October: Virginia

October has come and gone... and so did the weekend with my brother & sister-in-law, Michael & Jenna.  I took a couple days off and made my trip to Virginia my October "thing".  I went to visit them over Hallowe'en weekend (October 28-31).. there no costumes (or candy, actually) were involved.

I decided to fly out of Buffalo because it was significantly cheaper than Toronto (and faster than taking a train or bus) so Nichole kindly agreed to drive me there (which in turn worked out for her because we had time to have dinner at Olive Garden and she did some shopping before going back home).  It was a short flight to Charlotte, NC and an even shorter flight from there to Lynchburg. Michael & Jenna live about 10 minutes from the airport so it was a short drive to their place at midnight! One peculiar thing I noticed at both airports were the rocking chairs... I've been to several airports around the world and never have I seen that before, so I took the opportunity to sit and rock in one. So relaxing!

Sitting in the rocking chair, waiting for Michael to pick me up

On Friday, Jenna and I took it easy in the morning and decided to go shopping at a mall in Roanoke. It was about an hour away - it was a good day for shopping because it was cold and rainy, so we were loving the idea of a mall! :) We found some good deals, returned a nasty chicken teriyaki lunch (well, jenna did after I made her get her money back) and then headed back to watch Liberty Flames in action. We got to sit in the "box" with "heat" - which was new since the last time I was there. The heat vent sucked! You could only feel it if you put your hands right up to it... I was sitting on my feet to keep them warm! Liberty beat Adrian College 6-2.

sitting in the box watching the game

Saturday morning we were all supposed to participate in a 5K run to help raise money to support girls against sex trafficking, however, because I was not expecting sleet and sideways rain I did not pack appropriately and therefore didn't run the race.  (Michael and the hockey team did though) We did pay to support the cause! I'm not an international runner - yet - but will be one day! 

these are the bibs we were supposed to wear

In the afternoon, Jenna and I got our nails done - yep, totally a girl thing to do, but it was fun!! :p We went to another hockey game at night and sadly, Liberty lost, but it was a close game. It's strange watching the games and Michael not playing there, but let me tell you it's a little easier on my nerves!! 


Sunday we slept in and made our way to Charlottesville. We stopped in this area where they had stores along a promenade.. of course I bought some stuff - shopping in the US is always more fun and I tend to justify my spending much better! ha. :) The big excitement for the day was dinner - we were going to "The Melting Pot"... OH.MY.WORD is all I can say! I've never been before, but it was an experience so worth the drive. Cheese fondue with apples, california salad, meat plate with awesome pork and angus beef pieces to cook up, and then my favourite - chocolate fondu! We chose the chocolate s'mores (or sh'mores) fondue and had strawberries, bananas, graham cracker & oreo covered marshmallows, and cheesecake to dip in chocolate - it was simply divine!! We were super stuffed but it was amazing!!! YUM.

My flight left around dinner time on Monday, so I had the day to do a bit more shopping. :) Michael and I drove around trying to find our favourite air freshener, but to avail. We were sad but we continue the search.. we will find it again one day. We had lunch at Ledos and stopped at a few stores before heading back to their apartment to pack.  I was fortunate enough to remember that my parents were heading down a couple weeks later - and driving - so they could bring back everything I bought that wouldn't fit in my carry-on! 


I had no issues on my flights home - thankfully! A guy on the plane certainly made it entertaining on the runway - he also thought he was great and thought the entire plane should hear everything he had to say.. but I have to admit some of it was funny!  Nichole AND Michelle picked me up in Buffalo (which means Nichole had OG 2x that weekend, but I can't blame her, you can't go wrong with OG!)


It was a great weekend, driving around Lynchburg, getting tea & awesome pumpkin muffins from Joe Bean's (a local coffee/tea kiosk in a parking lot) and being at the rink - it's been a while since I've been in one! Looking forward to my next visit... soon.


ps. if you ever go visit Michael and Jenna they have an awesome couch to sleep on and a BIG, amazing cat, Marty, who loves to snuggle his head in your hair and attack moving toes and fingers under blankets - you've been warned!! :)