VA Wrap Up: DC

My company covered my flight home for Thanksgiving and a flight for Christmas, which we chose to have Matt use to come up to Virginia for the holidays.

It was really nice to have him come up for the week between Christmas and New Years. He was finally able to see all of the places I'd been talking about for the previous month and a half.

 We spent our first Christmas away from family.  While it was sad to be apart from loved ones, I was so happy to be with Matt.  We cooked a real Christmas dinner and followed our tradition of a movie in the evening.  The movie theaters in Charlottesville are a lot smaller than at home, and we arrived early to make sure we could actually get tickets (after several years of sell outs back home).  We sat alone in an empty theater until just a few minutes before showtime, when it began to fill up a little more.  Maybe Christmas movie outings aren't quite the tradition in small college towns that they are where we live (?).

The next day, we loaded up the car, dropped the pups off at the kennel, and headed to D.C.

The drive was absolutely stunning.  I was glued to the window the entire trip.  Snow was falling and the countryside was dotted with beautiful old farms and pastures. 

Not far from Charlottesville, we pulled the car over and took photos at this beautifully picturesque old church.

It had a small cemetery on the property and sat surrounded by peaceful quiet, even though it was right on the main county road.

Founded in 1747.

I loved the front doors so much that I'm considering harassing my fellow church building committee members to consider something similar.  Aren't they beautiful?

I can honestly say that that was the most beautiful drive I've ever taken.  I held my breath and sat completely enthralled with the beauty of the area.  I don't know how else to describe it other than beautiful.  It wasn't the striking beauty of the craggy cliffs on the California coastline or the stark, colorful beauty of the arid Southwest.  It was just simple countryside beauty.

However, as we got closer to D.C., the air grew colder and the weather steadily declined.

By the time we entered the city, it was a miserable day.

 I may be smiling, but I can guarantee you I wasn't happy...

Fortunately, the weather was stunning for the remainder of our trip. Cold and crisp, but with beautiful blue skies.  A perfect backdrop for exploring our nation's capitol.

 We had a whirlwind few days and were able to see just about everything we wanted.  My favorite part was the tour of the US Capitol.  I don't think that Matt was nearly as enamored as I, but I just felt like I was truly someplace special.

One thing that Matt and I don't exactly share is my passion for politics.  I wouldn't describe him as uninformed or  indifferent, he just doesn't seem to get as animated about or interested in certain aspects of our political atmosphere (though that could probably be said about a lot of subjects - Matt is just more laid back and I am much more high strung!).

To me, the US Capitol represents so much more than one of our branches of government.  The American "experiment", as many of our founding fathers considered it, was one of the first attempts of a nation to successfully govern themselves.  There was no written instructions on how to construct such a government, and they kind of made it up as they went along.  It's amazing to see the results of their work, 235 years later, and how many other nations have tried to model their own governments after the Americans.

I was just in awe as we toured a small part of the building.

Inside the "lower" rotunda.

By the way, if you're planning a trip to DC., call your US Senator or Congressman well in advance to set up scheduled tours of the places of interest to your family.  Senator Sessions' office was wonderful and helped us book our tour of the Capitol (I wanted to tour the White House, but it is closed between Christmas and New Years). Some places let you schedule a tour the day you're there, but there are limited spaces for unscheduled tours.  If you know when you're going to be in town, and would like a certain tour, try to schedule it ahead of time (up to six months in advance).

 I absolutely loved the artwork on the inside of the lower dome.

Each of the 50 states has two statues that are on display within the Capitol.  Alabama just sent over a statue of Hellen Keller as a child, which was on display in the visitor's center just below the Capitol. 

The original chamber of the House of Representatives.

After our tour, we walked down the National Lawn and hit up several of the memorials.

On our way to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, we stopped and watched as the President's helicopter landed and took off from the front lawn of the White House.

We had a great setup for exploring DC.  A good friend from college who lives just north of DuPont Circle was back home visiting family for the holidays, and graciously offered his gorgeous flat with views of the Capitol and Washington monument.  We were able to take the short walk to the DuPont metro and get off at any of the numerous metro stops near the tourist attractions.

We also had a chance to grab dinner in Georgetown with friends Pam and Rob, who adopted Charlie over a year ago.  What fun it was catching up with them and seeing photos of our first weimaraner foster!

U.S. Supreme Court.

All in all, we were able to walk by most of the major attractions and also spent time touring Ford's Theater, The Spy Museum (the only thing we went to that charged admission), the Jefferson/Lincoln/Washington/Vietnam War memorials, Air and Space Museum, Natural History museum, National Archives (which houses the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.), US Capitol, Union Station, etc. 

