Three Mile Island Iced Tea

I meant to write about the NRA museum, but I got a little sidetracked on the back story, so it'll have to wait for a few days. I'm going back up to New York tomorrow, and hope to be back on Saturday. I will probably be running all over the place, so I won't be posting for the rest of this week. I promise to get back to it by next Monday. In the meantime, this is just a little vignette about my last trip to Christiansburg.

And, by the way, thanks so much for your encouragement over the past month or so. I can't convey how much I've appreciated the comments and e-mails!

On the last trip South, I didn't leave Brooklyn until one, which meant that I didn't leave New York until two, which meant that I got caught in the grip of some seriously awful Pennsylvania traffic. Route 78 in the Keystone state is constantly under construction, which means that one has to plan one's trip through PA with a level of precision usually reserved for moon shots or the German auto industry. Alternately, one can simply pack a book. War and Peace is a good choice.

By the time I got to Harrisburg, it was apparent that I would reach Christiansburg sometime around midnight. Not relishing a high-speed ride down 81 fueled by terror and coffee in a can, I decided to call my friend John and ask if I could crash (pun definitely not intended) at his place in Arlington. Being a true mensch, he readily agreed, and my evening brightened considerably.

The evening in Arlington won't quite live in infamy, but it was a lot of fun. This was largely due to the "Three Mile Island Iced Tea," a beverage that John is developing with his local bartender. John came up with the name, and has dedicated himself to taste testing. The bartender, on the other hand, has taxed his resources coming up with a wide variety of glowing green potions that look like antifreeze and taste like bubblegum, pineapple juice, and sterno. After test tasting four of the damned things, I was in a very good mood. I couldn't feel my gums, but there was a slight ache somewhere around my middle. I think it was my liver.

I also got to meet John's girlfriend, Andrea, who contains multitudes. She has an anarchic sense of humor and also took delight in John's iced tea from hell. I think she might be truly evil, in the absolutely best way. When we got back to John's, we savaged the small selection of Dietrich's treats that I had packed as a late night snack and host's gift. In the process, I discovered that Dietrich's makes a truly outstanding kielbasa. In case you were wondering.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly and I looked forward to a leisurely trip back to Christiansburg. Perfect side-trip weather.