does this place EVER get warm?

Our Texas native...

On Top of the Big V A

Being adventuresome wine tasters, we stopped at a few overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back to Blacksburg. Living in flat Texas for even a few months left me longing for the spectacular valley views mountainous terrain can produce. Though the day was slightly overcast and hazy, we were still presented with great views of the Old Dominion. Being unseasonably warm, some trees were starting to bud producing pockets of color to be enjoyed. At our second overlook stop, a small trail abetted the parking lot that looked enticing, at least to David, Kris, and Mary. Angela, Bic, and I followed the three up the steep incline after locking the cars. At the top was an older, sketchy cabin with a fantastic view. After some candid pictures, gnats drove us off the mountain. The weekend was great and made us hopeful for Spring, but then Winter came back. We had snow on Good Friday and a frigid Easter. The few days of 70 degree weather are to be missed, but much more appreciated when they get here.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Chateau Morrisette

Last weekend Angela rounded up a small gang of people to go off to wine country! No, not Napa Valley, but South West Virginia. Nestled outside of Floyd County and along the Blue Ridge Parkway lies the Chateau Morrisette. Angela, me, Bic, Kris, Mary, and David arrived at a luxurious expanse of vineyards and timber framed buildings. The tour was short but great, there being many curious wine tasters there. One group of more wealthy students had rented out the Hooptie Ride from Blacksburg for the event, apparently in the anticipation of consuming much wine. The tour wandered through a gigantic timber framed building with hundreds of oak barrels for the dry wines and large steel canisters for the whites. The theme is a black lab, which was the owner’s only companion when he started the winery 25 years ago. Several labs later, the current Black lab wanders around the Chateau and apparently aids in the wine process by tasting reds to help decide when they are done. After the tour, we paid 5 dollars to try over a dozen wines at a nice bar within a gift shop. Attending a wine tasting greatly aided us decide which our favorites are. Angela loves sweet whites while I really enjoyed a buttery chardonnay. Bic liked an odd red, “Chambourcin”, which had a rather leathery taste. The last wine we tasted was an expensive desert wine. This was their “Frosty Dog,” and it reminded me of drinking spiked sugar water, but I can see the appeal. After the tasting we wandered around the property and gift shop, which was conveniently placed next to the tasting area. It was a very pleasant atmosphere, as you could buy a bottle of wine, have it uncorked, and enjoy it on a patio overlooking an expanse of mountains. There was an expensive restaurant attached to the Chateau, where there was a 130 dollar “Titanic” themed dinner later that evening. After enough site seeing we headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway to catch some Spring overlooks.

Gobble Gobble!

Spring Football Practice has begun! The stories this Spring center around the offensive line, backup linebackers, running backs and defensive ends, as well as any possible signs of a quarterback controversy. It seems that Sean Glennon has indeed stepped up his game in the weight room and Ike Whitaker is out of alcohol rehab… so I suppose Beamer is going to go with an established starter/white boy from NOVA over a talented but drunken Ike. Spring Game is April 21, and we are really excited! We really can’t believe we missed a football season for grad school. We should have prioritized better! I hope I can at least make the November games of FSU, UM, and UVA as well as the bowl, depending when/if the military wants to train me or not. In any case, I feel that Jim Weaver ought to post live turkeys behind each endzone. Whenever the opposing team scores we can feed those awesome turkey legs they sell at games to the turkeys, hoping the inhumanity will inspire our philanthropic defense!

OUCH!

So, throughout a normal walk with AJ today I noticed some odd behavior. He kept stopping to lay down instead of trying to mark EVERY post we come across. After inspecting him later we discovered a tear in his left hind paw and he wasn't putting much weight on that leg. We cleaned out the paw and wrapped it up so he didn't lick it... but the bandage was temporary.

Can you hear me now?

She said she'd call... but she never did :(