What with one thing or another, it’s been a busy fall on the Eastern Shore of Virginia so we had been on again-off again about going to Washington DC for this year’s National Book Festival, held on the National Mall, Sept. 22-23, about a 4 hour drive from the Eastern Shore. But I did make hotel reservations, just in case, leaving plenty of time for cancellation if need be. Naturally, it was at the 11th hour, Thursday the 20th, that everybody previewed their Friday- through- Monday schedule, thereafter declaring the week-end a “go”. This meant commencing a hyperactive search for books by the authors we love who would be autographing their books at the Festival, checking to see which books we already had and which would need to be purchased in route at my favorite Barnes and Noble in Virginia Beach. There is a book sales tent at the Festival which offers the latest books from the scheduled authors but that involves standing in a line so I prefer to bring everything with me that I want autographed. ( Also, if it’s a favorite author, I usually have some of their earlier books which I like to try to get signed as well.) As this was our 5th Festival, I pretty much had everything down to a science. Pack the books in a big rolling cooler with a long pull handle– the cooler is a great place to sit while in line, it holds important extra stuff like umbrellas & trail mix, if it rains it keeps the books dry, etc. In fact, my # 1 piece of advice to a prospective Festival-goer—- best to come with a combo chair-storage container- book protecting cooler on wheels !
I had optimistically planned to leave the Eastern Shore by 9 am. Silly me ! Finally pulled out of the driveway about 11:30 in a two car convoy, Eldest Daughter and boyfriend in one car, moi, hubby and two grandkids in another, ready for great adventures on the road. Which in this case meant a first stop at COSTCO in Virginia Beach to get another GPS because mine was acting a little weird and I would never try to drive in Northern Virginia/D.C. without one. Which makes me wonder, how did we ever get around without a GPS ? I still have a couple of old D.C. map books sitting on the top of a bookcase and I still consider myself proficient with a map, but really, as heavy traffic zooms by on I-495, with crazy drivers darting in and out, cars plunging for off-ramps, crowding in from on-ramps, all at 65-75 mph, I just can’t imagine how we ever managed to get anywhere safely and on time without a GPS ! Anyway, walked out of COSTCO about 1 pm but by then the kids were hungry. Of course ! So, off for a quick lunch at Panera’s about a mile away and finally, about 2 pm, we were actually, definitely, on the road to D.C. So much for my original fantasy of a 9 am start ! After about 50 inquires of “how much longer ? ” and 2 pit stops, by 7 pm we were checking into our hotel in Arlington, just a hop-skip-jump across the river from the National Mall, tired, hungry but excited.
For dinner I had already planned to try Ray’s Hell Burger , the very casual burger place that I had read President Obama had taken Vladimir Putin to for burgers and fries, figuring that if it’s good enough for the President and the Russian head of state, then it was good enough for the 6 of us. And the kids love hamburgers. But what I hadn’t reckoned with was how popular it would be on a beautiful Friday night. Good Golly, Miss Molly ! Jammed inside, jammed out on the patio, a pretty long line to belly up to the window and order. But finally, order we did, snagged a table out on the patio and waited for our food, which arrived surprisingly fast. The burgers were indeed delish, perfectly char-grilled on the outside, nice and moist inside, snuggled into a top quality bun. In my case, also topped with cheddar, grilled fresh mushrooms, grilled sweet red onions, all accompanied by Ray’s excellent homemade “5 cheese” mac and cheese, sweet potato fries and crunchy slaw. Was it worth the wait ?? Final Answer: Absolutely terrific burgers, just don’t go on a Friday night unless you’re prepared to wait or unless you are with the President ! By dinner’s end, we all were exhausted and totally ready for a good night’s rest before heading across the Potomac River to the 2012 National Book Festival the next day. (Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)
Tags: Eastern Shore of Virginia, life on Virginia's Eastern Shore, National Book Festival, week-end trips from Eastern Shore Virginia