New Addition

October 15, 2010

Lindsay's sister had a precious little girl by C-section on Friday, October 15th.

We were thrilled to be in town during this momentous event and Lindsay looks forward to helping take care of her new niece as much as possible while we are here.

This new addition is named after our Granny, Cecelia, who has Alzheimer's Disease. Granny would be deeply touched to know of the name selection.

Cecelia's "big" brother, Ashton (3), is quite sweet with his little sister. He kisses her head often and likes to play with her tiny fingers and toes.

Where Three Mountain Ranges Come Together

October 13, 2010

Though Asheville boasts being the largest city (pop. ~77,000) in Western North Carolina, it is more famous for its breath-taking scenery than it is for its "largest" categorization. With the Appalachian, Great Smokey, and Blue Ridge mountain ranges gathering here, its no wonder Asheville was named one of the "Best Outside Towns'' by Outside Magazine in 2006.

Traveling to Asheville had been on our list of cities to visit since learning that Lindsay's Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bill moved there five years ago.

Their hospitality did not cease to amaze us. We had a full itinerary, which included hiking part of the Appalachian Trail (2175-mile long trail from Maine to Georgia) with their hiking group,

touring Asheville, and chatting with the wild turkeys that "grace" their mountain neighborhood (and their front yard at times!).

In addition, we enjoyed travel-friendly conversation, ate deliciously-prepared meals by Joyce who has trained with chefs across the country and we savored homemade truffles that greeted us on our pillows. It felt like a true retreat and we were sad to start the 8-hour trek back to Williamsburg.

While in Asheville, we did visit the largest privately-owned home in the United States: the Biltmore Estate. It is 135,000 square feet with 250 rooms. (I wouldn't want to sign up to clean a house like that!)

Each of William Henry Vanderbilt's eight children inherited money from their father. The youngest child, George Washington Vanderbilt, chose to build a summer estate in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, NC where he had visited with his mother for years. George considered the Vanderbilt Estate his "little mountain escape." To read more on the history, please see theBiltmore Estate website or the Wiki link.

North Carolina's Largest City

October 10, 2010

Charlotte, NC (pop. 750,000) is North Carolina's largest city and is located in southern North Carolina, about 30 miles north of South Carolina. (Boy is that a mouthful!)

Though Charlotte boasts loads of green space and entertainment options, the biggest attraction for us is Lindsay's brother and wife: Matthew and Denise, and their dog: Jackson.

Our weekend with Matthew and Denise was well-spent walking, cooking, playing cards, and routing for Virginia Tech's football team. A little Guitar Hero was thrown in for kicks as well. We see Matthew and Denise about once/year, so this extra visit was a special treat!

Big Tex / Big Family

Oct 3, 2010

We were in Dallas to celebrate birthdays last week.  My brother and mom both celebrated one.  We flew in for Daniel's surprise party.  He was actually surprised!  We got to spend lots of good time with family cooking meals and catching up.

We went to the State Fair of Texas as part of my mom's birthday.  It was Lindsay's first time at any state fair.  She had her share of fried food, car exhibits, and Ferris Wheel riding, so it was a success.  The view from the Star of Texas Ferris Wheel looking over Downtown Dallas is below.

The Sounds of Silence

Sept 19, 2010

We spent time with Duke and Jan out west of Williamsburg.  We met all the neighbors at the small church they attend, before sitting down to a healthy lunch.  

After lunch, Duke took Lindsay, Jeb the brittany spaniel, and me out for a walk in the woods.  When in woods in Virginia, two moods strike me: 1. I listen to how silent the trees are.  It's positively peaceful.  2. I imagine Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers marching over the slow rolling hills through the trees.  I imagine what it would have been like to be in their shoes.

I picked cotton!  My grandmother had been asking if we planned on adding picking cotton to our list of adventures.  She remembers countless hours of picking on her family farm growing up.  I thought it was a long-shot, but we found some cotton to harvest.  Picking one tuft in slacks is different than harvesting all week, but it counts!