Sunny and hot....

Jim and I were able to "prolong" our summer just a little last week!  He was attending the national AICPA conference in Phoenix.  We had a wonderful time...only strange thing was that my sister, Jean, (who lives in Phoenix) is gone from Phoenix for a year and a half.  (I missed her!)

We stayed at the Biltmore...beautiful grounds.  (I'm not talking about the "interior" of the hotel because it really isn't worth mentioning---it's old and in serious need of a re-do!!) 

The "get away" was great...we loved the sunshine, warm weather, great food and good friends.  Now the flip-flops, crop pants and swim suit are tucked away til next spring.  (The low here tonight is supposed to be 27....brrrrrrr!)

Homecoming, 2011....

Today was the perfect October day for Homecoming....bright blue sky, crisp fall morning, and lots of sunshine and loyal Vandal fans!!  We are entertaining 4 of our 6 grandchildren for the weekend and the parade was definitely the highlight of the day!

There were marching bands, mascots, floats, politicians ( :0/ ), and lots of candy---the kids favorite part!!
The game followed the parade, but we won't talk about that, we don't want to spoil the "parade high!"

DC, The Vandals, Battlefields and more...

We just returned from Washington, DC last night, and I'm trying really hard to stay awake! :0)  Re-adjusting to pacific time from east coast time is tough.  We had such a fun time, saw lots of great things and cheered on the Vandals when they played the University of Virginia.  I didn't take my camera, but with my iPhone and the Camera+ app I was able to take some pretty great pictures to share.

The first evening in DC we went to Georgetown for dinner. We have never been to Georgetown...it's a hustling, bustling place with so many fabulous restaurants and shops.  As we were eating dinner (seated right beside a huge, open window) a rainstorm with thunder and lightening started.  A thunder clap and lightening bolt struck a foot from our table!!  (Well, it actually wasn't probably that close, but it sure seemed like it. We all jumped a foot!) :0)

The next day we met my sister, Jean, at Union Station for lunch.  We had never been there before...what an amazing place! It's full of shops and restaurants, and the best part...trains and the metro actually come and go from there!

After lunch we walked over to the Capital building and took a tour. We didn't run into the President...darn, but we had a great time.  I haven't seen Jean since last January, so it was wonderful to get to spend the afternoon together.

Looking "up" while standing under the rotunda in the capital...

Statuary Hall...

Friday we left DC and headed for Charlottesville, Virginia.  Our drive through the Virginia countryside was beautiful!  On Saturday we cheered on the Vandals when they played the University of Virginia.  The campus is amazing---it was started by Thomas Jefferson and there was beautiful building after beautiful building!  We had a Vandal pre-game celebration and it was so fun to get to meet Vandals from the Virginia/Washington DC area that came to the game.

Edgar Allen Poe was a student there and they have preserved his room...

It was a beautiful afternoon/evening for a football game...

We lost in overtime 20-21, but it was a very fun game.

The last two days were spent at Monticello (Jefferson's home) and Montpelier (James Madison's home) and Manassas (Civil War Battlefields).  SO much history, it was wonderful!!

The view looking out from the front porch of James Madison's home...Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

The battlefield at Manassas..."The Battle of Bull Run:, the first major battle of the Civil War.  It was a crazy, busy 6 days! 

It's great to be home!!