The Big Question

I'm about to go to lunch with Terry Chesson and David Blakeley. These two gourmets seem to be acquainted with the Tidewater area's Top Ten eating establishments and have already taken me to half of them.

Because it's a late lunch, we won't be back in the mid-afternoon. By that time, the rest of the early birds will be filing in and we'll all be asking the Big Tuesday Question:

"Do we have enough for a jam session tonight? "

It happens every year, and the answer has always been "Yes." It's another advantage of coming early; an extra opportunity to share music and sea stories in the lounge.

Pre-reunion jam session, 2007,
back when I still remembered the changes. 

The Tuesday Morning Shuffle

The trickle of arrivals has become a gentle stream and will today become a minor torrent, if there is such a thing. The day before a reunion is a great time to catch up with old friends. Because the hotel isn't yet jammed with members and guests, you can actually finish an occasional sentence.

I've noted over the years that wherever we hold our reunions, many members who live in the area often take rooms at the hotel during the reunion. The travel-time saved allows fuller participation in the festivities. Nothing is more frustrating than saying to a group of MUs in the lounge, "Did I ever tell you about the time in Naples when--" and being interrupted with the words, "Honey, we have to go; Rex will crap on the floor if he doesn't get a walk by midnight."

Leon Harris and Jim Richards

Stephanie Rowland and Terry Chesson
flank the NMA's secret weapon:
The Debs.

Morning P.T.

No photos yet on this day before the NMA reunion; most of those who arrived yesterday had a full day's travel and are sleeping in.

I got up early, but not early enough for lobby coffee. The hotel offers free morning coffee for travelers, specifically those who are up and about before 6:30 a.m. The coffee shortage will end tomorrow; once the reunion begins, we'll have a well-stocked coffee mess in our registration room.

Too late for free caffeine, I thought I'd take a swim. The outdoor pool is quiet in the early hours, an attraction for those who want to exercise early in the day.

As I was walking through the lobby, Cecil Strange came in the door in his shorts and walking shoes. Cecil likes to exercise early, too; while I'd been thinking about taking a refreshing dip in the H20, Cecil had been out on the grinder doing a 40-minute power walk.

I was exhausted just thinking about doing five laps around the hotel complex during summertime in Virginia. Not Cecil. He said he does this every day. All year long. In Florida.

And the S.O.B. seemed so proud of it. I guess that's the sort of cocky attitude you develop when you're 85 years old.

Pastrami on Rye

It's hard to imagine anything more boring
than listening to people talk about the
great food they just had and you didn't.
Stephanie and Jim were good sports.

David Blakely, Cecil Strange and I returned from the Route 58 Deli needing someone to tell about the pastrami sandwiches we'd just consumed.

Fortunately Stephanie Rowland & Jim Richards were willing to suffer through detailed descriptions of melt-in-your-mouth pastrami piled sky-high on seeded rye.

Cecil exhibited the self-control that has guided him into his ninth decade and ate only half his sandwich; the other half will make two more meals tomorrow. David and I did not exercise such moderation and engaged in a wanton meat-orgy of such intensity that when the dust cleared, there was nothing left but a few caraway seeds.  

We'll return to Virginia Beach in two years and I already know where I'll have my first meal.

A before-dinner apertif

The trickle of arrivals is turning into a stream. Jim Richards and Stephanie Rowland pulled up a few minutes ago and I see a few more familiar faces at the main desk.
------------

I have been told that Route 58 Deli in Virginia Beach makes the best pastrami sandwich this side of New Jersey. This information was passed on to me by David Blakeley, who ought to know. David has invited me to visit the Deli, and we'll leave in a few minutes.

He's driving, so I won't crack any New Jersey jokes.

-----------

I'll be back later with the pastrami review and something more important I haven't yet mentioned: this year's new feature: the Lobby-Cam.

Trickle, trickle...

The staggering of arrivals for an NMA reunion can best be described as a bell curve. (I'm not talking about the Belle Curve who entertained many of us at Pirate's Cove so long ago.)

Because the reunion begins on Wednesday morning, the biggest influx is between Tuesday and Thursday. More will come later; folks who couldn't get the weekdays off from work will trickle in on Friday to enjoy the weekend festivities.

We think of Tuesday evenings as the "early-bird special." Generally, enough of us are in town to hold a pre-reunion evening jam session.

But Monday is arrival day for some. I ran into Kim Holl, Dennis Allard and Leon Harris this morning, thought it's no surprise to see them in Virginia Beach; they live here, after all. And think I just saw Cecil Strange from afar, though I haven't talked to him yet. I've crossed paths with a few others here and there.

I expect a fair number of arrivals this evening; a lot of members who can drive here in one day tend to show up on Monday nights. And I know just where to look for them...