Monday, December 29, 2008

A gorgeous day in Richmond ...

Observations while out and about the Midlothian area today ...

It is a small world.... Connie waited on us today in Sears and, while writing up our purchase, she asked for our phone number. I told her "540" area code and added that we were from the Staunton area. She laughed and said she grew up in Fishersville and graduated from Wilson High School. She knew "Donnie" Reid of the Statler Brothers from those days and went on to talk about Wright's Dairy and other places around town. It is indeed a small world....

This is the third spring-like day in Midlothian with mid-day temps in the 50s. While at Uppy's gas station redeeming our Ukrop's points to gas up the vehicle, the sound system was playing "Sleigh Ride"....

Speaking of Ukrop's, have you ever tried their paninis? They are delicious....

It's hard to believe New Year's Eve is in two days....

It has been fun spending time in the Richmond area with family and friends. Tonight we have dinner with cousins followed by an evening of playing games....

Another cousin, who has been a small business owner in Chesterfield along with his brother for 35 years, was telling me at a family gathering over the weekend that business is awful. He owns bulldozers and dump trucks for clearing real estate properties, working for years with local builders and developers, and he said this is the slowest he has ever seen the real estate market. For someone who does business over a hand shake and never considers the job completed until the customer is satisfied, that is quite a comment. He is worried we have not hit bottom yet....

Speaking of Ukrop's, family members who work for that favored Richmond grocery store business are saying their hours are being cut back as part-timers because business is slow....

But for grocery chains, Ukrop's is still my all-time favorite. Call it the hometown favorite because it's what I grew up with ... they are still tops for me. Their stores are clean, their merchandise is fresh, their salad bar offers a wide variety of selections, their freshly-made takeout food is yummy, and their cleanliness is appreciated. Their employees have always been extremely courteous and most still are although I have noticed in some stores the past few years the employee courtesy is not what it used to be. Still, compared to others out there, Ukrop's is at the top of the heap....

Drove through Bon Air several times during Christmas and reminiscenced about growing up there....

Sometimes it's fun to roam around our old stomping grounds and this trip was no exception....

2 comments:

Paco said...

Stop! You're making me homesick! I lived in Richmond for years, even when I got a job in Washington. Finally threw in the towel on the commute (AmTrak's motto? "Relax, you'll probably get there eventually") and moved to Fairfax in what I call "Occupied Northern Virginia". Sure miss it.

Virginia Conservative said...

Ah Ukrop's, the best of all the grocery stores. I sincerely wish they had a store closer than the fairly new one in Roanoke. Oh well...that's my $.02.