touristin' it up

I just spent a few days hanging out with a good friend who came to visit. She had never been to Charlottesville, so I showed her around.

She arrived Wednesday evening, which was just in time to go to the top of Montalto and watch fireworks! We had a picnic and enjoyed the views, but I thought the fireworks-watching-experience was a little weird because they were so far away and therefore not loud, plus not accompanied by music (for us). So it was a sort of surreal time of watching quiet little fireworks all over the city down below. But still fun.

Thursday we visited Monticello. It was very hot, but that was the story of her entire visit.

Sure there's a shuttle behind us and TJ is looking the wrong way, but hey! We look better in this one.

 

We got to try our hands at writing with a quill pen.

Obviously it didn't turn out so well. I don't know how they managed to write anything back in the day.

After Monticello we ate lunch at Michie Tavern. I had never been there before, so her visit was a good chance to try out the touristy restaurant. The food was a little better than I was expecting. Those stewed tomatoes were delicious.

After lunch we visited Albemarle CiderWorks for a tasting. Then we went down the road and did a wine tasting at Pippen Hill Farm. We also sat outside and had a snack. Not because we were hungry, but because it was so beautiful that we didn't want to leave.

Is this not the most perfect view ever? Sure it was so hot even the cheese was sweating, but still. Beautiful.

After all the wining and dining (and sweating) we went downtown and walked around Court Square and the Downtown Mall. Then we ate (again!) at The Whiskey Jar. It was really good.

Friday we got up early and drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway to hike Humpback Rocks. Luckily, it wasn't very hot. But it was a little thundery.

Dramatic views at the top!

Feelin' strong!

 After the hike we headed to Scottsville, grabbed a quick (and very necessary) lunch at Subway, and then hit the river for four hours of tubing on the James. It was very slow, but relaxing. When tubing was over we showered and went to dinner. We happened upon a new Italian place I didn't know about, and sat at the bar for a delicious and very affordable dinner. Then we walked it off around UVA, making sure to check out the Poe room.

After such a full and active day, we hit the hay early. That was good because I got up really early on Saturday to join a big group of runners at 6 AM. (6 AM! I'm sure I'll post more about this later.) I got back home at 8:30 and went back to bed for an hour or so while she did some work. Then we headed back out for another day of fun.

We drove to Staunton and visited the Frontier Culture Museum. That was probably the worst choice for a 100+ degree day, because it's all outdoors (or inside non-climate controlled historic dwellings) and requires lots of walking. But we braved the heat. And the Museum is genius for offering golf carts to rent! We wouldn't have made it through the whole place if we really had to walk. Because seriously, it was hot.

Our sweet ride, with an Irish house in the background.

In one of the American houses they had just baked biscuits!

And we *might* have helped ourselves to one each. We were starving.

Look at the adorable sheep!

When we finished the museum we were wilting and hungry, so we headed to downtown Staunton for lunch. Then we did a wine tasting at Ox-Eye Vineyards. And from there we drove to Fishersville for another tasting at Barren Ridge. There was a wedding happening, so the tastings were up the hill at a cabin. Without ice or air conditioning. The wine was possibly our favorite of all we'd had so far, but the heat was brutal.

Once we made it back to C'ville we walked around the Downtown Mall some more, stopping into more stores than usual to take advantage of air conditioning. When we'd worked up a little bit of an appetite, we enjoyed sushi for dinner, and then headed home.

I'd say we had a pretty packed and awesome time.

Tats for the Fourth

In honor of the Fourth of July I'm wearing a fun temporary tattoo. I even got two co-workers to wear them, too! (Yes, I'm at work, but that's because my friend Celia is coming to visit later today and I'll be hanging out with her and not working the next two days. Woohoo!)

We put these on in the copy room without mirrors, so I didn't realize I placed mine right on my lovely mole-removal scar. That's hot.

weekend

Last Friday I didn't have to work because I'd attended a conference all weekend at the beginning of the pay period. So I went to Richmond and got there in time for lunch with the family. Then I took a nap. After the nap I went shopping with Sunni and her friend for sandals, because I don't have any other than flip flops, but I didn't find any I liked enough to buy. Then it was back to the house to eat a bit and get ready to head downtown.