By the end of it, my feet hurt!

Back Home: VA Wrap Up Part I

So, I've been back "home" for almost two weeks now.  The funny thing is, I was calling Charlottesville "home" for a while there and was a little sad to leave.

Being completely on my own was a new/exciting/fun/terrifying/rewarding experience for me.  I've never lived by myself, let alone away from every. single. person. that I know.  To be quite honest, the first couple of weeks were rather miserable.  I tried to think about how much fun this was all going to be, and then I'd look out the window, see how pretty the changing leaves were, and then start tearing up because I remembered that I missed my husband.

I like to think of myself as pretty self-sufficient and capable, but deep down I can be a big baby!  I agreed to take the trip almost immediately when asked, but a week before I was supposed to leave, I begged Matt to help me find a way out.  I sobbed in the car, "I don't wanna gooooo!", but he made me go anyway.  I appreciate having a husband who helps me to keep my word and follow through when I don't always want to. 

Colonial Williamsburg

However, once I was there long enough to figure out how to get around town and to get into the rhythm of things, I really enjoyed myself.  I loved the work I was doing, the people I was working around, and really fell in love with the area.  I found a wonderful church with beautiful music and excellent preaching.  I was able to do lots of sightseeing and even found some decent shopping.

Of course, it was a million times more fun when people came to visit, and I was blessed to have several visitors.

My parents came up before Christmas and spent several days with me.

 Mom and Dad on the steps of the Rotunda.

They did some of the local stuff while I was at work one day.   Together, we toured the UVA Academical Village and took a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg.

UVA in the snow.

 Williamsturburg was something I'd wanted to do for a while.  Unfortunately, the weather was miserably cold (which probably kept things crowd-free, but also turtned us into walking icicles).

One of the first buildings we explored was the "Presbyterian Meeting House".  Any denomination other than the Church of England was not formally recognized in the American colonies and therefore not allowed free worship.  The Presbyterians in Williamsburg were allowed a "meeting house" (not a church) and could only meet under fairly strict regulations.  Everyone was required to pay a tithe to the Church of England, regardless of membership.

Pappa don't preach!

We were able to have tea in the local tea house with the parish priest.  If you've never been to Colonial Williamsburg, many of the buildings are set for a certain year during the colonial era and actors play their parts in the characters of the time.  It was a little uncomfortable at first because most will refuse to break character.  I imagine that it would've been a lot more fun if we'd brought along my sisters, who never seem to get embarrassed and would have been able to come up with some whoppers in order to play along.

If you've ever wondered why my sisters and I are all complete dorks, look no further...

 In front of the Governor's mansion.

This guy was my favorite.  I can't remember his official title, but he was hand crafting leather goods in the armory.  He actually answered my questions about the colonial characters.  They really do make their own outfits, wear custom-made leather shoes, and learn the crafts of their characters as they would have been performed back around ~1770.

I enjoyed Williamsburg, but I would recommend going when the weather is >30 degrees.  I think it gets pretty crowded in the summer, which would take away from some of the personal interactions with the colonial characters, but I've heard it's really pretty in the spring and fall.  I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with kids; I know I would have enjoyed it when I was younger.

I loved looking at the colonial gardens, even under the snow.

UVA

Before Thanksgiving, I drove over to the University of Virginia (UVA, or U.Va.) and did the campus tour offered by their University Guide Service.  It's similar to Auburn's Student Recruiters (which I tried out for but didn't make, sniff), but with a LOT more history to share.

The University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson after his retirement from politics.  Mr. Jefferson first wrote about his desire to found a college when he was Vice President of the United States.  Although he was a graduate of Virginia's only university at the time, The College of William and Mary, he thought that the level of education there was diminishing and that his beloved home state needed an institute of higher learning more centrally located, unaffiliated with any religious sect, and one that taught more of the sciences.  It was one of the earliest colleges in America, and the first school founded without religious affiliation.

Mr. Jefferson's college came about years after his first musings, and Jefferson was involved in just about every aspect of its inception.

There is a long-honored tradition of streaking in the Academical Village.  Said streaker(s) start on the steps of the Rotunda, and run all the way down the lawn and back.  It's apparently pretty funny anytime someone forgets that the lawn is tiered and face plants on their way down the lawn.

