Best Friends & Football & Fall

October 9th - 11th

We were uber excited when Mathis & Nicki told us they were coming to the NC State game. Not only were they able to make it to the game but the game was on a Friday so we would have some time to hang out on Saturday with them and Jed could join us!

First up: FOOTBALL!
With an evening game, we were able to sleep in and then head out to tailgate. It was a tiny tailgate this week but we still had a great time.

The game was definitely memorable. In typical fashion, we headed into the game pretty early to get to our seats. It had started to rain and came as a huge surprise when they had closed all the gates because of the pending storm headed our way. We quickly tried to make our way into Jed's office to get out of the rain. We waiting for about an hour in the conference room before we heard "gates are opening ". We headed out to face the crowds and it was shocking.

You can imagine all of our disappointment when we heard the canon and Enter Sandman playing while we were still trying to get into the stadium. We were very bummed to miss the beginning but the ending was definitely the best with a big "W" 28-13.

On Saturday, we were able to spend the day, checking out old favorites of Mathis & Nicki, watching lots of football and a little fall drive & a quick stop at Chateau Morrisette.

Our group photo in the beautiful entrance. Will want to check the picture next time before we leave...

It was a fantastic day, with fantastic friends.

Sunday came way too quickly and we dropped off Mathis & Nicki way too early on Sunday.

 We decided that instead of moping at home, Jed & I hit the road just to see what we see.

Our random first stop was Buchanan and we found a cute little town and a scary shaky bridge that we bravely crossed.

From there, we just followed the signs.

It was another spectacular drive all the way to the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway and a good part of the Skyline Drive.

We took some time to get out of the car a few times and do a little hiking. The view never got old.

We ended the drive north with dinner in Luray at Uncle Buck's thanks to Nolan's recommendation.

We even found Yogi @ Jellystone!

It was a great way to end a fantastic weekend. Mathis & Nicki, thank you so much for coming and playing!

Football & the Opened Road

October 4th & 5th

This weekend we were back at home for our Hokies to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. It was a cold and rainy day and the game was an early game time so we opted to not tailgate and instead grabbed some pizza for the drive into the game.

It was a great game and we came so close but we lost the game 13-17 in the end. We were going to make the best of our time in the stadium so after the game we collected as many plastic cups we could find for the next 30 or so minutes. We even made it to the very top of the stadium and had a lot of fun running around.

On Sunday, Jed & I decided to hit the opened road and check out all the fall foliage. It is probably our favorite time of the year here. Pictures truly can not do it justice.

Don't worry, I am sure there will be many other fall foliage drives this year so we will keep trying to capture it.

A Cowboy Wedding

September 26th

This weekend Jed and I were both on the road but we were headed to separate places. While Jed boarded the plane to Greenville, NC with the Hokies to take on the ECU pirates, I was headed back to the Tidewater area for my cousin's wedding.

It has been a long time since the entire family has gotten together and I couldn't miss the opportunity to see everyone and celebrate Adam & Carey.

The wedding was so much fun. Adam & Carey did such a great job and everything looked amazing. We all had a great time celebrating, catching up, dancing and for two of us, going on alligator walks, feeding pretend horses and finding frogs.

Congratulations Adam & Carey!

Our First Road Game

September 19th

The first road game of the season was to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was a bit of a hike but Derley & I hopped in the car and head north of Friday night. We made it into town to meet up with the boys by dinner (ish). We ran into some hotel hiccups so we had to quick find a backup place that took us 30 minutes back the way we come from. It was disappointing but worked out alright in the end.

When we woke up the next morning, we realized we were surrounded by corn fields! It was really funny to us for some reason so we had to get out and take photos.

It was a unique experience when we got to campus. As soon as we stepped out of our car, it was like we were invisible. We were obviously dressed head to toe in Hokie gear but there wasn't a single person that would give us a wave, a smile or even a look. They weren't necessarily rude, they just won't nice. We didn't exist and the one student that I forced to talk to me while in line at a coffee shop didn't know anything about sports or that a game was even going on that day. It was either an off day for Purdue fans or we just were in the wrong places.

The game was enjoyable and we witnessed (arguable) the World's Largest Drum at halftime.

Derley found old Channel 10 friends (It only took her about 90 seconds after we stepped out of the car to be recognized)

Thankfully the Hokies walked away with our first road win of the season. It definitely made the long drive home much better after a victory.

Football & Busch Gardens (Take 2)

September 12th & 13th

I love that every year in September we find a weekend to cheer on the Hokies from Lane Stadium and then hop in the car and spend Sunday running around Busch Garden's for my niece's birthday. This year, we started the weekend off with a game again Furman University. I was so excited to bring a handful of friends and quite a few for there first Virginia Tech football game!

It was a perfect day for football and it was a great game and our first "W" of the season.

Immediately after the game, we hopped in the car and drive to Williamsburg. We were so excited to run around Busch Gardens and act like kids again.

At 4, my niece has decided that she is almost done with the little kid rides and is ready for some "real" roller coasters. Unfortunately, she is still too short to ride the real ones, but she was tall enough that there were a group of rides that were new to her from this time last year.

But I think her favorite was still the Land Of Dragons play ground. I think she and I played in there for a few hours while everyone else headed out. We had the best time running, chasing dragons, making up stories, looking for treasures and sliding down slides. It was a great time!

It is never fun to have to leave but I am so glad we do this each year. Can wait to see what rides she takes us on next year.