Sarah Phillips: Memorial Day Milonga

On Memorial Day, Gary and I drove down to Norfolk to an Argentine tango milonga held every Monday night at Station 2, a really cool restaurant located on Granby Street. I was really looking forward to this milonga, because I have not had the opportunity to dance the tango or hang out with any of the members of our tango group since Gary left for San Diego (I really have been working hard on all the stuff I need to finish to graduate!). I have really missed dancing with Gary as well, so I was happy to have the chance to dance again!

When we arrived, we were surprised to find the restaurant completely empty except for our group of tango friends! As it turns out, there was a mis-communication about the Monday-night milonga. Originally, the restaurant was going to be open on the night of Memorial Day, so the milonga was going to be held as planned. But then the plans changed, and the restaurant was going to be closed! The message did not get through, so we didn't know. Our friends had arrived a bit early, just before they closed, and so they graciously decided to stay open for us so that we could dance! The restaurant owners are really cool people. Unfortunately, the kitchen staff had already gone home, so the kitchen was closed. But they had plenty of good wine and we brought in a couple of pizzas from a place down the street. And then we danced the night away!

The restaurant is absolutely lovely inside. The building was a very high-end jewelry store in the Gilded Age, and it shows in the lovely wood used for the interior, along with the glorious ceilings and staircases, all illuminated by large chandeliers. There are even balconies, and one is over the stage area. I have tucked in a picture of it on the right. The bar is really cool; you can see it in the background of some of the photographs above. The restaurant has adopted Queen Elizabeth I (that is her portrait on the sign) and the Renaissance period she ruled in as their inspiration, so the dance floor is painted with a map of the Virginia coastline that has a portrait of the Duke of Norfolk during her reign and various sea monsters swimming in the waters of the Atlantic. You can see the floor and its sea monsters pretty well in the photographs of the dancers. I really liked the flying fish! There are murals on the walls depicting the Virginia marshes that have cardinals and other birds in them. A mural is just visible at the base of the staircase in the picture on the right of the dancers. It is a lovely place.

So, we all danced, and laughed, and ate well into the night. I enjoyed quite a bit of fun tango! I have really missed it since Gary has been gone. I should not be quite so studious and get back into going regularly and enjoying the dancing more often. I certainly enjoyed getting to see everyone again (and dancing with most of them). The photograph on the left is of Minnie and Juan as they moved around the floor, and the one on the lower right is of Mercedes and Alan. In the upper right-hand photograph, you can see Juan and Kathy in the background, and Gary and Mercedes in the foreground. Gary even tried out a few new things with me that he has picked up while in San Diego.

Lou offered to take some photographs of Gary and I dancing, so I have several great pictures of us dancing! Part of the problem of being the photographer is that you are rarely in the pictures, so it is cool to actually have some pictures of Gary and I to put into this webdiary. Thanks Lou! :)