We lived together in the States for 8 years before we had the opportunity to live abroad. Actually I have lived in the States since I was 18, and even half of my childhood before that. But I guess I’m considering this second book to focus on my married life with Peppy. Well, since we met, which was 6 months before. So January, 1986. I had just moved to Washington, DC from New York. And my North Carolina experiences were long past.
I was living in a town house in old town Alexandria, near the river and a short drive into Washington. Peppy and his daughter Becky were living in a big, new house farther out in Virginia. Things I remember were extended Doggett gatherings, messing up my new sport car in an accident, quizzing Becky on her choice of which high school to choose for her last two years before going to college, either out in the suberbs or in Alexandria. She chose Alexandria, which meant selling both residents to find a new one for the three of us in Rosemont, just next to Old Town and featuring a large monument to Washington.
Our time in Alexandria was very much oriented to the part of the town known as Old Town. It had a lot of history, including the church where George Washington was a member and the home where the leading figure of the anti-Union forces lived. The main street had lots of restaurants and shops, as well as the courthouse and local government. It was right on the Potomac River, and in the patch of the local airport. And it was halfway between the national monuments of Downtown Washington and Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. That meant perfect distances in each direction for bicycle rides from the home that we bought next to Old Town.
Memories of Old Town include lots of time on our bicycles, of course. Peppy has even recently reminded me that our first kiss was on one of our bike outings to Mount Vernon. Our favorite restaurant was , close to our new home, with owners who befriended us. On our wedding weekend (a week after our wedding), we wrapped things up with a dinner party there. Our wedding had been in front of the Thomas Jefferson memorial, and the wedding party a week later was held at the Xx Hotel., near the Kennedy Center in Washington. We also had a moat ride on the Potomac and a breakfast at the x restaurant in Old Town.
Our life before marriage also included a lot of alcohol, I’m afraid. We ac would wander around Old Town with beer cans in our pockets. We often had lunch together in Washington, drinking at least two beers each with the meal. Evenings usually included a late night outing to a jazz club drinking beer with cognac. It was mostly beer in those days, but we also drank scotch or vodka and lots or red wine late on. More about this later.
Becky graduated from high school, and our two children Kristina and PG were born while we lived in Rosemont. They also went to preschool there. We had at least one cat there. It was a lovely house, with enough room to host both an au-pare and a series of adult students of an English Program in Old Town. Most of the students were from Europe (mostly Germany or Switzerland) but also from South America or Japan. We had lots of parties in that house, both birthday parties for the kids and other mostly family parties. We even entertained an art group that interacted with things in our home.