Lovely Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was just wonderful. The morning after Dan's birthday party, I woke up and hit the road to Northern Virginia to spend the weekend with my parents. As soon as I arrived and we repaired a wardrobe malfunction, we drove 45 minutes into wine country for a day of winery hopping and wine tasting. We hit 4 or 5 wineries along The General's trail. We had to learn a little, right?! The wine was delicious and the day was beautiful! I, of course, came home with several bottles to share with Jeff.

After our winery tour, we stopped quickly by the hotel, changed into our Hokie clothes and headed to a local bar to watch the VT game. We thought there would be more fans in the house, but we were pretty much the only ones. Dad did make friends with a couple of meat heads with got us a free slice of pizza and some free Alabama Slammer shooters. I thought it was gross but mom loved it. :) Unfortunately the Hokies lost but we had lots of fun together cheering them on and eating heart stopping bar food.

On Sunday morning, we put on our workout clothes and drove to the Great Falls Park for some hiking and a picnic. The weather was gorgeous and the park was beautiful! I would never think something like that exists in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia. We hiked a bit, stopped for a leisurely picnic and then the curiosity of a circling helicopter got the best of us and we set out in search of the cause.

We discovered a team of rescue men strapping a woman into a backboard and proceeded to watch the helicopter lower a rope down to hoist the woman into the air over the ravine and into the helicopter. I made a brief note to self that I NEVER want to have to be rescued in this manner. Yikes! We spoke to some fellow hikers who explained that a woman had fallen and hit her chest and could not hike back out...causing the rescue. Turns out, this is what we witnessed.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/09/romantic-miscue-led-helicopter-rescue-great-falls-park-near-washington-dc4541

After the excitement of the rescue, we returned to our hike and then went back to the hotel for a quick shower before taking the metro into the city for a concert and dinner. We had planned to go to a concert of the National Symphony Orchestra, but the second we stepped off the Metro, the skies opened up. We were totally unprepared for this type of weather, so I grabbed the closest free lit and so did my mom and we used them as umbrellas as we ran down the street looking for a place to eat. We settled on Cafe 8, a delicious Turkish restaurant. It really was so good. By the time we arrived there, the rain had stopped so we enjoyed half our dinner outside before the rain came again and we quickly moved in to enjoy the rest.

After dinner we Metroed back to the hotel and crashed. On Sunday, we FINALLY got to see my sister and Jason. Ash was a bridesmaid in a wedding so they were back in the states for all the festivities. In four days, they were able to visit 30 of their friends and family members. Needless to say, they were exhausted. We met up with them at the Sweetwater Tavern for a leisurely lunch. Any glimpse I get to have of my sis makes me happy...and then sad. I was only able to see her for a few hours and I had to share her with other people. When it came time to say goodbye, the tears came as always. I CANNOT wait to have her within driving distance again. I am hoping that happens soon and I know her friends are too.

Thanks, mom and dad, for such a fun weekend. Can't wait to see you guys down here in late September. xoxo