field trip number two

Today was the second field trip (and final meeting) for my class on historic Virginia buildings. We spent the whole day in Staunton, which was my first visit there (except for the frontier culture museum on the edge of town). Here are some pictures:

We didn't visit this or talk about it, but I liked how it looked.


This staircase is in an old insane asylum.


See the giant crack??? I won't lie, I was a little nervous walking around inside there up there.


This organ is in the upstairs room with the cracked window. Obviously it needs some work.


This old painting was preserved in the bedroom of a house where Jefferson stayed.


A Tiffany window at Trinity Episcopal Church.


Church made out of green stone.


Old house made into a B&B.


Stairwell in the B&B.


Indoor detail in the B&B.


Colorful!


Owl on a house. I heard the eyes light up at night?!


Court House.

familiarizin'

Let's see, I've lived in Charlottesville for...three and a half months. (Plus there were five and a half months of working in Charlottesville but living in Richmond.) I still don't feel quite "at home" in this city, but I'm working on it. Last week I discovered a coffee shop that has plenty of tables, decent food, a parking lot, and stays open past 7pm. The place is also nice enough to give you a sandwich and a latte on the honor system if you don't have cash with you. (Who doesn't take cards these days? Sheesh.) The coffee shop is next to a big vintage/thrift store, so that is good to know about. And Sunday I finally found the recycling center, another important C'ville spot. (Just because I didn't visit until Sunday doesn't mean I wasn't saving up recycling all that time. I had about a million milk jugs piling up in my kitchen.) Last weekend Josh and I also visited the South Street Brewery for the first time, which had terrible service but a fun atmosphere and good beer. Taking that class at UVA has helped get me plugged in a little, though I'm quiet and at least a decade younger then everyone else in the class. And last night after work some co-workers and I went out for drinks and dinner on the Corner (the area by the university with lots of restaurants), so that was a good time hanging out with people outside of work and learning about a new restaurant.

So I'm still getting to know Charlottesville, and hopefully some day I'll feel like I really belong here.

field trip

This fall I've been taking a non-credit course through UVA on Historic Buildings in Virginia. I must admit that I was more interested in the "historic" part of the title when I signed up, and less interested in the nitty gritty architecture part that it turned out to focus on. But I learned a few things, and the best part of the class is the two field trips at the end. Today was the first field trip. We toured the Rotunda and Lawn at UVA (including the private upstairs portion of a pavilion), and then we visited three plantation houses that date from around the turn of the 19th century. Since I still can't tell you much about floor plans and brick bonding and saw marks, I'll just share a few pictures I took.

Halloween nerd

I didn't dress up for Halloween this year, but I did carve this gem (and I'll give you two views!):