Continued sorrow and trying to move on

Last Week the University unveiled a more permanent memorial to the victims of April. While a large, carefully planned and funded memorial will be eructed in a few years, the administration recognized the need for a more functional place for members of the community to gather and continue to grieve. The university is functioning, but the whole atmosphere in Blacksburg is slightly sedated from years past. With the beginning of football season, community healing can begin on a large scale, or at least provide a distraction from horrific recent events. Many students and faculty are plugging away, hardly affected outwardly, but everyone is struggling to some degree inwardly. The idea that the peace and sanctity of the classroom at Virginia Tech will never be looked upon the same is sad. Where ever in the world Angela and I end up, people will have heard of Virginia Tech. Not for football or engineering, but for a shooting. The biggest image I have had since the tragedy is that of RA's on campus. Angela was an resident advisor for three years, I was for two. We knocked on countless doors to ask the occupants to lower their noise level (usually infernally loud stereos... modern technology and old buildings sometimes do not mix). Our friend Stack, an RA in West AJ was killed doing an act we did without thinking, odd noises are so common in dorms. The memorial unveiled is appropriate in that it creates more space than was there before while it was an impromptu gathering site. On a sweltering day before classes started anew, 32 engraved Hokie Stones were uncovered to the sound of bell tolls. The band played a specially arranged version of Amazing Grace which incorporated 32 bell chords in the middle of the song. It was emotional for the Marching Virginians, as Stack was an officer in the band for several years and well known to all. We still can't believe that this happened here, at a place we felt so safe at. Virginia Tech is still educating and will continue to educate while investing in research. Such a sad chapter of the school's history has revealed, though, the resiliency that exists in Blacksburg.

FOOTBALL!

Finally, College Football has returned. The best sport in the history of the Planet is upon us with another exciting season of play. For Hokie Fans, nothing would be sweeter than a successful season for a broken-hearted university in the wake of the unprecedented violence unleashed on our peaceful campus last April. Frank Beamer seems to be in a zone, and is piecing together one of his better teams in recent memory. Bud Foster's defense will be insanely good yet again. I predict no team to score more than 20 points on us during the regular season barring a multiple turnover offensive performance (aka, Chick-Fil-A Bowl...). Which brings us to our offense, which can only be better than last year's 99th ranked NCAA D-1 unit. We have talented running backs and wide receivers. Our Quarterback is experienced and simply has to produce for us this year. The weak units on this impressive Hokie team appear to be the offensive line (AGAIN!) and new kickers. While special teams are always special in Blacksburg, for one reason or another, we are starting a new place kicker AND a new punter. Angela and I ventured to two open scrimmages to check out how the team is faring. Beamer, after canceling the Spring Game in April, for good reason, has opened up pre-season scrimmages to give the players a more game like atmosphere to see how they would react. For the second one, the Marching Virginians performed, with half of the band playing and cheering for the white squad, while the other cheered for the maroon. It was as close to a game like experience as one can get, as ACC referees were there in addition to PA announcements. We viewed a good team preparing for a special season. We seem to have great athletes and good backups. One hopes our field goal kicker improves in accuracy, but Beamer believes in him!

In the Navy...

Officially, I am now, finally, a member of the US Armed Forces! Angela, David Walsh, and our recruiter met in Roanoke at the Western Virginia Reserve station near the Airport to take our Naval Officer's Oath. I am not sure why the powers that be do not simply line up the entire OCS class on our fist day and have us take the oath together, perhaps it has to do with repaying or travel as active duty personnel? I am busy running, doing push ups, and memorizing a plethora of information so I am best prepared upon reporting. I am excited, a little nervous, but mainly curious to see how it all works out!

Texas Bluebonnets

Despite not being in Texas, our Texas Bluebonnets are growing quite well on our porch! They are a very interesting plant to watch grow, and I'm hoping that they continue to do well and bloom. We are growing other varieties of Texas wildflowers as well, but these are my favorite. :-)

Town of Blacksburg Employee

To pay the rent for the past few months I have been working for the TOB, Public Works department. I somehow ended up on the horticulture crew and have been taking care of the hanging baskets downtown and planting flowers elsewhere in Town. Being a "local" for the summer made me realize that Blacksburg, without thousands of students, is really just a little mountain town, albeit very affluent for the region. While working on baskets people would stop to discuss the proper care of flowers, and if I would take care of their yard. Some people would stop their cars in the middle of traffic to yell out the window how much they loved the flowers! It was an interesting job, and can take away more knowledge on plant care. I brought some surplus flowers home and now have a large patio garden.

