Hampton Roads Snow Day!

Hampton - Chesapeake Avenue covered in ice

Those in other parts of the country with colder climates may laugh at Hampton Roads today which is largely shut down due to on average 4 inches or so of snow.  The real problem is not the amount of snow but instead (i) a near total lack of highway equipment to deal with snow and ice and (ii) the way the temperature dropped rapidly and allowed a layer of ice to form on all the roadways under the layer of snow.  Other than the Interstates and a few main highways, the snow and ice will remain until melting once the weather warms.  With temperatures in the teens and a wind chill of zero, that will not happen today.  The photos give a feel for the winter views.  I will be working from home and logging into the office remotely (I gave my daughter/paralegal the day off).  With so many local drivers being military and from Florida, Southern California and other parts of the South, kamikaze like drivers pose a huge risk even when one knows how to drive in the snow and ice.

Backyard view of Robinson Creek (which has not frozen due to the wind stirring up the water)

Norfolk - Ocean View looking towards Chesapeake Bay

Norfolk - Ocean View tidal flooding - a common occurrence - last night from near gale force winds

Weekend Reflections

Overall, its been a lovely weekend. First, I saw my daughters yesterday morning and I believe that they have come to understand that I am not the one who is the driving force behind the viciousness in my post-divorce nightmare. Indeed, I never wanted this type of hostility. But with my former wife giving free rein to her anti-gay attorneys (the first one was truly a Regent Law grad Kool-Aid drinker, and the current one is not much better) do all in their power to denigrate me for being gay and to torment and destroy me, there truly has been nothing I can do except endeavor to defend myself from the untruths alleged against me.

*

Later in the day, the boyfriend and I went to a Kentucky Derby Party down the street from our house - yes, I am currently living at his place and it's going well after a week and a half and we seem to be relatively compatible even if I'm not as organized as "Martha Stewart." I continue to be amazed by his sweetness and kind heart. I am so very, very fortunate to have found him . The fact that my daughters really like him is an added bonus. But I digress. The Kentucky Derby party was hosted by a gay couple a couple of blocks down the street from our place one of whom is from Kentucky. It was a wonderful affair with elegant food and an abundance of mint julep's and other refreshments. The hosts had prepared all the food themselves. Most guests were residents of the street including several other gay couples, one of which have been together for over 27 years. The women were fully into the event and all had on dresses and flamboyant hats like the ones we saw women wearing at Church Hill Downs as we watched the race on television.

*

As I have noted before, I was again struck by how accepting and comfortable all of the straight neighbors - even the military officer types - are with us gays and how gracious people in Hampton can be. Once again I could not help but ponder to myself why the Christianists deem us committed gay couples to be such a threat. We are just people and we are involved in the neighborhood, maintain our homes and we treat all of the neighbors in the manner in which we would like to be treated. Where is the alleged gay menace? Where is the "gay agenda?" Clearly, it truly is a figment of the Christianists imaginations or their very sick and warped psyches.

*

We ended yesterday evening attending a fundraiser for the Hampton Roads Men's Chorus - an excellent all gay chorus - at a house overlooking Chesapeake Bay in the Ocean View area of Norfolk. Today was pretty domestic as we started building a fence for an herb garden to protect "Martha's" herbs from one or more ravaging muskrats that come out of the tidal creek behind the house to feast on parsley, basil and other herbs that the critter(s) seem(s) to think are grown as delicacies for its/their enjoyment.

Random Thoughts

My 4th of July has been low key so far - some yard work and then an outing to the beach in Ocean View (there were no good waves for surfing) where I ran into some friends on the beach and proceeded to have a pleasant time, including trying a "Georgia martini" comprised of lime juice, vodka, peach schnapps and the juice of a fresh peach. One of the things that we discovered as we chatted for several hours is that one of my friends in the straight phase of her life was a friend of my youngest sister. Moreover, her children and my niece and nephew were friends through middle school. At one point we had a scare when the beach patrol came by and I thought that either (1) they suspected the "martinis" were not Gatorade or (2) that me wearing a speedo on the beach - which I can do again after losing a some weight - constituted public indecency (it probably would in Virginia Beach where it's like a police state in the resort area). Luckily, they were just handing out information sheets to beach goers.

