A September 2010 Weekend

Blacksburg, VA: The Town & Hiking at Dragon's Tooth

Salem, VA: Exploring Dixie Caverns

Details from New Years 2010

After visiting some relatives for Christmas 2009, Scott and I spent a few days in Alexandria, VA to ring in the new year. It was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. I was dressed in layer after layer, but the wind chill factor was below zero. Needless to say, it was a trip to remember!

We also took the Metro into Washington, DC to see some sites.

Most of these pictures were taken at a wax museum.

We made a stop in Fredericksburg, VA on the way home!

Hillsville, VA 2010 Labor Day Weekend Flea Market

We usually attend the annual Hillsville, VA Labor Day Weekend Flea Market. The VFW in Hillsville has been holding this event for 43 years. It has grown to 700 vendors and 1600 spaces. The entire town is open and rented or used for this event. The VFW building itself holds a gun show. I was originally introduced to this event by my great uncle who formerly traded guns and knives.

Fall Football

Scott and I attended two Wake Forest Football Games in September: Wake vs. Prebyterian and Wake vs. Duke. During the 1st game, Wake won by about 40 points, but it was still fun to be in the stands and seeing the action in person. During the Wake vs. Duke game, it was quite a close game, but Wake still won, despite the rain! (Yes, we got soaked!)

Eastern NC: Spring Break Trip 2010

Back in the Spring, we explored the coast of North Carolina, particularly New Bern, the 2nd town in North Carolina. Around New Bern, we visited several areas within a short driving distance: Atlantic Beach, Bath, Beaufort, and Pine Knoll Shores. New Bern was the 2nd town in North Carolina and the original State Capitol of North Carolina, after Governor Tryon chose this location for his mansion. Bath, the 1st NC Town, is only an hour away.

New Bern means New Bear, so all over town, artists have designed and decorated several different bears to decorate the streets of the town. This is also part of the 2010 Celebration that commemorates 300 years since New Bern was founded.

For more photos of our Eastern NC Adventures,

visit my Picasa Web Gallery here.

Charlottesville, VA

For a 4-day weekend in July, Scott and I visited the Charlottesville, VA area with two friends. Our friend, Dean, is finishing up licensure to be a history teacher, so we took him and his wife on a tour of historical places, particularly 4 homes of previous presidents. We visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's country home, Ashlawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, and Montpelier, James Madison's home. We also explored the Rotunda of UVA, the University of Virginia, and took a detour through Schuyler, VA to see the Walton's Mountain Exhibit and real-life home of the Hamner Family, the inspiration for The Walton's TV Series.

Monticello

Poplar Forest

Ashlawn-Highland

Montpelier

UVA Rotunda

I'm volunteering for some street entertainment in Downtown Charlottesville.

Schuyler, VA... Home of the Hamner Family aka The Walton's

Our trip was fun and very informative. The summer weekend was bright and beautiful with great weather, but it was very hot. One day, the temperature was over 100 degrees with high humidity.