Summer Lovin'

Wedding season is coming to a close...and it was definitely a busy one for us this summer! :-) Weddings mean showers...and I went to lots of those over the past few months. The craziest one I went to was for my freshman roommate from college, Cathy. Her family was throwing her a shower in Salem, VA, not far from Tech, and they had all sorts of surprises in store for her! I got lost on the way to the shower, because Mapquest doesn't update road names enough, but I got there just in time for the Limo to show up. We were swept away in the limo, and no one would tell us where we were going. Forty-five minutes later, we ended up in Fincastle, VA, at an old mansion. Had I not gone to the shower, I would have probably never gone to Fincastle in my life! There awaited us a wonderful lunch, with fun lady bug candles at all of the tables, and a ladybug cake. I didn't know anyone there in the family, so it was a little awkward, but it was definitely beautiful! We also had another shower in Virginia Beach with Cathy's side of the family and 757 friends. It was filled with lots of sushi, lots of purple, and lots of ladybugs, lots of pictures, and lots of love! I had never had sushi before, but I really enjoyed it! We worked on a scrapbook of memories for Cathy, so that she can remember all of her awesome friends and the times we've had together. The scrapbook turned out great, and I finished it later to include pictures of the shower. It was so good that I wanted to keep it for myself! Ha! My mom made a beautiful cake for Cathy that looked just like a mini wedding cake. The great thing about having two showers was that all of her bridesmaids were able to make one.

Claytor Lake

Four years of being in Blacksburg, and neither James nor I had ever been to Claytor Lake!! We had heard people talk about it all the time, and looking for something to do, we decided to go canoing! It was a beautiful day, and absolutely wonderful to be out on the water. It was busy, and we had to deal with everyone's wake, which is why I prefer rivers, but it was still very enjoyable. I had forgotten how much paddling hurts your arms, but it was well worth it. Claytor Lake is huge, and is another dammed up valley in Southwest Virginia. James did research on the environmental impacts of the dam and the lake, and talked about all of the junk that was lying beneath the water the whole time we were out there, but even knowing how gross the water was, it was still a perfect day of canoing!

Hokie Bird Wine Festival

It was a beautiful day along the Blue Ridge Parkway! The sky was blue, Hokies were dominating the road, and we were going to the Chateau to enjoy some Hokie Bird Wine with friends. Jordie didn't tell us that she got car sick until after she was in the fetal position in the backseat, but despite that, the trip went well. We had never been to a wine festival before, so we had no idea what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. Hokies were everywhere drinking out of wine glasses with a VT on them, listening to some good old mountain bluegrass played by a local Floyd group. We spent the day talking with co-workers and friends, and enjoying some good Virginia Wine. I am very partial to white wines, and had never enjoyed the Hokie Bird white before, but I think they may have finally gotten it right this year. Our Dog Blue was another fine choice, as was Independence, a wine whose proceeds go towards rescuing dogs. But, the best part about the festival was definitely our private tour. It's great having connections!! I'm excited about the fall, as I plan to go and pick grapes with the Stanleys!!

Barrel Tasting

A few weekends ago Angela, Jordie, and I went back to the Chateau Morrisette for the Hokie Bird Wine festival. It was a mild summer afternoon and we found many choppers out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The festival was very busy with hundreds of Hokies tasting wine together. Bill Roth, the voice of the Hokies for ISP Radio ran a lottery while the nation's top defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, was signing autographs. The best part of the trip was the fact that Angela and Jordie work with a people whose family grows grapes for the winery. We were able to have a private tour of the barrel rooms, which was great, but we had seen those previously. What made it amazing was the fact that we were able to taste wine directly from the wooden casks and the stainless steel tanks. Our guide was very knowledgeable on the growing Virginia wine industry and the issues it has with growing grapes in a climate that produces unpredictable frosts. The guide was taking job out in California, but was excited about two Tech professors who had conducted work to pioneer the Virginia wine industry but were largely unknown. It was fascinating, particularly since the wine was perfect. The dry reds, Angela and mine least favorite, were great right out the cask!

Viewing Large Pictures

If you would like to see any of the pictures on our blog larger, you have to click on them twice for the picture to download. The first time you will just see the name of the picture, but if you click on it again, the entire picture will download. :-)

Beautiful Wifey!

Green Flower Accents! Great new camera!

Summer Hikes

One of the best reasons for living in Virginia are all the opportunities to experience the outdoors. From beaches to mountains, you can't beat this place. With us only in Virginia for a little while longer, we have been out and about. One hike we love but haven't done in a few years is up to McAfee's Knob on the AT. We left AJ at home for this one, and headed out on a beautiful low humid mountain summer day. This 9 mile round trip hike is up to one the best views along the entire Appalachian Trail. Abigail first led us up to the Knob on a sweltering August day in 2001... she just forgot how far it was to the top; "Just around the next corner, I swear!" Throughout college we ventured up here several times, and took this chance now. From the summit you can see the Roanoke Airport, Tinker Cliffs, and small farms out the Catawba Valley of Virginia. Since Angela's knee surgery she has had a hard time putting much pressure on her leg, but it is slowly getting stronger and was able to handle this whole hike without too much pain. We realized we enjoy being outdoors more and more and look forward to kayaking in Virginia Beach next Spring.

Cousin Love

Soo...AJ and Colin both adore ice cubes! Which is great for us because ice cubes are essentially free (despite water fees and the tiny bit of electricity it takes to freeze the water) and AJ thinks he is getting a super special treat. Colin is the same way, and since he is in a sharing stage, he decided it would be great to share the wealth with AJ! They get along so well now! A lick for me....AND....a lick for you!

The Babies of the Family

Awwww...the two newest Gougers playing together in the grass. They are too adorable together!