Charlottesville

I love this place. There's good wine, amazing views, and an appreciation of life moving at a slower pace. All surrounded by tall trees and in the shadow of the Appalachians, with autumns' smokey, woodsy smells in the air. And it's the place I chose to spend my entrance into thirty this past weekend. This is mostly pictures, memories now, of an amazing weekend with some really great people.

Warming up at the Avett Brothers concert

Starr Hill Brewery. The 3rd tap from the right was my favorite

In Keeping with the Travel Theme

Presumably everyone's heard of the new Starbuck's Trenta size. Demonstrated below is just how large this very large coffee cup is. And can it even be classified as a "cup"? Jug or carafe may be more appropriate. Regardless, the video also demonstrates a very nifty tip for the traveling alcoholic, complete with a straw!

And lucky for everyone that Starbucks are located in almost every airport or train terminal. And it's not too much harder to get your hands on a bottle of wine. What is not mentioned is why in the world anyone would want or need to drink an entire bottle of wine's worth of coffee?

Travel Food

A fun little tidbit about me you may or may not know is that I love to travel. There's something very exciting about being somewhere that's not the same old and visiting people you can't see on a daily basis. Something about planes and trains that can lull me into a much needed sleep, or at the very least, much needed relaxation. And yes, something about getting out of claustrophobic NYC just immediately brightens my perspective on life.

And this month I'll be traveling quite a bit. Houston to catch up with one of my closest friends and to get some much needed Tex-Mex. Washington D.C. for a visit with my sister in her new digs and to celebrate some job related ventures for me (and be the 3rd wheel for her Valentines) at one of my favorite Old Town restaurants. And this weekend a quick little trip to Philadelphia. Yes, again. Draw your own conclusions on that one. But hopefully this trip won't involve the 2am Pat's cheesesteak that somehow ended up mostly all over my coat.

For fellow readers who also travel, I'm sure we can all agree one of the most frustrating things about it can be the food. Yes, security lines and delays and unnecessarily long layovers are worse, but on an empty stomach that only serves to exacerbate the problem. Especially coming back from a trip, the post vacation depression setting in, possibly a little hungover. It doesn't help the mood. And I've definitely been there, sitting at the airport gate munching disenchantedly on some greasy pizza or half melted quesadilla. No thanks.

Not interested in that stale pastry or bagel?