After a restful sleep, I was awake by 0600 and spent some time reading and doing Duolingo. Since I wanted to be productive while Mollie and Alex were still sleeping, I decided to get ready and load the boxes I'd brought back into the car. Next, I took a short walk near Mollie's apartment and waited for her and Alex to wake up. Finally (0830), they were stirring... Even then, though, they were a bit slow to get ready themselves. We were all set by the time that Alex's parents, Joe and Joanne, arrived (0900). They brought Maple (Mollie's dog) with them and we all spent a short time visiting and playing with her. At 0915, we drove a short distance to the local Chick-fil-A and ate breakfast inside the restaurant. I'd never met Alex's parents before so most of the time was spent exchanging life data - I learned that Joe was an avid metal detectorist and that Joanne worked at Kings Dominion. They described how they lived on a beautiful piece of land to the southwest (Mollie later told me how much she liked visiting there). After finishing our meal (0955), we drove down to visit the Stonewall Jackson death site. The weather was clear but cool (and a bit breezy) - it was a pleasant day. We spent some time there, learning about history and talking about Joe's metal detecting hobby. Afterwards (1045), we drove north on some back roads to reach downtown Fredericksburg. Once there, we parked at the Visitor Center for the Battlefield and visited a Civil War Store across the street - it had bullets and buttons found by metal detectors and other "buried and non-buried" finds from the war. Joe was in heaven and even bought a book there. Next, we walked around in the cemetery and got views of the town (and river) from the high ridge (Maryes Heights). After exploring along the Sunken Road Walking Trail, we made a short stop at the Visitor's Center and then (1230) drove across town to the "Main Street" area. It took a while to find a place to park but we eventually were able to walk around there, visiting shops and other businesses. Mollie and Alex had told us they knew a good restaurant for our lunch but it turned out to be quite busy. Instead, we moved down the street to another place (new to them) called "Bello Manzo". The signature meat dishes ("Manzo") allowed for a "dry or baptized" (the latter was soaked in jus) option - I tried one with pork. Mollie and I also shared some garlic fries. We finished our good meal at about 1400 and departed the restaurant. Just after exiting the building, though, I had a strange encounter with someone who told me they wanted to pray for our family. It was a nice gesture but they did it in such a strange way that I awkwardly passed on the offer. On the way back to the car, we stopped in antique and book stores. Everyone else got really immersed in the experience - all birds of a feather, I guess... Joe next drove us back to Mollie's apartment (via US-1) and we said goodbye to Alex's parents (1500). Afterwards, I took a walk in the neighborhood (to get the rest of my 10K steps) and then (1615) watched more of the College Football Playoff games (end of Penn State versus SMU and beginning of Texas versus Clemson). By 1745, Mollie informed me that she was "bored from watching football" and asked if we could watch something else. I suggested a Christmas movie and we all enjoyed a viewing of "The Santa Clause". After that was over, Alex and I returned to football. A bit later, Mollie and Alex made me a delicious pasta dish (with venison and sausage) for dinner - it was really good. As the evening progressed (2000), we ended up watching a third football game (Ohio State versus Tennessee). Through it all, we had lots of great conversation and playing with Maple. At about 2200, I said goodnight to Alex and Mollie and went to the guest room to do some reading before falling asleep (2300). It was fun to spend time with Mollie and Alex in “their” town - I'm Looking forward to my next visit to FXBG!