*

The rest of my holiday weekend will be relatively low key as well. I have a birthday party to attend tomorrow night (the same hosts as where I went to another one recently for a fellow HRBOR board member) , brunch with my youngest daughter on Sunday and then a pool party at the gorgeous home of a gay couple which backs up to a scenic lake and has a beautiful pool. My tan will definitely be a bit darker by the end of the weekend. In addition, I suspect at some point either tonight or tomorrow night I will go to The Wave for some aerobic exercise, a/k/a dancing.

Sunday Thoughts - Update

The beach was wonderful - cloudless sky, light breeze off the water to keep it comfortable, and plenty of open space between the beachgoers (I cannot understand going to a beach where your fellow beach goers are two to three feet away from you). The water is still about 60 F degrees, so it's not swimming temperature yet - at least by local standards. Later in the season, Chesapeake Bay gets up close to 80 degrees, while the ocean usually tops out at about 76 or so. There is always something so relaxing about the sound of the waves on the beach that makes thoughts and cares wade into the back ground.

*

I will probably just chill tonight - I went dancing last night at The Wave with my straight friend, Vivian, and saw many of the usual crowd. I find dancing bot a great aerobic workout and a great stress reliever too. I am definitely lucky to have three clubs withing a 7 block radius of the house.

*

Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Depending on the weather and whether I got over cooked in the sun today, it may be another day at the beach after putting a second coat of paint of the door and porch areas I painted today. Right now, I'm fixing black beans and rice with sausage New Orleans style. I hope all my readers are having a great weekend.

Sunday Thoughts

It is a gorgeous day today and after doing some painting on the front porch I am headed to the beach. Since the surf is non-existent, I'm going to the beach in Ocean View so that I can avoid the swarms of tourists at Oceanfront. The guy I've been seeing for the last two weeks is out of town at a family gathering, so I'm going to chill, get some rays and do some pleasure reading. I'll probably post more later today.

Saturday Ramblings

For a change I did nothing much today other than mindless activities - mowed the grass, went to the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk (pictured above) since there were no waves for surfing in Virginia Beach, grocery shopping and a review of online news. Tomorrow I am driving to Richmond with my youngest daughter to retrieve the balance of her things from her dorm for summer break (she brought home as much as would fit in her car so hopefully we need pick up only her refrigerator and some boxes). It will give us some time together in the car to talk and just enjoy being with each other.

*

Yesterday, I spoke with my older daughter and she's awaiting confirmation that she has a full time job in August with the Virginia Beach School system. She has been working as a long term substitute and once the school year is over will once again be the head coach for our former neighborhood pool swim team, one of the largest and best in the summer swim league which includes 24 teams, split into four divisions based on the strength of the teams. Alanton-Baycliff is one of the few teams (perhaps one of two) that has always managed to remain in the top tier division. Last summer she had well over 200 swimmers on her team.

*

Nothing on the local romantic front. At times I don't think Mr. Right exists - or if he does he's on the other side of the country or world somewhere. Which is the next closest thing to not existing. I know that some readers think I have unrealistic standards, but after a long straight marriage, a failed long distance gay relationship and a failed monogamous gay relationship that ended last summer, I really, really do not want to just settle for someone. Just as I tell my business clients that sometimes no deal is better than a bad deal, no relationship is better than one that is dysfunctional and emotionally draining. Luckily, my roommates provide companionship since I do not like living alone. And if I have admirer(s) out their, show yourself since I am a bit obtuse when it comes to picking up signals that guys are interested in me. :)

Monday Musings

I did not post yesterday for the first time in weeks. After a lazy morning, we went to the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk (photos are posted above), arriving around noon. We went to the beach there because my Jeep is in the shop for repairs, so I had no way to get my surfboard to Oceanfront. In addition, Ocean View is not overrun by tourists, so we did not have strangers sitting almost on top of us.

It was very pleasant and relaxing and a treat to just do nothing. After the beach we ended up hanging out with friends and watching a crazy movie we find hysterical called "Sordid Lives," which has an all star cast and a serious message about coming out intermixed with the insanity. As a result, I never made it to the office where I do most of my Blogging because of better computer equipment and the files I have saved for the "Male Beauty" posts.