On the Road Again

That road would be 95 and my destination was D.C. to have lunch with my biggest fan/long-time friend.

I despise driving 95, although, unlike most Richmonders, I enjoy navigating the city once I arrive (it is, after all, my home town).

The traffic gods must have been smiling on me because, for the first time I can remember, I was able to drive the HOV lanes both ways, which makes a huge difference in dealing with the madness, not to mention making better time.

But I will never get used to driving a center road with traffic going in opposite directions on either side of me.

I try not to pay attention to that because it feels a bit surreal, a sensation I don't care for when I'm going that fast.

My destination was that vague area north of Georgetown and south of Tenleytown, an area I know well because I used to grocery shop there when I lived in Dupont Circle.

That tired old Giant store still sits on Wisconsin Avenue and walking by it today was like a blast from the past.

I couldn't believe it had never been renovated; it looked exactly the same as it did when I shopped there in the 80s.

Actually, nearby at the long-closed G.C. Murphy, the store windows were filled with architectural renderings of all the proposed changes for that area, including a fancy new Giant, as befits a neighborhood that has changed hugely since I left.

But every time I'm back up there, I count more cranes and building skeletons going up.

It's a good thing I understand the layout of the city, because entire blocks are now unrecognizable to me as smaller buildings have been replaced with unfamiliar mega-structures.

On the other hand, I'm always up there to have fun and I always succeed, so let them build.

There's something very pleasurable about being able to go home again...even if it is only for a day or a weekend.