Day eight, on to Virginia

Woke up in Manassas, Virginia and had a great breakfast with Dorothy and Bill, my hosts. Now off to Stafford, VA and my first stop at The Scholarship.

Suzanne Rich, of The Scholarship, was excited to receive the samples and happy to show me around. Although the folks at The Scholarship have been customers of ours over the years, I never got a chance to meet Barb and Penny, the store’s buyer and owner. Oh well. I hope we get a chance to meet at the upcoming NSSEA show. Apparently Barb, who had hoped to meet me, was called to a meeting at their new store. The Scholarship has opened a second 20,000 foot store in Fredericksburg. For those of you in the area, you’ll find it close to the UKROPS store.

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Outside of The Scholarship [left] on a snowy January morning. Suzanne [right] was kind enough to show me around their wonderful outlet.

Then, I was off to Culpeper, to visit The Learning Tree. What a cute little town! It reminds me of "Niagara-on-the-Lake", a town not too far from where I live. I stopped a resident to inquire about the population. "I believe it’s about 5,000," he said. While visiting The Learning Tree, I met with Fanny Bunch, who runs the shop most days.

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The Learning Tree [left] in its serene location. Fanny [right] takes very good care of such a beautiful store.

What would an afternoon be without a "high speed fix"? My sincere thanks to the folks at the Cameron St. Coffee House who make up fantastic sandwiches, roast coffee beans on the premises, and offer free high speed for net-addicts.

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Inside the Cameron St. Coffee House [left] as seen from above. The historic looking bean roaster [right] adds to the house's unique decor.

Finally, I drove up to my B&B hosts’ home in Richmond, VA. Carol, a middle school teacher, and Robley, a lobbyist for the Virginia Education Association, were perfect hosts. They took me on a tour of downtown Richmond. It’s a fascinating city. I definitely want to come back to and explore some more. We also went to the university campus, where Carol and Robley jog several days a week. Last but not least, we enjoyed a great meal at "Kuba Kuba", a Cuban restaurant.

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Carol in the morning before my departure. Too bad Robley had already left for work before I had a chance to play shutterbug.