Downtown is where my Aunt Judy and I went to see Idina Menzel sing (she was in Rent and Wicked and Glee). Then we went out for a snack after the show, and shortly after that was when the storm-out-of-nowhere hit and we thought we'd be taken up in a tornado. Seriously. You should have seen us standing in the median of Broad looking like idiots with debris flying all around, almost swept off our feet. Luckily when we got across the street a security officer let us in some empty office building so we wouldn't blow away. When the wind died down a tiny bit we headed back out to get Sunni and her friend, who were at a show across the street from ours. Then the rain came and we couldn't find which parking garage we were parked in, so that was fun. We finally made it back home around midnight. Luckily after last year's hurricane storm that left all of us camped out in my Charlottesville apartment, they got a generator for the house. So we were the only home around with air conditioning and lights, which was good for the grandparents. We had Grandma with us at the house, because the generators at the assisted living facility weren't running air conditioning. And it was a hot weekend y'all.

Saturday morning I went for a run. I ran eight miles and it was very hot. But I just bought a hydration belt so I had some fluids with me. On the run I came across this giant tree in the road on Old Gun. Cars turned around and I saw a bike go around through someone's yard, but I just went under it.

After the run we had brunch at the house, and then I went with the girls to the pool. It was really hot, but I just stayed in the shade. The whole time. I sat in the shade and read, then I sat in a short chair in the water that was also in shade. That way I didn't have to bother with sunscreen. Or skin cancer. After swimming, Sunni and I dropped her friend off at home and then gorged ourselves on Sweet Frog. Then we headed home and I watched a movie with Aunt Judy and Grandpa.

Sunday I got up early and headed back to Charlottesville so I could clean my bathroom before church. I wanted a clean bathroom because I had people over yesterday, which is exciting since I've never really had anyone over who wasn't a relative.  A few work friends came over and we ate red white and blue foods and watched 1776 the musical. It was fun.

We didn't have time to eat dessert though, because after eating and chatting and watching a really long movie, it was late. So we had our dessert today at work. More red white and blue!

Bittersweet Weekend

Last weekend was fun. Thursday after work I drove to Richmond and visited with my grandpa and mom very briefly (she was in town staying with him). Then Josh and I drove to his grandparents' house again (the same place we spent Memorial Day weekend) to make pickles. When we arrived we ate dinner and then got to slicing cucumbers. His grandpa had already sliced half of them though, so that didn't take too long. They spent the night in lime, and Friday we made up the juice for them to soak. I'm trying to think of what else we did during the day, but I can't remember exactly. Visited the book sale at the local library and went for a boat ride on the pond I think. That evening we had shrimp for dinner on the porch, and then played games with his grandparents.

Saturday it was time to cook and can the pickles (the term "canning" is confusing to me because really they're going into jars, but anyway...). Once we were done with all that we ate a little lunch, and then Josh and I took our bikes to Urbanna to ride around. We rode around the little town and in some cute neighborhoods by the water, and stopped occasionally to walk along docks. After that we went to a miniature golf place for a banana split and one game. Then it was time to get back to the house, pack up, and go to dinner with his grandparents on our way out of town.

We drove back to Richmond that night, where Josh dropped me off at my grandparents' house before he came back to Charlottesville. I spent the evening hanging out with my mom, and spent the night there. Sunday I went for a run, then we picked up Grandma and went to brunch. That afternoon Mom and I did some shopping at Target, and then I drove back to Charlottesville. That's when I had to kick it into high gear and pack quickly for...

Camping! After Josh was done with the rescue squad Sunday we loaded up his car (embarrassingly full) and headed to Sherando Lake for two nights of camping with his aunt and her boyfriend. As we neared the campsite the weather looked more and more ominous, but luckily we got our tent set up before it was too dark and without rain. But then it rained all night and into the morning. We stayed in the tents until around 10 because of the rain, and finally ventured out to make breakfast. Here's our pancake cooking station.

The rain let up and was nice the rest of the day. We went on a little hike and geocached along the trails around the lake. We looked for three caches and found two of them. You can't see it too well in this picture, but there is a toy turtle cache in the tree.

