I always loved field trip day, so when I get to go on one as an adult, I get really excited. 

I went with a group today on a tour of the Virginia Department of Forensics Science. It is an amazing place. I had no idea that that much analysis and scientific work went on in downtown Richmond. While we were there, the ballistics staff were firing guns into water tanks and at targets. We saw the toxicology and DNA areas. It was fascinating, and I got a lot of good CSI information (especially what's real and what's TV fiction).

The Department of Forensics Science  is downtown in the biotech area of our state capital. Parking downtown is always a challenge. I thought I was being prepared by Googling all of the nearby lots. I pulled in one this morning, and the gentleman working the lot tapped on my window and asked if I was a Jehovah's Witness. I wondered for a couple of seconds where this was going, but he cleared up the confusion when he told me that there was a convention in town, and most of the parking lots had been reserved for convention guests. I had a brief Plan B scramble to find another lot, but it wasn't bad. That led to a nice leisurely walk through the biotech park.

(There is a group working to bring a chapter of Sisters in Crime to Central Virginia, and nine folks from this group went on today's tour. If you're interested in reading or writing mysteries/thrillers and you're near the Central Virginia area, email me, and I'll send you the contact information.)