Affordable Suites of America Charlottesville

... like acres of countryside and park to yourselves (said a few hunters!!) Ah yes the call of the country!!

We are now back to the Civil War Trails and the thick of it in Williamsburg going to do the tour of the area taking in both Jamestown and Yorktown: Think pioneer Village and you kinda have it!! If the bloody rain would let up I think today might be a great day to drag the bikes down off the ...

... where the handicapped black car driver people first started following us. We came away with the Sauvignon Blanc and the "Harlequin" C******nay.

Cardinal Point, black car driver people followed us here. We liked the 2008 Barrel Select C******nay and the 2008 blend CS+PV+CF (NOT a meritage) and came away with a bottle of each.

Last ...

... home. We're still trying to figure out why you pay 1% to say your wine is a meritage.

Keswick Vineyards was next. We tried a Touriga here - it was OK - bought the 2008 C******nay.

And last but not least Blenheim Vineyards. Cool tasting room with a glass floor in the center where you can see down into the barrel room. The bottling truck was there and they ...

... of Madison to Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery. Glitzy tasting room. We each paid a $1 so we tasted the vineyard designate wines and also the wines on the free tasting. We ended up buying one of the designate wines, Ivy Creek Farm Viogner ($27-ouch) and a meritage called Symbius ($30-ouch again). The folks in the tasting room were very nice but they wouldn't give me sunglasses.

Having ...

... one of only 26 remaining copies of the broadsheets printed to spread the news of the Declaration of Independence throughout the colonies. We were mooching about in the gift shop at closing time when an announcement was made that there was to be a special presentation to mark the occasion together with drinks and snacks. Well, needless to say, we didn’t need to be asked twice and we spent a very pleasant evening chatting to one of the curators and ...

... health center early in the morning to get my eyes checked out. The doctor said they do not seem too serious but referred me to an ophthalmologist. I was thinking about bypassing the ophthalmologist, but health is my top priority right now, considering all the sad news lately. I want my body to run like a well-oiled ...

... and brought truck loads of things, which is also nice, considering that I only brought myself and clothes/shoes/wine glasses from Chicago.

Most of this week was spent getting oriented and meeting faculty members and all that jazz. Now is the weekend! Time to explore!

The UVA campus- or "the grounds"- is huge compared to my campus. It has sprawling greens everywhere ...

... overlooking the vegetable gardens that had supplied the food for the slaves and the household. Jefferson Died in the house 50 years to the day, of the declaration of independence, (of which he was the author) and is buried in the grounds of his farm. He died bankrupt, (in debt up to $2million, a substantial sum for 1826,) it took his family 40 years to repay the debt. They were forced to sell the property, house ...

... it. I think I could see myself here. My parents and Peter got in around 5 and we went to their hotel to meet them. The Fairfield Inn we're staying in is very nice, especially compared to the other places we've stayed so far. We then drove my parents and Peter around Charlottesville and the campus and showed them the law school. Then we went to dinner at an Indian fusion restaurant downtown, which was very tasty ...

4:42 - Welcome to Virginia. Allison lied. She parked NEAR Georgetown. Oh well. 4:44 - Make a wish. 4:47 - off to Charlottesville, VA. 5:02 - More traffic on 66W. Sucks. Finally we are through the traffic all because one car got in an accident and the freakin car is on the shoulder of the road?!?! Then why the traffic?!?! Brett says, "People are stupid!". I say they are ****ing stupid for driving so slow just ...