East Coast Love

I forgot just how much I love the East Coast.  It has been a few years since I have been able to spend any amount of time there and Fall was the perfect time of year for me to get my East Coast fix.  Fall, back East, is much different than any of the places have lived - Seattle, WA, Durango, CO, Orange County, CA, Reading, PA.  I'm sure no one is shocked that fall in OC is nothing to write home about, but Durango CO has a gorgeous fall.  The beautiful rugged Rocky Mountains with the amazing bright yellow of the Aspen leaves and their stark white trunks mixed with the Evergreens, it's simply breath taking.  I went to school in Pennsylvania for a year and a half and though I hated the grey sky and brown landscape of the winter months, leading up to that was a gorgeous time of year.  Fall in Virginia is identical to Reading, PA... rolling hills of burnt red, orange and yellow for as far as the eye can see.  I spent this last week in Charlottesville and Staunton Virginia and I so enjoyed driving around the countryside. 

Fall is just one of the reasons I love back East - I love the beautiful brick buildings and period houses, I love how everyone dresses up there (preppy but with an added individuality), I love all the gorgeous ivy covered Universities and the many historical sites.  I think being born back East there is always a part of me that craves going back, especially since we spent a lot of time there during my childhood.  I just feel a connection that I have never felt on the West Coast, even in OC. 

Last Sunday, I found myself with some free time so I decided to pop back down to University of Virginia's campus and take a better look around (with my camera!) The campus is absolutely gorgeous and I just loved all the restaurants, bars and shops that surrounded the campus.  So I grabbed my usual order from Starbucks and headed across the street to UVA campus.  There was a bench in the middle of a large lawn area that had my name on it .... so I took a few moments to just enjoy my Starbucks, the crisp fall air, and the gorgeous light that was falling through the yellow leaves.   Here are a few shots from my walk around UVA. 

The Chapel where Ellen got married!!



After making my way around UVA and the rest of Charlottesville I decided to pop over to  Monticello since I had not been there in probably 10 years and it was just 14 min from downtown Charlottesville.  It was late in the day so I was not sure how late they would be open but I knew the drive would be worth it regardless.  Sure enough, when I arrived the late fall sunlight was bleeding through the leaves about to dissappear behind the hillside but I was able to get this shot before the light left. 

More on my week in Virginia in another post so stay tuned!!