On February 14, 2023, I flew out to Virginia. The circumstances for my trip were unfortunate, as it was to attend the memorial service for my old friend, Dan A. He was a few years younger than me, and I had known him since he was about 10 or 11. I think I got him his first job.
I determined that I would have a good time, even with the unfortunate nature of my trip.
I flew from Albuquerque to Chicago (MDW) to Dulles. When I left New Mexico, one winter storm had already struck the region, and another was on the way. It was an icy drive on the side streets.
The airport was no big deal. I flew with a checked firearm for the first time, and that was a painless process overall. At the airport, I tried to catch up on a few projects for work, but everything was a bit of a mess. I could see my house from the plane (you could too, if you knew which one…)
I crossed the cold front on the way to Chicago.
In Chicago, I had quite a long layover. I found my food options were limited. I bought a $30 plate of mediocre chicken parmesan and a steak and cheese sandwich. I wish I’d just got the steak and cheese sandwich, as it was much better and much cheaper.
I then flew to Dulles and landed in the late evening. I picked up my baggage and headed to Alamo to pick up my rental car. They gave me a choice of vehicles, most of which were minivans and one of which was a pickup. I took the truck, a four door Nissan Frontier.
I drove it to my old roommates’ house (Eric N and Carly N) and another old roommate (Brad K) showed up. We chatted and shot pool until far too late in the night. It was good to catch up with them again. I saw them back in September, but it’s always a good time.
The next morning, Eric, Carly and I caravanned down to King George for the memorial service. I got stuck in traffic and showed up a few minutes late, but I made it. It was a decent service, led by a Marine officer (he was a veteran). Then, we had a graveside service for him.
After the service, Dan’s older sister (and my best friend growing up) invited us to lunch. We went to Olive Garden and chatted. Other than the circumstance, it was a good time, and good to catch up.
In the afternoon, I changed clothes, mounted some amateur radio antennas on the truck, and then headed south to Chesapeake, VA. I operated mobile and made quite a few contacts on 20 meters. I tried 2 meters a few times (SSB), but made no contacts. 20 was so active, I didn’t even try the other HF bands.
I arrived in Chesapeake and met up with my friends Jason and Shaena. I had a good visit with them, talking amateur radio and all sorts of things. I had not seen them since spring of 2021, and it was good to catch up. I stayed there for the night.
The next morning, I drove down to Cape Hatteras, NC. I operated amateur radio along the way, making contacts in two new counties before I arrived at the lighthouse.
After a short visit at Cape Hatteras, I drove back north. I debated going for a run on the beach, but 20 meters was popping again, so I figured I would make a few more contacts and pick up some new counties. Plus, there was nowhere near by to shower after the run, so that was less than desirable. It was beautiful weather though, and I cruised with the windows down. The only “running” I did was to run the nearby park for Parks on the Air (PotA, amateur radio).
I stopped for a few minutes at a convenience store that had several old cats. They were flighty, but they looked sweet. They had beds, food dishes and water dishes, so they lived at the store.
Before I left the Outer Banks, I ran a lighthouse on amateur radio for the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (I forgot to run Cape Hatteras!). I stopped at Bodie Island Lighthouse for a few minutes.
I ran through a grand total of eight new counties, making contacts in a large chunk of northeastern North Carolina. After that, my head was hurting (my food, medicine, water and caffeine intake were all out-of-whack), so I turned off the radio and headed north to Fredericksburg along I-64 and I-95. I almost turned off at US-301 to head towards my parents’ house, nearly forgetting that they had relocated to New Mexico a year ago.
I spent the night in the Econolodge in Fredericksburg by Central Park. I went ahead and reserved it for two nights, as I knew I would be back down there the following evening anyhow, and that all the hotels are requiring deposits these days…
The next morning, I woke up and drove to Centerville, VA, to have lunch and meet the family of my storm chase partner, Kathryn. We had quite a few fun conversations, and I spent the afternoon chatting with them.
I did make a quick stop at Ham Radio Outlet, but they didn’t really have anything I felt like hauling through the airport. Plus, some obnoxious guy was dominating everything at the store. I did get some ideas, but nothing I needed to buy there that day.
At around 5, I headed south to Fredericksburg again, as my friend, Robyn B., is the concertmaster for the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra, and they had a concert that evening. She had a solo and she did a great job.
After the show, I picked up some Sheetz for dinner and then went to bed.
I am writing this on 2/18/23 from Dulles Airport. I got up this morning and drove back up to Dulles, turned in my rental car and am now waiting on my flight to Denver.
It was tough losing Dan. I won’t say much about it, but we buried him too soon. I made the most of the trip, given the circumstances.
An Engineer in the World 