The Tuesday Group did something a little bit different today with a trip to the Vrginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond to view the Terracotta Army on loan from several museums in Shaanxi Province, China. When Ying Zheng, the First Emperor of China, was laid to rest in his mausoleum in 210 BC, he was accompanied into the afterlife by an army of nearly 8000 life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots organized into battle formation and equipped with a full arsenal of weapons. The mausoleum was discovered by farmers outside Xi'an in 1974 and to date only 20% of the buried figures have been excavated.
The Tuesday Group responded enthusiastically to this event with 40 sign ups! I was a bit surprised as the tickets were $20 apiece and it was a bit of a drive for most and to top it off we were right on the tail of the bombogenesis snowstorm! But the Tuesday Group never ceases to amaze me with their hunger for knowledge and adventure and fortunately, much of the snow was gone and temperatures were much milder. A few of the original 40 had dropped out but there were some that showed up that hadn't signed up so we stayed at about 40. Most had tickets to the 11am show with the rest arriving a bit earlier for the 10:30 slot. The exhibit was truly astonshing with 2000 year old artifacts looking as though they'd only recenlly been crafted. we learned about the history of the First Emperor, his rise to power and his obsession with immortality. Most impressive of all the artifacts were the life size soldiers-officers, archers, horsemen-all with their unique uniforms and expressions. Each one exuded their own personality! It was truly an adventure back in time and to the other side of the world!
After that came the lunch adventure. Our restaurant only allowed a reservation for 20 but I figured we'd be able to get the whole group in anyway. But we arrived a 1/2 hour early and there were some hungry folks that were reluctant to wait. So the cats dispersed to various eateries on Cary Street. The rest of us (20 as fate would have it) waited for the 1:30 reservation and enjoyed a very fine meal. Afterwards we strolled along Cary Street-our number now down to 9-and soon found a Sweet Frogs where we enjoyed a treat to finish the day.
Many thanks to all who came out for this adventure: Ellis, Marti, Marsha, Bob, Bill, Jim, Bruce, Margaret J, Jane, John O, Sandy C, Sandy B, Jack, Gayle, John M, Pete, Barbara, Carol, Joe, Lois, Bill, Diane, Meghan, Don, Lin, Susan, Steve, Vic, Margaret P, Lynn, Debbie E, Debbie M + 2, Ed, Judy, Melissa and me.
Phyllis
View Bob's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kYna02mbiZnsnI743