After a late lunch and a nap, we played games, drank beer, made dinner, and enjoyed our campfire and marshmallows. Then it was time for bed.

 

The most exciting part of the camping trip came in the middle of the night though. Around 1:30am, the dog with us (not ours) woke to something in our campsite. The something, you might guess, was a bear. We didn't see it, but Josh says he heard it. I couldn't tell if I was hearing it because of the noises the dog was making. Then we heard noises up above, and discovered that the bear had stashed her three cubs up a tree in our campsite! All of this was discovered from inside our tents while shining lights out the windows. We made a bunch of noise and kept shining the lights and watched as one by one, all three cubs came down out of the tree and scurried off into the woods to join their mother. It was all scary but exciting! (And if you're wondering, all of our food was locked in our cars, so the mama bear wasn't actually rummaging around our own site much. We think she just put the cubs up there while she rummaged around the other sites around us.)

It rained a little that night, too, but nothing too bad. By mid morning on Tuesday the sun was out and it was getting warm. We made breakfast and packed up our tents to clear the site. Then we drove down to the lake and swam briefly (which, by the way, was very difficult. I can run but swimming kills me.) After quick showers (my first since Sunday) we left Sherando Lake and headed to the Devil's Backbone brewery for lunch. After a wrong turn and long drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we finally found the restaurant and enjoyed a great lunch with good beer. It was a nice ending to our long weekend!

But now for the bittersweet part. I had a great weekend, but it was my last weekend with Josh. After four and a half years of dating, we've decided we won't be able to go on to the "next step" with each other, and have thus broken up. It's very sad and hard, but I think it's the right thing. As anyone can see by skimming through this blog, we've had a great time together, and I will cherish the memories. So please keep us both in your thoughts as we go through this difficult transition in our lives.

fun weekends

Let me backtrack a couple weeks to tell you about my weekends. Sorry for being lazy and not posting sooner.

For Memorial Day weekend, Josh and I went to his grandparents' house over on the east side of the state. I think we can call the area the "middle peninsulas." On the way there we stopped in Richmond and ate sandwiches with my family. We got to the house later in the evening, so we didn't do a whole lot that night.

Saturday we visited a church garage sale but didn't buy anything, and then we hit up the farmer's market in Deltaville. I got a free book-on-tape from the public library. We didn't get anything else. We did look at boats and crabs though. After that we went back to the house and I think took naps. Then we got up, loaded bikes (Josh's and his grandpa's, which I was borrowing) on the car, and drove to a little place called Reedville. We rode our bikes around for a couple hours, which was lots of fun--flat roads that always ended at water. Then we ate seafood at the Crazy Crab right by the water.

 

 

Sunday we got up and watered his grandparents' garden (they were out of town the whole weekend, but let us visit and have a vacation at their house anyway). Then we headed to Irvington to have lunch with Josh's aunt and her boyfriend. After that we were gonna go kayaking, but I took a really long nap instead. After waking up around 4 we just went down to the pond and paddled around in his grandpa's boat while Josh fished. That night his aunt and her boyfriend came over and joined us for a little cookout and games. Very fun.

 

  

 

Monday we finally got around to the kayaking. We were out on the Piankatank for a couple hours. After lunch Josh took a short nap, and I went out biking again for an hour. Then we cut up some pieces of wood for me in his grandpa's shop before packing up and heading back to C'ville.

A very fun and relaxing weekend.


Now let me tell you about the next weekend. Saturday I visited the farmers' market downtown (and actually bought stuff), then met Josh for a 6 mile run. That day there happened to be lots of historical reenactors and demonstrations downtown to help celebrate Charlottesville's 250th anniversary. So we walked around after the run and looked at some stuff. Then we each went home to take a shower, but met up again for lunch and...

...bicycle shopping!

That's right, I finally bought myself a bike. And a new helmet. It's exciting.

Saturday evening Josh came over to my place with our bikes, and we went for a ride. We ended up downtown (again), where we listened in from the bridge behind the stage for a few songs of the Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers concert. Then we had a late dinner at South Street Brewery before riding back home.

