Off to Hurricane

Run to the water

Reading outside

Illinois

 

6.24.11

6.22.11

6.21.11

Walk

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Amazing coffee

Kennedy Center

 
Today I walked to the National Mall and back for a nice 4 mile walk. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so it was nice to be outside! Then I came home and hung out in the apartment, watched some Grey's Anatomy, and read "A Shining Affliction." I am trying to take advantage of the free time that I have now. In my research on free events in DC, I found out that the Kennedy Center has free concerts every day at 6 pm at the Millennium Stage. Because the Kennedy Center is only about half a mile away from my apartment, I decided that I need to take advantage of these free shows and go see "Those Darlins" tonight. I listened to a bunch of their songs during the day to get excited about the concert and convince myself that I could go alone. Although I was intimidated to go alone, I went and had a really good time! The crowd was interesting--a very mixed group that spanned all ages. The band's attitude was punk-rock, so seeing 4-year-olds and 50-year-olds dance to the music was quite entertaining. I don't think the audience at the Kennedy Center was typical for those musicians, but it was entertaining and funny. I'm glad I went!

New bathroom

 
My bathroom with the new shower curtain and rugs!

Fairfax

 
I went to Fairfax to stay with my grandparents from Thursday through Monday. I got lots of things accomplished like buying things to organize my apartment, getting my car inspected, renewing my driver's license and getting a new photo taken, and spending time with family and friends. Here is a picture of me and Pompy, my 99-year-old great-grandmother (my dad's mother's mother).

Heat Advisory

I ignored the heat advisory today to walk to the National Mall to visit the Hirshhorn and the National Gallery of Art. When I arrived at the Hirshhorn I was absolutely soaked in sweat...gross. I guess walking 2 miles in almost 100 degree weather will do that to you. The Hirshhorn was in the middle of exhibits so most of what I saw was their permanent collection. After I left the gallery and started towards the National Gallery, I realized that I left my sunglasses in the Hirshhorn. I had already gone a decent distance and decided that I would be fine without the sunglasses.

At the National Gallery, I had to check my backpack which was packed with a spinach salad, kiwis, water, a book, and some gum. Yes, guards of the gallery that have to rummage through my belongings, I'm a dork for packing my lunch an elementary school kid. It was great to see some older art--I am a sucker for modern art and it's been a while since I've taken the time to see classic works. The series that really moved me was the Voyage of Life series by Thomas Cole. The four paintings are Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age. I had studied these paintings before, but I was very moved by the Manhood painting upon revisiting it. I ended up buying a print for myself at the giftshop to remind myself of the troubles we face as adults and how many of our decisions have serious implications.

After I left the National Gallery, I walked to a shady spot next to a tree on the National Mall and camped out for lunch, people watching, gazing at the sky, and reading. It was really nice and relaxing. My walk home wasn't too bad either but once I made it back I realized how tired and thirsty I was. My phone tracked 4.5 miles of walking today so I got my exercise in!

DC Chillin

 

 

Ch-Ch-Changes

 

 
The U-Haul truck I picked up and drove to my apartment on Thursday, June 2. Blue Nachos from South Street was my last meal in Charlottesville and I went with Margaret, Desire, Lauren D. and Lauren E. It was delicious, of course. Alex and I packed up the truck and drank some beers together. The next morning we drove from Charlottesville to Foggy Bottom and moved all of my things in!

From Clemmons to Charlottesville

After a really great weekend, Alex and I decided to take our time on the trip from Clemmons, NC back to Charlottesville. We had passed several vineyards on the way down to NC and so we thought it would be fun to make a few stops on the way back to taste some wine! We left at around 11 am with some "lunch money" from Alex's family. After a quick stop at the grocery store for some crackers and cheese, we were on our way!

The first vineyard we stopped at was RayLen Vineyards and Winery in Mocksville, NC. We shared a  full tasting but we both definitely got good pours! The woman helping us was just a few years older than me and she had gone to JMU to study music. She was really nice and gave us some good info on wine and tasting! The wine was really great and we left with a bottle of reserve Chardonnay (2007).



The second place we visited was Shelton Vineyards in Dobson, NC. From the outside, the vineyard was very elegant and fancy. We arrived shortly before 2 pm, just in time for a tour of the vineyard. The tour was just under 20 minutes and gave us a general history of the brothers who started the vineyard and how the wine is made from harvesting the grapes to bottling. After the tour, we did the tasting. Alex and I agreed that none of the wine was worth purchasing. I thought about buying one of the larger bottles of wine for $10, but Alex said that he thought Barefoot wine is better, so I didn't buy anything. We got to leave with wine glasses though!




The third place we stopped was Round Peak Vineyard in Mt. Airy, NC. We really loved the down-to-earth feel of this winery and all of the wines were really great! We ended up leaving with a Cabernet Franc and I bought the port. Alex and I appreciated the prices of all of the wines we tasted in North Carolina. They are much more affordable than those in Virginia! Not only did we leave with two wines, but we also each got a wine glass and a wine bag with the Round Peak logo on it.


Our fourth and final stop was at Chateau Morrisette in Floyd, VA. Alex had always wanted to go to Floyd, so we figured this would be a good stop. We were cutting it close and made it to the vineyard at 4:45 pm. Because the vineyard closed at 5 pm, we couldn't do a full tasting, but the woman said that she would waive the cost of the tasting and let us try four different wines. The wines we tasted were really good and we decided that we would have to come back another time for the full experience. Chateau Morrisette also has a restaurant and outdoor seating--both of which we are interested in experiencing next time! The woman helping us with the tasting then gave a suggestion for dinner in Floyd--Mickey G's. We ended up going and sharing a margarita pizza with some red wine. Yum!



After dinner, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while. The views were amazing!




We finally arrived home at around 10:45 pm...what a trip! These are the bottles of wine and the glasses we came back with.

We will definitely have to make another trip to NC in the near future. It was really fun to be with family and the vineyards were an added bonus!