Enough said.
And that is the story of East Beach Virginia, we call Pleasantville. Which is actually the name of the street that runs through it, "Pleasant Ave".
