Lost home Part 1

In this past week while preparing to attend my grandmother's funeral, a thought came to mind. It had been six years since I had last set foot in Virginia. This has been about par for over my life as it has often been a question of finding the money and/or time to visit. I had been planning to visit next year. Not now. Because it dawned on me that my main reason for visiting was to see my grandmother. This trip began to have a twofold purpose -- saying goodbye to my grandmother and to Virginia. And so I started preparing the list in my head of absolute musts if this was to be my final trip to Virginia.

One of the things I sorely miss in California is Carolina style barbecue. Whenever visiting Virginia or Georgia, I will start pestering folks immediately about my need for the stuff. It has come to be that Smitty's is my stop when in Hampton. I could drive there in my sleep.



Smitty's is a drive-up place. Just pull into one of the spaces near the building and a server exits promptly to take your order. If you are dining there, your food will appear on a tray that is fastened to the door. I got mine to go this time though.

Six years ago I ate there. And my grandmother drove with my mom's older sister riding shotgun. My grandmother had left the engine running and thankfully had engaged the emergency brake for once. Because while we waited for our food, I noticed a strange sound -- the engine revving. I think I had to tell my grandmother five times or so to take her foot off of the gas. Seems that she thought she had her foot on the brake and couldn't hear the engine. This was the day I decided that she really didn't need to drive anymore.


But this time I headed back to the house with my two sandwiches -- one for immediate consumption and one for later. So glad I bought that second one because it made a great breakfast the next day. And yes, even at breakfast, I liberally doused the sandwich with hot sauce. I'm going to need to search online for places that ship. Because I'm going to need more in my lifetime.