game day
^ we sort of matched our shoes ^
^ that would be a walrus. on a building. bam^
^ "I hope I diiiieeee heeeeeeaaaa" ^
We were looking to shake up our weekend routine a bit this Saturday so instead of the usual (farmer's market, bbq chicken, etc) we packed up the circus and headed for Charlottesville. Our usual style of entertainment sounds exactly like this Jim Gaffigan joke (his stand up is A+)
"Us eating in a place we’ve never been. ‘Well, why don’t we eat something… then we’ll go and get something to eat. Then we’ll see that thing we’re supposed to see, they’ve probably got a snack bar there, right? After that, we should probably get something to eat, though.” So we made a promise to actually attempt to do something other than stuffing our faces. Monticello? Been there, done that, three times actually. And then papa bear got a glorious idea to tour UVA. It's one of the oldest campuses in the US and since it was designed by Thomas Jefferson you know that place would be beaut.
So here we are happily speeding towards that famed rotunda until we're met with an ocean of cars and police in spiffy orange vests on the street. Game daaayyyyy... Duh. So whats a fam in this situation to do? I tell you what. You find the slow jazz station, recline your seat and take in all the orange and navy. And those little car flags. I love those car flags, they're so.... festive!
Anyways we finally get downtown and now it's not cars bedecked in the token colors its humans!! Y'all I have never seen so many orange shirts and jerseys in my life! Also, ladies of Charlottesville lets give Jack Rogers a break, they're probably working over time trying to fit every lady foot on campus with their eyelet sandal. I did love all the little kiddies in their game day best rockin jerseys and orange bows like nobody's business.
Did I mention it was approximately 100 degrees that day? Needless to say there was a lot of sweating going on all around. Thank heavens for deodorant, lord knows we all needed it. So sweaty backs and all we zig zagged all across campus and it did not disappoint. I get all weak in the knees for good architecture and UVA - you simply make me swoon. A sweet boy inside let us use the secret elevator to get to the rotunda and we had the whole magical room all to ourselves. We took in the history and the significance of that room, building and people. Birdie just loved it too, she kept craning her neck to get a better view of the sunburst window that poured the brightest, whitest light all over us.
Outside it was all about football though. The game was about to start and red solo cups abounded on the lawn. Families were playing their own games of pigskin and young girls were getting chatted up. Speaking of young girls... It's somewhat strange to be surrounded by so many young people all at once. It's enough to make one feel self-conscious! You can smell the carefree life on their breath, the electric chemistry between the guys and gals and all that lankiness!! What I wouldn't give to be that size again... And yet ironically all I did was obsess over "Am I too thin?? Are my boobs big enough??? My skin looks horrible!!" I would give my twenty year old self a stern talking to these days. As they say "youth is wasted on the young."
Sooooo.... After our grand self-directed UVA tour it was finally time for the eating portion of the evening. We had quickly grabbed some Bodo's Bagels when we first got there (do not miss out on these, they are the real deal!!) so now we were on the hunt for a sit down place. We first picked the Horse & Hound Gastropub only be told they were closed for a private event (whoever was baller enough to pull that off, my hat is off to you and also can we be friends???). Sad face. We considered crashing it al la Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers: "We are Uncle Ned's kids. Uncle Ned. Uncle Ned, the brother of Aunt Liz?? Well, Dad kinda putters around the house. Hey, Aunt Liz sends her best. She couldn't make it." But then we thought better of it and remembered that we've always wanted to try Fry's Spring Station and headed over there instead. So, so good. Fantastic pizza and I can't wait to have that seafood bisque again!
We had a wonderful time. We returned home sweaty, full and smiling. I love discovering awesome cities. Can't wait to see it in the fall, I have a feeling it's going to be extra pretty!