The layout of the college, the "Academical Village", was based on a large terraced lawn with the Rotunda, which served as the library, on one end, and a series of ten pavilions along the sides.  The pavilions were each the home of a professor, who lived on the top floor and taught classes on the main floor.  The pavilions are connected by a series of students' quarters and have their own gardens enclosed by a serpentine wall on the back side.  Behind the gardens are six hotels (dining quarters and service rooms) and more student housing.

View from the bottom of the terraced lawn, facing the Rotunda.

Jefferson disliked the single building structure of William and Mary (where all of the dorm rooms, classrooms, and everything else were all in a single building) and thought it was not conducive to the learning environment.  His design afforded more privacy and quiet for study, while still providing an intimacy within the campus.

The Rotunda.

My cute little guide was from Huntsville, AL.  How ironic!

He actually wasn't that little, he's a junior in finance.

The center of campus, the Rotunda, was based on the Pantheon and is half its width and height.  The main room is the domed room in the center of the building.  There are two oval rooms flanking either side of the domed room.  One of them was Jefferson's office.

The Rotunda was originally used as the library, but is now used as a sort of meeting room.  Since it was the largest room of the small campus, it had to be fairly versatile.  Dances were held in the Rotunda, and the side bookshelves were designed so that if you are standing in the middle of the room, they are hidden from sight.

The upper story of the dome carries sound surprisingly well.  You could whisper a secret on one side of the circular floor to someone on the opposite side of the room, who would be able to hear everything you said.  Upperclassmen would have unsuspecting first year students take their dates up to the second floor and then listen in on the private conversation from the opposite side of the room.  They would then have sufficient ammo to embarrass them at breakfast the next morning.

In 1895, some of the outbuilding and the Rotunda caught fire.  The students mustered together to save this statue of Jefferson, which had been in the dome room.  The statue was thought to be one of the best representations of the third President, and his granddaughter nearly fainted upon seeing it because she said it was an exact likeness.  The statue is in excellent condition and only suffered a small chip on the bottom of his coat as the students and faculty hoisted it out of the Rotunda as the building was burning down around them.

Tradition is that the secret societies leave letters for one another in Jefferson's hand.  So if you happen to visit and see something tucked into his hand, it might just be communication between secret society members.

The ten pavilions of the Academical Village are all unique.  Jefferson had the construction begin on the "seventh" pavilion.  He frequently skipped around during construction, starting one section, putting it on hold, and then progressing work on another area.  Since most of the funding for the school was being provided by the state, he feared that if the school was to have a couple of initial buildings completed, someone might decide that was sufficient and cut off funding for the remainder of the project.  He wanted to ensure that the entire design would be completed.

Many of the pavilions still house honored faculty and professors.  Larry Sabato, head of UVA's Center for Politics, author of Sabato's Crystal Ball, and a renowned expert on American politics, lives in Pavilion IV. 

 Undergraduates still live in the original student rooms, which line the Lawn.  Each year, there is high competition to be chosen as one of the 50 students to live in the Academical Village.  There are no bathrooms in the student housing, so they have to walk to communal baths.  Firewood is still delivered regularly for use in the rooms' fireplaces.  I think it would be so much fun to get to live here for a year!

 

Although the school was founded without any religious connection, it does have a beautiful chapel just off of the Academical Village.  
Jefferson was not anti-religion.  He was anti state-affiliated/sponsored religion.

Jefferson's Academical Village, facing South (looking away from the Rotunda).

The building at the end was a later addition.  Beforehand, the Academical Village opened up to the South with a sweeping view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Graduations were held on the lawn, where graduates received their degree on the steps of the Rotunda and walked down the lawn, out of the South end, to symbolize them taking their acquired knowledge into the world.  Graduations are still held here, almost 200 years later.

Each of the gardens behind the pavilions is unique.  Some are open and formal.  Others, like this one, are more enclosed and rustic. 

I loved this tour!  My only regret is that they do not offer them during school breaks or the summer, as the tours are all student-lead.  I'm really glad I jumped on a tour while I was still able, and would love to do it again.  Each guide is encouraged to personalize his tour, concentrating on different facts and stories as they are of interest to them, so no two guides' tours should ever be the same.

O Christmas Tree

About a week ago, Amanda asked me if I was sorry that I wouldn't have all of my usual Christmas decor up this year.  Matt and I don't go all Griswold, but do have the normal trimmings that we put up each year (tree, garland, wreaths, nutcrackers, lights on the house, etc.) and I always look forward to it.  I love coming home to a lit up house with a decorated Christmas tree after work and the gym, and I hadn't even really considered the fact that I'd be in a un-Christmased apartment all by myself for most of the month.