Sunday I slept in, went to church, and then took a long afternoon nap. After Josh was done with the rescue squad we went for another bike ride along the river, which is very nice except for the swarms of gnats. During our ride we saw a deer swimming across the river, ducks, a fox, and fireflies. We also saw a toad back at my apartment. Lots of nature.

Richmond weekend and James River Scramble

Friday after work Josh and I drove to Richmond. We had dinner at the "neighborhood bar" with Grandpa and Aunt Judy, which was an excellent meal and fun conversation on an outdoor patio.

Saturday I slept in and then drove Aunt Judy to the airport. Then Uncle Richard came to town in time for lunch. We picked up Grandma and went out for Mexican Saturday. After lunch I took a nap, and then it was time to head downtown for a run!

Josh and I ran the James River Scramble 10k Trail Run, which was part of the Dominion Riverrock festival. The course takes you on roads (we started on cobble stone and I thought I'd break my ankle right away, but luckily that didn't last long), over bridges, along the canal path, up stairs, on the flood wall, and on single-track trails with roots and rocks and mud. And the whole things is accompanied by amazing scenery. We weren't trying to "compete," just to keep running at a steady pace and have a good time on a fun route. And we succeeded at that. I came in at 57:58, with Josh just ahead at 57:42. (He stuck with me for the most part during the race, rather than running on ahead, so his time was a lot slower than it could have been.)

On our way to the start.

Waiting at the starting line. There were waves (which weren't really organized) to keep the trails from getting clogged up.

Fun public art.

Crossing the Mayo Bridge.

I took this photo. Josh took the rest...

Climbing the "Mayan Ruins"

I'm not choking myself. I think I was wiping sweat off my face.

Runnin' the trails.

On the bridge back to Brown's Island.

Done!

Sunni and her friend came with us and met us at the finish. Here she's experiencing a sweaty sandwich.

Overall it was a fun event. I haven't done much trail running, and this was my first trail race, but I want to do more. It takes more concentration and work to not trip and fall, but it's a fun challenge.

After we cooled down we enjoyed our free beers (they came with the race registration) and walked around to see the other events. We saw dogs jumping into a pool of water, slackline jumping, men and women bouldering, and freestyle biking. There was also live music and lots of booths. Oh, and I saw my first firefly of the season while stretching on the grass.

egg dyeing

The weekend before Easter Josh and I visited his grandparents for dinner. His grandma was hoping we'd dye some eggs after the meal, but Josh was tired and poo-pooed the idea. We decided we'd dye them with her later though. Because who says dyeing eggs is only for Easter?

So the next time we visited she was prepared. After dinner we got busy on two dozen hard-boiled eggs (one of which cracked). And not only did we dye them, but we created adorable little monsters!

Dyeing and decorating underway.

We all agreed Josh made the best monster. (Of course he spent so much time on it that he didn't want to help much with the other 22 eggs...) (Also, he has had a haircut and shave since this photo, don't worry.)

See how cute they are!

I especially like the blue guy with the mustache (made by me). And the unicorn next to him (made by Gene).

Fun times.

first weekend of the "summer"

Whoah, a second post in one day! That's because I'm finally done with my semester and have time again.

Now let me tell you about my weekend (the more recent one). Saturday I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for most of the day, helping to build two front porches. After that I took a shower and a long nap.

Then I got up, ate some dinner, and headed to a local high school for a two mile race around the track. A co-worker ran it with me. It was a fund raiser run/walk, but there were mostly walkers. I ran it because I'm thinking about joining a half-marathon training program and you have to run a two-mile time trial. Usually you do it at 5:30am on a work day, which doesn't really jive with me, so I picked this 8pm on a Saturday race instead. I don't know my exact time yet, but it was under 16 minutes. That's not very fast in the wider world of running, but it's fast for me and it got me third woman overall! (Plus first in my age group. Like I said, there weren't a lot of runners.)

After the race I went straight downtown (sweaty clothes and all) and went to the Infamous Stringdusters concert. I had wanted to see this blue grass group on New Year's Eve but the show sold out. It was fun.

