University of Virginia & The Rotunda

click on photos to enlarge

I have been trying to talk Nick into taking me to see the Rotunda ever since we moved here....FINALLY I get to see it....

And then this happens....

That's right...reconstruction...just my luck...sigh

It's like it's in jail....

Oh well, will just have to make do with a picture of the picture of the Rotunda...

So anyways, The Rotunda was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after his death. The grounds of the new university were unique in that they surrounded a library housed in the Rotunda rather than a church, as was common at other universities in the English-speaking world. The Rotunda is seen as a lasting symbol of Jefferson's belief in the separation of church and education, as well as his lifelong dedication to both education and architecture. (taken from Wikipedia)

So long UVA...we'll be back in 2016 when all this reconstruction will be finished...supposedly...you know how that goes!

Linking with Our World Tuesday

UVA Chapel

click on photos to enlarge

Built in 1889, the chapel no longer holds regular services but they do hold memorial services and it can be rented for weddings.

In 1957 the secret group Seven Society donated the carillon.

Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 38

click on photos to enlarge

SUNSET

These were taken after leaving the Marine Corps Museum and heading back to Charlottesville...I can't remember the county...no worries...Nick was driving...I wasn't risking life and limb to get pictures!

Now for Willy Nilly time...how 'bout some sunset quotes and a song!

1) “Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?” ...Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

2) “A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

3) “the redness had seeped from the day and night was arranging herself around us. Cooling things down, staining and dyeing the evening purple and blue black.”
― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

4) "He watched the sun rise beyond the grape arbor. In the thin golden light the young leaves and tendrils of the Scuppernong were like Twink Weatherby's hair. He decided that sunrise and sunset both gave him a pleasantly sad feeling. The sunrise brought a wild, free sadness; the sunset, a lonely yet a comforting one. He indulged his agreeable melancholy until the earth under him turned from gray to lavender and then to the color dried corn husks.”
― Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling

5)

Now it's your turn! Post 5 randoms, link up and visit others!! Have a super weekend!!

Signs, Signs & A Good Fence W/Ozzy

click on photos to enlarge

Downtown Charlottesville...
I always get excited when I see an old theatre!
"Following its Thanksgiving Eve 1931 opening, The Paramount became a landmark overnight. Even though the theater came along during the decline of the American movie palace, and two years after the stock market crash of 1929, The Paramount thrived.' For more on the Paramount and its history, visit their website HERE

Linking with Signs, Signs

Now for a fence closer to home:

Took Ozzy for a walk at Greenfield here in Botetourt. If you want to see more walks here just type in "Greenfield" in the search bar up top. Linking with Good Fences

*All these were taken earlier in the month. There is not a speck of snow left anywhere!

Some Sweet Charlottesville Architecture

click on photos to enlarge

More downtown Charlottesville...planning to go see Monticello this spring so I'm excited to wander downtown in warmer climes!

Balcony Seating

click on photo to enlarge

Downtown Charlottesville

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Monday Mornings

click on photo to enlarge

Ozzy

Pretty much how I'm feeling ;)

Happy Monday!

Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 37

click on photo to enlarge

Interesting how much things can change in a mere 227 years...."In 1788 James Monroe purchased an 800-acre farm here to be close to his friend Thomas Jefferson and to establish a law office. In 1799 the Monroes moved to their new Highland plantation adjacent to Monticello and sold the first farm. In 1817 the Board of Visitors of Central College purchased 43 3/4 acres of Monroe's old farm, for the Lawn and the Ranges of the "academical village" that Jefferson was planning to build with private contributions. On 6 Oct. President Monroe, with former presidents Jefferson and Madison, laid the cornerstone for its first building, Pavilion VII. On 25 Jan. 1819, Central College was chartered by the General Assembly as the University of Virginia."

Now for some Willy Nilly's:

1) Dumb and Dumber To...the name says it all.....

2) The boys are supposed to have their first baseball practice tonight...rain...and cold...last night snow and freezing rain...earlier this week it was in the mid 70's...can we please have that weather back?!

3) Nick and I started watching Mad Men on Netflix....I really like it...crazy how women were treated then, and really it wasn't all that long ago!

4) I didn't feel really great on Monday...sent Nick to work, the boys to school and I layed up on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy all day...I think it helped :)

5) I'm currently reading The View From Mt. Joy ...I don't know, maybe it is just me but it is taking me a while to really be into this book...I read Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons a few years ago by the same author and loved that...it has just taken me about half through this book to bond with it though, unlike the other one where I was hooked right from the get-go.

Now it is your turn! Post 5 randoms, link up and visit others!! Have a great weekend!!

Signs, Signs & A Good Fence in C'Ville

click on photo to enlarge

Downtown Charlottesville

This is a construction barricade thingy posing as a fence so it can link to TexWis's Good Fences this week...I also like how passers-by left little messages which also allow me to link with Signs, Signs ha...see what I did there?!

Charlottesville

click on photo to enlarge

Downtown Charlottesville, VA

After visiting the Marine Corps Museum we spent some time in Charlottesville. This was the beginning of the month...I'm pretty sure all that snow is gone now with the spring like temps we've been having recently!

National Museum of the Marine Corps - X

click on photos to enlarge

These 2 pieces will be part of the 9/11 exhibit...

Now some old adverts:

This one was my favorite ad...hard to get a picture of it with it behind the artifacts...

National Museum of the Marine Corps
18900 Jefferson Davis Highway . Triangle . VA . 22172
Website

Well this concludes our tour! Hope you had fun...needless to say, we will head back again one day!

National Museum of the Marine Corps - IX & Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 36

click on photos to enlarge

More from the Vietnam exhibit...
National Museum of the Marine Corps
18900 Jefferson Davis Highway . Triangle . VA . 22172
Museum Website

Just about to the end if you have been following along!

Now Willy Nilly time:

1) This time last week we got another snow...snow was everywhere...now it feels like spring time! So exciting!

2) You have to watch this video...but get tissues first...a happy kind of sad...


3) Watched The Judge this week...wow...great movie!


4) I made this Crockpot Pulled Pork this week. Everyone loved it!

5) Do you like Ferris Wheels? Check out the 20 oldest HERE

Now it's your turn...post 5 randoms, link up and visit others! Have a super weekend!!



I'm linking with Nancy @ A Rural Journal

National Museum of the Marine Corps - VIII

click on photos to enlarge
Vietnam

Linking with Good Fences
Back tracking...World War II

Linking with Signs, Signs

National Museum of the Marine Corps
18900 Jefferson Davis Highway
Triangle, VA 22172

National Museum of the Marine Corps - VII

click on photos to enlarge

National Museum of the Marine Corps
18900 Jefferson Davis Highway . Triangle . Va . 22172

The Frozen Chosin Exhibit...This was one of our favorite exhibits. You walk into a closed room. The air conditioning is turned up and a wind is blowing. You can hear the enemy approaching...surreal...
CLICK HERE for a virtual tour...if video doesn't play, click "related media" and "immersion soundtrack"...this is what plays while you are in the exhibit.