Christmas is the bright spot in an otherwise dreary season.  I know some people love winter, but to me it means darkness, cold, desolate flower beds, and sadness.  I don't know why I equate winter with sadness, but it seems I'm happier the rest of the year.  I think regular sunshine has a lot to do with it, and during the winter, I leave for work when it's dark and come home when it's dark.  That's depressing.

Christmas brings warmth, joy, color, and the most wonderful reminder of how much we are loved.  It brings people together and always makes me thankful for God's countless blessings in my life.

Growing up, we had two kinds of Christmases in terms of decorations... when we were younger, we always went to get a fresh-cut Christmas tree (usually cut ourselves) and decorated it with our colored lights and assortment of handmade ornaments.  Some years, we procrastinated and didn't get the tree right away (even going on Christmas Eve one year), but we had a tree and always watched our taped (off of the tv) copy of the Seattle Ballet's The Nutcracker soon after decorating it.

As we got older (and busier), my dad took on a new perspective: no decorating.  We used to tease him about this and he even has a "Bah Humbug" flag that he occasionally displays on the mantle in lieu of the other festive decor. 

I don't think I'll ever be a "Bah Humbug" kind of girl.  Every year, our Christmas decor gets just a teeny bit bigger, and every year I chomp at the bit to put it up.  I promised Matt early on that I'd never be one of those wives that forces her husband to hang Christmas lights, endangering his livelihood by making him hang perilously off of the steep inclines of the roof,  and have therefore never told them to put them up, but every year I secretly hope deep down that he'll do it anyway so that I don't have to suffer through the month without lights (an insufferable fate, I know). 

I realize the decorations aren't what make up Christmas, but they sure do bring with them a festive way to usher in the celebration of our Savior's birth!  To be quite honest, I was starting to feel a little sorry for myself seeing everyone's Christmas tree blog photos or the cars driving around town with their trees on top.  Even the single guys next door have a tree and fresh wreath up. 

And then on Friday, as I was checking the office bulletin board, I saw that someone had a Christmas tree stand free to a good home.  Hello?!  I figured I could decorate a tree on a small budget this year.  I don't need my stash of Christmas goodies.

So I claimed the stand and spent Saturday running errands.  I picked up about $12 worth of cheap glass bulbs and ribbon and then grabbed a couple of strands of lights.  I picked the smallest size of (real) trees that Lowe's had - still > 6' tall - and even loaded that sucker onto the truck all by myself.  I didn't realize how much I relied on Matt for the simplest little things until I got home and had to untie it, take it down, haul it up the steps, and put it in the precarious little stand all on my own.  (Thank you, honey, for always helping me out with things around the house!)

I spent last night cheering the Tigers on to a major victory and decorating my own little Christmas tree while it snowed outside.  By the time I was done, the lawn was covered in a beautiful white blanket and my living room faintly smelled like a Christmas tree. It took some of the edge off of being away from home during the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

Game Day Gear

editor's note: I found this as a draft in my blog posts, dated 10/6/09.  Better late than never, right??  Also, it is with great sadness that I tell you my mom is currently on a knitting hiatus... hopefully she'll start back soon so that I can add to my wish list.  (Mom, I want something cute and fuzzy to keep me warm up here!)

You know your University of Alabama Alum mother really loves you when she knits you an orange and blue Auburn sweater because you can't find one you like in the stores!

My mama is a knitting fiend.  We joke that she asks us to drive her places just so that she can knit in the back seat.  She's made all sorts of beautiful skirts, shirts, sweaters, and shawls for us over the past couple of years since picking up the hobby.  I always get lots of compliments whenever I wear one of her creations.

 Also, just so you know, UVA's colors are the same as Auburn's!

I wanted a simple Auburn sweater to wear in the fall during football season, and Mom really delivered.  I was so pumped about it that I had to get some game day jewelry from Auburn Art to go with it.



This super cute bangle is fun.  It's plain enough to be able to wear with non game day apparel too.

I really like the polka dot earrings, but am not sure I'm brave enough to wear them.  They're a lot bigger in person that I'd pictured.  So, the simple silver AU emblems are my wimp-out backups.  Of course, anything is a step up from my daily (jewelry) uniform: a watch and my pearl stud earrings.

War Eagle!!

A Week In

The three stooges, in front of Monticello.

Last weekend (and this week, for that matter) was non-stop and a lot of fun.

After saying our goodbyes,  Matt and I departed ways until Thanksgiving.  Amanda, Amy, and I piled back into the truck and started our remaining drive to Virginia.

