Summer Highlights

Now that the cold has set in and the heat is turned on (not until the calendar officially read November), I will reminisce a bit about summer.  Plus, there are lots of happenings through the summer that I like to document with photos but do not have enough for an entire post. Or maybe I do and should create much shorter posts! :) I seem to be better at the lengthy ones. Here's a post of many summer memories all smashed together...

Boat Rides

(my favorite, of course)

Sunset cruise with the family

Busch Gardens 

(I don't think I will ever ride the teacups with these boys ever again. I have never been that dizzy in my life!)

Annual Pork, Peanut & Pine Festival

It was so dreary that I never took off my cover up nor got in the water. Thankfully, Hayley & Jerry went up on shore and brought us down our BBQ sandwiches.  It wouldn't be the PPP without them. 

Colonial Parkway Beach

This beach along the Colonial Parkway became a hot spot for us this summer. If we couldn't be on the river, then we'd drive a few minutes to be right beside it. So thankful to have this beautiful, free-from-crowds spot so close to my weekend home.

Farmer's Market

The farmer's market in Colonial Williamsburg (CW) was a routine for me this summer every Saturday after I hit the gym. It's a great market for fresh local foods, the weather was beautiful almost every time, it's fun to see familiar faces, and the King of Pops popsicles were amazing!

Enid was my farmer's market/walk around CW buddy on a few occasions

...and so was Buttercup, her pup. Butters jumped up on my lap one time and just sat for a long while. Somehow dogs always know who are more timid around them and then they gravitate towards them. She's a sweetie and cuddly so I didn't mind the company. 

Blueberry Picking in Richmond

Pool Parties
My parents' next door neighbor wanted a temporary pool but thought it might be too redneck in our neighborhood. We assured her it was a great idea for summer entertainment and she obliged. We enjoyed multiple fun evenings floating in her blow up. The well water they used to fill it was FREEZING and the summer was so mild that the water never completely warmed, but that still didn't stop us.

Blacksburg

We moved Teddy into his dorm at Tech in late August (what an excited freshman!) and after he was all settled and mostly unpacked, we spent the rest of the weekend enjoying Blacksburg. Despite it being the town of my rival school, Blacksburg scored some points that weekend.

This will give a glimpse of how Teddy feels about me...

Some interesting flowers at the place where we stayed...


We woke up on Saturday morning to cooler temps and overcast skies but that did not scare us away from our plans to tube the New River that day. Our first float down was quite chilly and I did my very best to keep all parts of my body out of the water (what a workout), but the next two trips down were perfect with warmer temps and the sun shining. We took a break at one point to enjoy lunch in the grass along the river with the views below. What a spot! 

After a full day on the river, we drove back to Waynesboro to visit Emily and family in their new(er) home and spend the night with them. Ted and I had some free time that Sunday after church and before we were going to meet up with Katy and gang so we decided to do the usual...grab Bellair sandwiches and take them to Sugar Hollow. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the usual spot, too...in the (rock) chairs right along the river. No surprise I end up near water wherever we travel.

Then nap time on the rocks while we people watched at the swimming hole.

BugOut in Dinwiddie
Ted and I joined his parents for the annual BugOut over Labor Day weekend. Volkswagen Bug enthusiasts from all over gather to look at each other's cars, sell spare parts, and race. It was quite the experience. I'm not sure life would be complete without going at least once.

I definitely chuckled at the thought of me being at a drag strip in rural Virginia with a bunch of rednecks.

New Jersey Weekend

I visited Sarah and family in New Jersey back in mid-September...(even though it was September, it was still summer!). It was a lovely weekend catching up, lounging around, eating good food, doing a little garage-saling, enjoying college football, and watching cute little girls play soccer.

A few pics from the soccer field...

Sarah, Andy, and I went to the Rutgers/Penn State game that Saturday night. The weather had been dreary all day but the rain/mist cleared off right before kick off. 

Unfortunately, Rutgers wasn't able to pull off a win but we enjoyed a lovely dinner (in the comforts of Andy's truck since it was a little misty and not perfect for tailgating), had great seats, and I enjoyed cheering on a new team.

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!