The day before the election, we received a call from Erin in Cuba–seems that Hurricane Rafael was bearing down upon the island, and the US Embassy decided to evacuate much of the non-essential staff. Fortunately she and John came under that classification, and they arrived in DC on November 5th. We immediately made plans to meet them.

John and Bonnie are always willing to put us up, so we arranged to fly into Dulles on Sunday, November 10th, where we rented a car and drove to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Being on the Chesapeake Bay, you have to order crab, and the Primo Crab Cake at Fisherman’s Inn was great, as was being with much of Sue’s extended family.

The following day, Veteran’s Day, some of us met up with Erin and John at the Inn and Perry Cabin in St. Michael, a lovely setting, although we were somewhat disappointed with their kitchen.

Picture above: Larry, Sue, Erin, John, Hannah, John & Bonnie.

John & Bonnie’s farm, Anchor Rest, is a lovely setting in late autumn, but we enjoy visiting them in all seasons, and they always greet us with open arms and generous hospitality. This visit was no exception. Throughout are three days with them, we commiserated about the election and shared our concerns for the future of our country. We can only hope our fears are unfounded.

After a few days at the Farm, we moved onto Northern Virginia for a quick visit with a number of friends. First, it was lunch with Barby & Howard in Arlington; I worked with Barby at the Library of Congress during the 1980s, and we have stayed friends since then.

Then it was on to our long-time friend, Angie Godfrey, for an overnight visit at her apartment in the West End of Alexandria. We first met Angie when our kids were in the same pre-school, more than 40 years ago. Angie, and the entire Godfrey family, have been the dearest of friends to our entire family.

On Thursday, after our overnight visit with Angie, we met another set of Library of Congress friends at the Carlyle Cafe in Shirlington–Tori Hill, Cheryl Adams and Kathy Woodrell. Unfortunately, no phots, but fun was had by all. The cafe proved a great place for conversation and laughter, accompanied by delicious entrees from the restaurant’s menu. Three hours literally flew by.

After lunch, we joined John & Erin in the Dupont area of the District, where we had more time to catch up with them and hear about their stay in Cuba, where they have been since last July. Cuba is a beautiful island, and the people are welcoming and kind, but the economic situation is very dire, with food & energy shortages (thus the need for them to evacuate). They think they will be going back by the first of December, but not sure how much longer they will be staying, once the Trump administration takes charge. We will see.

Friday, while Erin went into the State Department for work and John was taking care of personal business, we met Belinda Acre, another longtime friend for lunch, followed by a delightful couple of hours at the National Gallery of Art. While there, we were able to take in their new exhibition, Paris in 1874, which features 150 French paintings from that year which saw the emergence of the Impressionists. You can easily see the show in an hour, but it does give the visitor a good introduction to that incredible period in the history of art. It was great fun to share the experience with Belinda.

Our all too short visit with Erin and John ended with a get together with Angie and her daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Harold, at Matt & Tony’s, a new restaurant in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. Again another wonderful opportunity to catch up, laugh and talk. It really was a wonderful culmination to a wonderful week of reminiscences and old friends, made all the better by being able to spend some time with Erin & John, whom we have missed these last several months.

Photo: Erin, John, Angie, Larry, Sue, Sarah & Harold