The Rotunda of the University of Virginia. A statue of Homer is in the foreground.
Wow. Virginia is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I had forgotten how much I missed greenery, but it all came home the moment we left the cocoon-like embrace of Dulles. Even though it was 6:00 in the morning (3:00 AM in my real world, the west coast), and Lindsay and I hadn't slept since the night before (why do I always think red-eyes are a good idea, and then, after flying one, swear that I won't ever do it again?!), I was immediately entranced with and refreshed by the spring greenness of northern Virginia. It didn't hurt that it was a gorgeously cool, clear day, and I'm pretty certain that by the time we reached Charlottesville (about three-and-a-half hours later), my sister was thoroughly tired of my exclamations, "Oh, it's so beautiful! Look, isn't it gorgeous, Lindsay? Don't you think it's so pretty! It's so green! I've missed this so much! Oh, wow, Linz, look at those trees!" Yeah, see, admit it - you're already annoyed, and you didn't have to listen to it for three-plus hours. But seriously. When I moved to Ohio, it was the thing that first made me love it - the sheer plethora of vert - and the green was the first thing about Virginia that captured my heart. I felt at home, as though my soul had lived there since I left Ohio, waiting for me among the trees and meadows, and that these last five years in California I'd only had a loaner soul. I'm sure that in one of my past lives I was either a dryad or druid.
None of the pictures that I have of my trip -- which are mostly of people and places -- can even begin to do justice to the beauty of a Virginia spring, but a few of them can perhaps give a glimpse of it:
Looking down from the Rotunda towards the "Corner", a collection of shops, bars, and restaurants.
View from the steps of the Rotunda. The statue is Thomas Jefferson, who founded and built the university in 1819.
Looking up towards the Rotunda.
Those are just a few of the 600-some pictures I took while there. Of course, a disproportionate number of those were of my nephew (if you have an absolutely adorable subject like that, it's hard not to indulge yourself), and this is probably one of my all-time favorites:
My monkey-face in the bath.
I had such a great time trying to make Andrew laugh and then get the laugh on camera. But as soon as I put the camera up to my face, he would inevitably frown. So I have several series of pictures that are off-center smiles, with something important like the top of Andrew's head cut off, followed by perfectly-centered frowns. This was one of the few times he obliged me by laughing while the camera was up to my face. Anyway. I digress.
I am in love with Virginia, and cannot WAIT to begin school. The campus is beautiful, the people in the department friendly and downright awesome, I've got an apartment that is kinda sorta cute, near campus, the gym, and a dining hall (more on that in a minute or two), downtown is fantastic, the Corner fun, and the atmosphere, all-in-all, perfect for me. Of course, it'll be interesting to see how much time I actually have to sample the downtown culture, Corner, and other areas of Charlottesville (or C'ville, as they all call it, which I hate, since I think "Charlottesville" is very pretty, and "C'ville" downright ugly), since I know I'm going to be super-busy, but I love it, and am itching to move and get settled in! I even - briefly - considered moving early (my lease begins in July) and giving up our annual June Lake trip, but I came to my senses. I can't give up June Lake. That's heresy. My family would probably disown me.
So, anyway. Our trip was wonderful. It was lightening-fast (I could have stayed for several weeks), but I got the important thing taken care of: I found my apartment. As I said, it's kinda-sorta cute, but hey, for under $700, what do you expect? It's a 60s/70s-built brick building, so, square and uninteresting, but it's 650 square feet (that's right, Bill Gates! I know you're jealous!), which is actually perfect for me (I hate cleaning), and the main living room area is big enough for my desk, my bookcases, a couch, and a dining table. Since the noise ordinance for the area is Nazi-strict (seriously, 55 decibels or lower, and if you have 15 people or more at your apartment, it's grounds for immediate eviction), I don't anticipate the size of my apartment putting any serious kinks in my social life. The kitchen, though . . . wow. It's like a postage stamp. Look:
My postage-stamp kitchen.
That's it. There's no counter on the other wall. Just a couple inadequate shelves (which I will probably take out and put something useful like this in their place). That is the sum total of my kitchen. Look! No dishwasher! What's even more important is that I'm not sure my half-size baking sheets will fit in that oven. I may have to get some quarter-size sheets. This will put a serious crimp in my baking, which is unfortunate. There isn't even room on the counter for a microwave. I may have to ignore their strict "no modifications to the interior" rule and mount my microwave above the counter.
Anyway, it is because of this postage-stamp kitchen that I have decided that I will be eating on campus quite a bit. So much, in fact, that I'm probably going to get a dining plan. Yes! I have decided to accept with grace the fact that I absolutely hate to cook (cook, I said, not bake), and let other people cook for me. Plus, like I said, there's the Corner, and well, look at what I had for dinner at this place called Michael's Bistro and Taphouse one night:
Brie with honey, almonds, and fruit.
Portobello mushroom with spinach, roasted tomatoes, julienned russet potatoes, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinegar reduction.
Brown-ale cheesecake. This was so good that although Linz and I originally ordered one slice to share, we had to order another. It was that good.
The beer menu. Outstanding. I will definitely go back.
So, because of places like this and the postage-stamp, I will not be eating at home much. And if it means I only eat two meals a day, then so be it. I need to diet anyway.
The rest of the apartment is perfect, though. It'll be just me and my cat, Nard, and, of course, my books. I have decided that they'll be going with me, if nothing else does, since they're my only friends, and I may as well accept that with grace, along with my hating to cook (grace is going to be very important here). So they're all going, and will probably overrun my apartment (especially since I have no intentions of ceasing to purchase any more during the next six-ish years), but whatever. Better an apartment overrun with books than rats, right?
I realize I haven't posted many pictures of the campus. I'll do that next post. This one is already unforgivably long and meandering. But at least it has visual appeal.
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