Virginia Trip: Day 2 at UVA

On Saturday morning, August 31st, we slept in, had a yummy breakfast in the Natural Bridge Hotel, visited Foamhenge and then headed to the University of Virginia for the UVA/BYU game. Cody was very, very excited. I was excited for him, teehee.

Waking up on your own and not because little people woke you up, my favorite!

We got to campus a few hours before the game so that we could wander around and see the sights. It was a beautiful and large campus. It was also a very hot and humid day. I tried my best to be a trooper.

Loved this.

Thomas Jefferson designed and planned this university.
This is Jefferson's Rotunda.

Taking a break on the lawn of the Rotunda and seeing the historical part of campus.
These buildings were the original student and teacher housing. It is still used as housing for a select few although the because it is a historical site they could only do certain renovations. The dorms have no a/c or heat, and no indoor plumbing. They set up communal kitchens and bathrooms a few yards behind the dorms and give them embroidered bathrobes to walk to the showers. It is considered a great honor to be able to live there...I think I have my doubts...although it would make for some great stories!

Inside the Rotunda with the man himself.

We ran into our old friend, Jason Gardiner and his son at the stadium. We were in the Harlem Ward together years ago. Gotta love any situation where large groups of Mormons gather, you will always run into someone you know!
And I love it!

The beginning of the game.

You can see the storm coming in during the first quarter.

Student section on a big grassy hill.

Mike, Evelyn and Cody enthralled by a brief winning moment for BYU.
The rain did not dampen the cougar enthusiasm. 

My enthusiasm for this never ending game was a bit damp...teehee.

During the 2 HOUR rain, lightening delay, we got to hang out in the hallway area of the stadium. They turned off the tvs and shut down concessions. I was SO grateful we did not have our kids with us because it was pretty miserable with just us. There were so many BYU families there with small children and my heart went out to them. I found a way to entertain myself by making new friends with all the fellow cougar fans. It was driving Mike crazy. I was at this all day sporting event, I had to find someone way to keep myself sane!!!

I love this man!
And I love how much HE loves to cheer on BYU.
I may love it more when I don't have to participate.

We finally made it back to our hotel and got dinner about 10 o'clock that night.
It was a long and slightly frustrating day but I was glad to spend it with Cody and support him.
Yep, that's right. I'm the best wife ever!!! 

Virginia Trip: Day 1 at Natural Bridge

For Labor Day weekend, Cody and I had the wonderful opportunity to leave the kids and head down to Virginia for an early anniversary weekend getaway. We left very early Friday morning and drove down through West Virginia. It was a beautiful morning and we were so excited to be able to spend the whole weekend together. And we were excited to be listening to "real" music, instead of whatever the kids are watching!

I LOVE the Appalachians!!!!!
My favorite mountains by far, in my opinion nothing else compares...except maybe the Alps.

I love the way they fold into each other like a big, green, woolly blanket.

The wildflowers in West Virginia were amazing!

Last one, I promise...for this day at least!

Our first destination was Natural Bridge, Virginia. We were meeting up with Cody's old mission buddy and roommate, Mike Smallwood and his wife, Evelyn for the weekend. Natural Bridge was a place Mike had visited as a child and he thought it would be fun to revisit. We arrived early afternoon and got right to sightseeing.

Late lunch of champions.

These reminded me of Pepper. She loves a good sparkly treasure.

Couldn't believe this random souvenir. 

Our first attraction to see was some caverns. It was super hot outside and we were already sweating after a few minutes but in the caves you could almost see your breath. 

Happy to be somewhere cold.

A stagnate pool deep underground. It had no natural feed just pooled over time from water dripping through the rocks.

Mike and Evelyn

This was the "wishing well." It was fed by a natural spring. 

Hanging rock. You can see the big rock wedged over the entrance to this part of the caves. 

Spooky shot of Cody walking out.

The Natural Bridge Hotel where we stayed.

There was a butterfly room that was pretty cool. A little nerve-wracking because you had to watch your step there were so many butterflies around.

Hiking down to the main event, the Natural Bridge.

It was a pretty awesome sight.

Highway 11 runs over the Natural Bridge. That blows my mind!

These guys were hot and sweaty but happy to be hanging out.

The Natural Bridge was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and is still privately owned. It is up for sale if you have a few million dollars!

An old Native American village. Mike is a descendant of this tribe, whose name escapes me now. 

These two!!!

I'm so glad we got to spend the weekend with these two lovely people!

Legend says that a young surveyor by the name of George Washington climbed up the side of the Natural Bridge wall and carved his initials into the rock face. If you look at it just right you can make out part of a G and the W. 

Our next stop was this crazy little biblical/historical wax museum. Poor Evelyn did not want to go here because wax museums freak her out but we all talked her into it. After about two statues, the three of us stopped to look at something and we turned around and Evelyn was gone. She high-tailed it out of there and waited for us outside.

The bizarre ending to the whole museum was this wax Last Supper that morphed into a crucifix scene while a loud speaker told us all about it. So weird.

We drove into Lexington for dinner. We found a great little burger place and enjoyed a very yummy dinner. 

The remnants of my lettuce wrapped burger and onion ring and sweet potato fries.

Lexington is the home of the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University. Their campuses are right next to each other and both quite impressive.

Cool old houses were everywhere.

Visiting Stonewall Jackson's grave.

Our final event that day was to go back to the bridge at night to see a light show. It started out so peaceful with music playing and different colored lights. Then all of a sudden a booming voice started reciting the creation story. 

We were all starting to get a bit antsy after Day 5 but we stuck it out, mainly to wait for the shuttle back up the hill to the hotel.

The next morning we took a quick trip over the bridge just to say we did it.

You would never know what was under this road or on the other side of that fence. Crazy!

On the way out of town we stopped at another funky landmark. Foamhenge. 

Yep, this is out in the middle of a field in Virginia, free for everyone and enjoyed by all!

All dressed up and ready to go support BYU. 

A foam Merlin to add to the ambiance.

The other three humoring me.

This almost jumping picture cracks me up!

Day 1 was a lot of fun. Especially getting to know Evelyn and catch up with Mike. Getting the chance to run around and explore without the kids was pretty fun, too. Except of course, I kept thinking about how much the kids would have had there. Guess we'll have to make another trip sometime!
Now, on to football!