Sunday after church I drove to Richmond for Mother's Day. My aunt made a great meal and everyone was there, including Grandma. She had a good time, and stayed to take a nap with Grandpa, which was very cute. After she left, I drove back to Charlottesville. Josh had been gone all weekend so I finally got to see him Sunday evening and we enjoyed some homework-free (and guilt for not doing homework-free) hangout time.

An excellent first weekend of the summer!

Montalto Challenge 2012

Last Saturday (the 5th) for the third year in a row, Josh and I ran the Montalto Challenge. That's the all-uphill 5k that is super hard and not fun until it's over.

Since I had that injury and running hiatus, I wasn't back up to speed and knew I wouldn't make a PR (personal record). Sure enough, I finished in 33:49, which wasn't too bad. Josh beat his record by a single second, so that's a PR for him! His roommate Will ran it, too, and he did really well and didn't even have to take walking breaks. That's impressive.

Now for some pics.

 Waiting to start. Notice Will is chillin' with a cup of coffee.

 Josh's over-the-shoulder running shot. (Per usual, he took all the photos.)

At the top and feelin' juuuuust fine.

 Me? Not so much. But I recovered.

See? Energy to spare after a little break and some beautiful views!

back at it

Today is the marathon that I'm not running. But luckily, after about 6 weeks of no running (I think), I'm slowly getting back into it. The Montalto Challenge is coming up again in two weeks, so I'm working towards that. Josh and his roommate are already registered, but I'm waiting to make sure I think I can do it. I'm afraid even if I run it I won't be able to get a better time than the last two years, and that sort of makes me not want to bother with it. Because it's really hard and not fun at all until it's finally over and you're at the top. But I also know if I go just to watch the boys I'll be kicking myself for not running it.

I also still want to run a marathon, and will take my training slower and smarter next time. Part of me wants to go ahead and work towards a fall marathon, but another part of me was really excited at the prospect of running a really hard mountainous one (the one I'm not running today) for my first try, so I might just wait until next year. We'll see.

family weekends

I'm going to take this opportunity to backtrack and tell you briefly about four recent weekends spent with either my family in Richmond or Josh's grandparents in Fishersville.

On St. Patrick's Day we went to Josh's grandparents' for lunch. I didn't know people enjoy and celebrate that day so much in real life (not including parties and events that center around alcohol). Josh made sure to take them a card (which included a green mustache that you can hold up to your face!), and I noticed they had already received several other St. Paddy's Day cards in the mail. There were fancy leprechaun figurines on the table during the meal, and of course there were green cookies. After lunch we all ended up taking a nap, and when I finally rose from mine they had some Irish music playing throughout the house and all three of them were singing a song about a unicorn. Then we pulled out an Irish drum and some spoons and made music of our own. It was a fun time.

A couple weeks later I had some work to do in Richmond, so I spent the whole weekend with my Grandpa. Friday after work we sat out on the front porch with a glass of wine and chatted with the passing neighbors. Then we went to Ruth's Chris to eat in the bar and I had some delicious meat. The next day we took Grandma out to lunch, and that evening we watched a movie together. Then Sunday he took us grandkids (and their significant others) out to lunch. Later that afternoon we went to visit Grandma, and it was fun watching the others who live there giggle over her and Grandpa kissing and being cute. Most of the rest of the time during that weekend I spent reading for school, but it was nice to get to hang out with Grandpa so much.

This past Saturday Josh and I headed back over to his grandparents for dinner. We ate some delicious salmon, and then his grandma gave us Easter baskets. They included giant glowing army men with parachutes (like the familiar old toys, only bigger). We went out to throw them up, and Josh's worked quite nicely. I, on the other hand, somehow managed to throw mine straight up onto the roof (and I was standing under it on the front steps!). So we had some adventurous times trying to get it down with a flashlight and crooked walking stick and grabber-thingy. After that Josh's step-granddad challenged Josh on his height, so we had to measure them both with pencil marks on the door frame of the living room. His grandparents are fun people.

Finally, on Easter Sunday I went to Richmond for lunch with the whole family, including Grandma and Uncle Richard. There was good food, fun watching Bobby search for eggs, and it was an all-around beautiful day to spend celebrating Easter with family.