It was a long drive, especially since I had to do all of the driving, but of course the girls kept me entertained the whole way.  We got into town around 7 o'clock and after unpacking the truck and realizing we didn't have immediate internet access, we were both starving and ready to get online.

Against our better judgment, we stopped and ate at the first place we found, Taco Bell.  About an hour later, we were all regretting the decision and I subsequently made Larry and Shemp undertake a solemn vow that we would never commit such a cardinal sin again, at least not in one another's presence.

Using my GPS (and a lot of U-turns later), we found a Walmart and grabbed the essentials.  (You know, cereal, fruit, milk, cinnamon rolls, and a wireless router).  I had done some basic research on the things we wanted to do Saturday, but had counted on using the internet that came with the apartment to do some final checking upon our arrival.

... Of course, you can't get online with just a router.  Rats, foiled!  I think Wade may've laughed at our web access ignorance, and I felt stranded.  What is it about being able to check your email and look up the weather online that makes being away from home more bearable?  I don't know what it is, but I can tell you that I went up to Comcast and picked up my modem as soon as the apartment office told me where to go!

Monticello from the back.

Saturday, we toured the beautiful Monticello.  This time, I actually got to go into the house.  Let me just say that if you're ever in the area, I really think you should take the time to tour Thomas Jefferson's estate.  It's really beautiful and the guides do a very good job of bringing it all to life by giving you some of the history of the house and the man who built it.

Jefferson was a brilliant man.  Like many literate people of the age, he was mostly self-taught.  He had an enormous library (and even sold it to the US government at one point to dissolve some of his enormous debt).  He was an academic and founded the University of Virginia so that others could have a higher education.  He was a brilliant writer, politician, botanist, student of architecture, and much more.  He was also an extreme micro-manager.  He was obsessive about everything on his estate, taking scrupulous notes and monitoring every single tiny aspect of the entire enterprise.

Me and Jeffs

The two things I cannot admire about Jefferson were his lifelong indebtedness and ownership of slaves.  Even though he was in debt, he kept remodeling his house and spent according to the lifestyle to which he was accustomed.  After he died, his slaves were sold for much more than the value of his entire property.  He only freed five of his slaves in his will.  Jefferson was strongly against slavery, calling it, an "abominable crime," a "moral depravity," a "hideous blot," and a "fatal stain" that deformed "what nature had bestowed on us of her fairest gifts."  However, he owned them his entire life.  I think he viewed them as essential for his survival.  He was so deeply in debt that he probably never freed them all because of how valuable slaves were.  Why he had this lifelong conflict of conviction and personal reality, we'll probably never really know.

After Monticello, we stopped for a quick wine tasting at Jefferson Vineyards, just down the road.  Perfect weather for a tasting and tour, too!

Wine tasting, anyone?

Since the weekend, it's just been me and the "boys".  I think they're adjusting to being apartment dogs.  It's been a big change losing our large fenced in yard and resorting to leash walking, something we're learning how to handle as efficiently as possible.  We're all three also learning to get used to all of the creaks and movement noises associated with living in an apartment.

The only times I lived in an apartment were our stint in Japan and the first summer Matt and I were married.  In Japan, it was especially hard to get used to being quiet all of the time as a family of five that had always had our own (separate) house.  You could hear the neighbors practicing the piano or a wife fussing at her husband for coming home too late, so I know they could hear whenever the three of us girls became embroiled in a cat fight.

Who here hasn't done a barrel stand?!

The apartment is pretty nice though.  I really don't have any complaints about it.  It's more space than I need (room for visitors!) and is pretty new.  It's up on a foothill with a beautiful view and lots of amenities. 

My first week on the new job went pretty well.  Thankfully, they were able to get all of my paperwork done and accounts set up moderately quickly and I even got time to dig in and start doing some things.  The people are all pretty friendly and I think it's really going to help the time fly by quicker staying busy and being in a work environment with good people.

The biggest adjustment for me has been getting used to being on my own.  I've never lived by myself, let alone lived completely separated from friends and family.  It's been exciting and scary all at once.  I'm not so much feeling lonely yet because I haven't had any free time on my hands, but I am definitely having waves of homesickness.  I've noticed that I have gotten choked up or teary-eyed in the afternoons or on the drive home a few times, for no apparent reason.

I really think I wouldn't have any issues if I had been able to bring Matt with me.  It's been hard being apart, and it's just a week in.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?  :)

Who wouldn't miss these characters?