2 blogs for the price of one.

Blog #1 - Charlottesville

Sonya and I decided to cut down on our Carbon Footprint this year and keep our vacation fairly local. This is easy because Virginia is a remarkable place. We drove the measly two hours to Charlottesville and stayed two nights at the Boar's Head Inn. Upon our arrival to Charlottesville, our first stop was for lunch at Michie Tavern. You can read all about their strange hours of operation and delicious food at the link. After lunch, we drove the short distance up to Monticello where we found large crowds and construction of a new visitors center, so we turned around and headed to Ash Lawn-Highland. We've been there once before, but it was late in the day so we didn't enter. We did notice the last time we were there that Ash Lawn is owned and operated by the College of William & Mary, so we figured we might be able to get a deal this time since Sonya is under the employ of the college. We were right; Sonya got in for free! The location of Ashlawn is arguably even more beautiful than Monticello though the house is much more humble. We spent an hour on the guided tour of the house and another hour walking the self guided tour of the grounds. By the time we were done with Ash Lawn, it was nearly check-in time at the Boar's Head.

We checked-in at 4:00, and Sonya took a nap while I hooked up the laptop to research dining options. We decided on C&O Restaurant. What a great place! Sonya had the Grilled Ahi tuna filet with horseradish-ginger sabayon, bulghur-feta croquette and Endive radicchio salad, and I had the Duck breast with blueberry-rhubarb glaze and curried Israeli couscous. Delicious! After our dinner, we realized the restaurant is right next door to the Charlottesville Pavilion where Willie Nelson was playing that night! Sadly, the concert was sold-out, so we headed back to the inn.

The next day, we awoke to realize the power was out in the room. Thankfully, the AC was running on generator power, so it was still comfortable in the room. Sonya was supposed to have a massage at 2:30, so we decided to walk down to the spa around 11:00 to check-in and enjoy the pool. We put on robes and walked over to the pool only to be told it was closed due to the power outage. By this time, I was getting a little more than annoyed and certainly not relaxed. They told us the the power was still on at the Sports Club, and we could use the pool there. So we walked the several hundred yards in our robes. By the time we arrived at the pool, we were sweating. The Sports Club pool is not private and was filled with screaming and yelling kids. We swam briefly and read our books. I am reading The American Sphinx, and Sonya is reading Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. It was too loud for me to concentrate, so we decided to ask someone there if the power was back on at the spa and if the pool there was open. The kid we asked ran over to ask someone - though he had a phone right next to him - and he said the spa and spa pool were open. We walked back down to discover that he was of course wrong. I was very un-relaxed at this point, and it was now quite hot in the spa, so Sonya cancelled her massage appointment. We walked back to the room, and as we approached the door to our room, the rest of the generator power went out, and the emergency lights came on. We entered our room and the AC was off. Nooooooooo! Seconds later, the power was fully restored! Huzzah!!!! Sonya called the spa and rescheduled her message for 3:15, and we headed down. The pool was open, the AC was on, and life was good. I was still a little disappointed to discover children playing at the spa pool, but they were reasonably quiet, and I was able to read. Aaaah, this was relaxation like I've never known it. Sonya got her massage, I swam to cool off, and life was all better.

That night, we decided to head to Staunton for our second-favorite German restaurant. Edelweiss is first for atmosphere, but second for quality of food compared to Eckhard's. We pigged out and bought our favorite German dark beer - Köstritzer Schwarzbier.

The next day we ordered breakfast in bed, and checked-out at noon. We headed up for a wine tasting at Barboursville Vineyards. The ruins of the Thomas Jefferson designed estate are there in the background as you taste 16 different wines for a mere $4 per person. Virginia's wine country is simply amazing. Next we drove to James Madison's Montpelier. Go there.

If anybody thinks we defeated the initial idea of reducing our carbon footprint though all the mountain driving, we reduced our carbon emissions by at least 1.47 metric tons by avoiding air travel.

Blog #2 - VCU

I found out upon our return from Charlottesville that I've been accepted to VCU. I have orientation on August 12th, so I'll be transferring in the fall as long as I can get all the classes I need. We're now considering buying a tiny, fuel-efficient car for my commute. I'm also looking into a vanpool service, but class schedules are a highly limiting factor on such things.