Last Summer Hurrah

I spent the last official weekend of summer doing some fun fall-ish activities. In my book, even fall activities are made better for me when the temps are warm so no complaining here that the days were almost hot.

We kicked off the weekend with a football game in Blackburg. While I used to not consider cheering on the hokies "fun", it was an enjoyable day full of friends and good food. Friends from Williamsburg joined us on the trip and were excited to see Tech play for the first time (both are from out of state).  Kickoff was at noon so we had a breakfast tailgate...eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, and fruit (yum!).  

Hayley and Jerry were in Blacksburg for the game as well so they joined us for the tailgating as well. The more, the merrier!

A certain new college student was lured by all about the food, too. It was great to see Teddy already settled in and loving college life.

SO MUCH maroon & orange. At least they have the orange right!

Having pretty spectacular seats makes these games bearable. :) Just kidding, I don't mind seeing the hokies play as long as my hoos are winning, too.

Oh, Teddy. He came to visit us in our seats looking like this. Always a hoot.

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful...

The only thing better than breakfast tailgating before the game is dinner afterwards, too. We weren't in a rush to head out of town so we planned to grill dinner and spend time with more friends who would be stopping by after the game.

Ted's close friends/roommates from his college days (who live out of state) were in town for the game as well. 

After the game and checking out Teddy's updated dorm room, we decided to camp about halfway back home in Verona, VA. We didn't arrive to the campsite until late and way after dark, which made me a little nervous. But fortunately I was with a professional tent-setter-upper with a handy dandy headlamp and our home for the night was set up in no time. It had been in the 80s during the day but the temps probably dropped at least 20 degrees (or more) that night so it was perfect outdoor sleeping weather. 

You can't really tell but there's a river running right behind our site. I'm kinda partial to waterfront property so this was a treat. Thanks to all of our prep for the tailgates, we had plenty of leftover food to enjoy another nice breakfast.

 I loved these trees hovering above the tent and the way the leaves fanned out.

 Tubing on the river! The water was low and very shallow so what normally would have taken 45 minutes to float down took 2 hours. It was the perfect activity for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

The infamous waterfall that my cousin was married in front of about 7 years ago. I remember being skeptical about going to a wedding at the KOA :) but it actually was/is a beautiful spot. Next time, it would be great to camp closer to it and listen to the water falling all night. This is definitely a camping spot do-over.

In between or after all of these activities, we also stopped through Waynesboro to see Emily and family and then Charlottesville to see Becca and her family. It was an action packed weekend full of so many fun things. I didn't want it to end!

Fun Fall Weekend {Part 1} - Camping

There's been lots of talk about camping over the last year and we finally made it happen a couple of weekends ago. With the government shutdown a relevant issue, Ted made sure to find a state park that would be open regardless of what was happening in DC. He finally settled on Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland, VA. It was far enough to feel like a getaway but close enough that it wasn't much of a drive from Richmond. Both new and old friends joined us for our outdoor adventure. It was a great group and we had such a nice time all together. My camping gear consisted of a flashlight, blow up mattress, and folding chair so I got a little nervous before we left about my lack of preparation. Thankfully, I was with a group of seasoned campers and they thought of everything that we might need so our outdoor home away from home was very comfortable. 

 

Cooking a hot breakfast Saturday morning

Here I am with L who I used to babysit for when she was little. L and her Mom were part of our Kenya team. They are definitely adventure friends and so much fun. I'm already asking them what's next on the list! 

Despite the clear forecast, it began to sprinkle shortly after breakfast. I went to take a shower and by the time I returned, the guys had rigged an impressive shelter.

The huge tarp that Ted brought was big enough that all 16 of us could remain dry. Who cares about rain when there's shelter, a warm fire, and friends to enjoy?

Ingenuity to keep rain from puddling and the stick from poking a hole...

Our camp


Shortly after breakfast was over and our site had been waterproofed, it was time for lunch! We spent the majority of our time that weekend around the campfire and eating (a good combination).

A creative way to enjoy warm chocolate chip cookies

Thankfully, we had a lot of boys who would gather broken branches and limbs from the wood and chop them for our fire

The weather cleared enough in the afternoon for the majority of our gang to head to the lake to fish. Then enjoyed themselves despite not catching any dinner for us.

 

 

The grill master



Sunday morning was cool & crisp...perfect camping weather as long as you have warm covers and wood that will burn.

All of the kiddos gathered around the fire that morning and played games while the adults made breakfast and prepared to pack up camp.

The whole gang

This was such a fun group to camp with that we were already wanting to plan another trip as we were saying goodbye.