Have you checked car prices recently? The used car business may be hotter than real estate at this point. That’s because car companies cut down on production for rental cars last year and now the inventory is super low. Recently, however, we happened upon a really good deal on a newer van for Nancy B’s House of Lights. The old van, a 2000 model with 145,000 miles, was still trucking … [Read more...]

Boy I miss Anderson’s Seafood. Not so much the last one near Barracks Road, but the fresh seafood from the good old days where the Anderson Family sold seafood beneath their make-shift tents at Hardee’s. Most every Friday after work, I’d pull in, ask Mr. Anderson what was good, he’s show me and I’d buy it. Anderson’s had a direct connection to the watermen in the Chesapeake and we enjoyed many … [Read more...]

  Cliff View Inn is a delightful lodge on the Jackson River, about 5 miles north of Covington. It offers 9 bedrooms and 9 baths, great views of the looming cliffs and is surrounded by an 18-hole golf course. My close group of friends who have been getting together on camping expeditions and trips for 41 years have been staying there, renting the entire inn for the past 15 years or so. … [Read more...]

Since you really have to pack light when you go on a cruise, I decided the last time we went to Hawaii, I would take only one pair of shoes – something casual, but decent looking and something I could also use for golf. I went to Stein Mart (RIP) and saw a pair of blue mesh shoes, made by Skechers. Since I am rarely in the casual shoe market, I had never heard of Skechers shoes, but I bought them … [Read more...]

In a world of mega-sized grocery stores with acres of wine bottles and craft beers, organic boutiques and glutton-free everything, there is Reid’s Super Save Markets. All they have to offer are the best meats and the best varieties of meat in town, plus fresh local produce and many brands you won’t find elsewhere. I was in Kroger’s recently and struck up a conversation with another couple – we … [Read more...]

It’s always refreshing to see a new, small business opening. It’s a sign that the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and well in America. One such business opened recently in the Food Lion Shopping Center on Rt. 29 in Ruckersville – Randy’s Hardware. In a world of Lowe’s and Home Depot’s, Randy’s Hardware is set to compete. I poked my nose in the door recently to check it out and was glad to … [Read more...]

My son and family were in for a visit his week. They went to see Jimmie’s mother-in-law in Richmond and picked up her car, which was in great need of a good washing inside and out. Jimmie asked if I knew of any good car-detailers in town and I did not. When I (rarely) wash my car, I take it through one of those machines. Jimmie checked on-line and found a company willing to come out to us and … [Read more...]

  Like a number of larger retail stores, Stein Mart was unable to weather the crippling economic effects of the Chinese virus. It announced bankruptcy just this week. They will close all their stores. I was devastated. Stein Mart had become my personal favorite place to shop. I don’t buy a lot of clothes, but when I do, I like classic styles and colors and I like fair prices. Stein Mart … [Read more...]