Run this Town

I don't mean the song by Jay-Z and Rhianna... I mean running this town of Charlottesville, VA.

This afternoon after running a couple errands and saying a few "see you laters" (not to be confused with goodbyes), I picked up my friend Kate and we went to Shenandoah Joe's on Preston Ave. (one of my fave coffee shops in Cville - see earlier blog post) to grab a quality cup of joe. We then headed toward Downtown and sat in Lee Park for a bit (see pic below) staring onto The Garage, a venue where Kate's band Pompadour played. We sat there for awhile reminiscing about our years at UVA (but only for a little bit b/c too much reflection still feels weird).

We then decided to wander onto the Downtown Mall and Kate mentioned that there was an exhibit at the CCDC (Charlottesville Community Design Center). After wandering into the Post Office on accident and getting in a random elevator to a garage, we found the stairwell into the CCDC and looked through a cool and historical review of the construction and planning of the Cville Downtown Mall, which by the way is WAY freaking cool and was designed by a San Franciscan (random, eh?)

As we were in CCDC, I looked out the window for a half second and saw my friend Em walking down the DTM. I recognized her beautiful dress and big pink sunglasses and ran out of the building to go find her. Em has been a friend of mine since my first year and she has stayed in Cville since her graduation, making it easy to keep in touch. She is currently spreading her wings and leaving the nest though and is doing Bike & Build, a ten-week trip during which she'll biking across the U.S., stopping in small towns and big cities to build homes along the way. Check our her blog because she's real cool and the project is awesome too. It was such a treat to run into her as she came through Cville with her team. I just love moment like that, when you see someone you know and all you want to do is hug and hold them and tell them they are great.

Then Kate and I hopped back in my car and headed to Belmont b/c she had never explored that area...but first I had to get a bit turned around and ended up passing these two guys skateboarding twice. Driving fail. Though, I'll admit, that's how I learn roads, by driving them. So we drove past some of my favorite venues in Belmont, including Belmont Barbecue, the Local, La Taza and Mas Tapas.

It was a good afternoon, indeed.
Cville, I'm glad I get you for at LEAST THREE MORE YEARS!