Life, liberty, and the pursuit of five miles in flip-flops...

This past weekend, I sent Mike Baggerman, the Power's broadcast intern, on the four-day, five-and-a-half game trip to Lexington.  This had been planned for some time, long before some games got suspended or postponed at our ballpark in early July.  It was a good chance to let him experience life on the road, and I have asked him to share his thoughts.  We will have a guest blog post later this week.

Rather than stay in Charleston, my wife and I took the now-rare chance to spend time together on a weekend getaway.  The goal was simple.  Find someplace that we would like to go within a morning's drive.  Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Charlotte were all discussed in some capacity (My early front runner was Columbus for the Under the Sun Tour- Smashmouth, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, and other performing.  College music days all over again.  Unfortunately that show was Friday night and couldn't work logistically).

We settled on Charlottesville, VA, and I'm giving this trip my usual treatment.  Everyone we told about this excursion had a favorite restaurant (or five) that we had to try.  We did our best to accommodate!

We left at 8:30 on Saturday morning, made a few stops, and were at the Downtown Mall area in Charlottesville by lunchtime.  We got started with Eppie's, a fast, casual establishment.

http://eatateppies.com/

Brienne had the BBQ sandwich while I tried the Saturday special, a barbecue brisket sandwich.  The brisket was slightly on the oily side, but still a great choice.

The Downtown Mall is a wonderfully unique area.  It is a cross-section that is part-Strip District, part-Bridge Road Shops, part-Broadway.  Boutiques, theaters, an old-fashioned drug store with a soda shoppe, bars, restaurants, and book stores.  We would use this as the centerpiece of our trip.

After a stop at the hotel, we headed over to the University of Virginia's campus.  On the way, I had to stop at a Panera to use the wi-fi.  For the life of me, I could not get things to work at the hotel and had to make a WV Power roster move.  While Mike was handling the broadcasts in Lexington, I kept this responsibility on myself.  Just like old times when I didn't travel with the team.

While I was in Panera, Brienne walked through a section of shops at the Barracks Road Shopping Center.  She came across some of her favorites and one that truly caught her attention: Oil & Vinegar.  It is a store that sells... oils and vinegars (among other toppings, mixes, and things like that).  This was a store that would fit in perfectly in several cities we have lived in over the years.  I could see it on Bridge Road or in Shadyside.

http://oilandvinegarusa.com/

You buy the glass bottle (we purchased a few 100ml bottles for $3.25).  Then you pick which oil or vinegar you want and buy it per 100ml.  They have several kinds of extra virgin olive oils, flavored olive oils, grapeseed oils, and a variety of vinegars.  We bought small bottles of spanish unfiltered e.v.o.o, blood orange olive oil, cherry almond vinegar, and a riesling lime grape seed oil.  We spent about $45 in the process, but will give one away as a gift and most definitely utilize the others in our off-season cooking or daily lunches (Brienne had a salad today with the cherry almond vinegar and the blood orange oil).

UVA was one of Thomas Jefferson's crowning achievements in his retirement years (according to the tour at Monticello).  Several friends or colleagues hold a variety of opinions of this school and campus for one reason or another.  Some think it is the greatest place on earth.  Others went to Virginia Tech.  Since we hold no bias towards or against, we made sure to walk the grounds and take in the sights.

It is a gorgeous campus, no doubt.  It sparked a conversation, however, about being satisfied with the education choices we made. I went to Mercyhurst College for undergrad while Brienne attended Chatham College (both have since become universities since we left).  You could walk from one side of each campus to the other within 15 minutes.  It took 15 minutes to park at UVA.  The variety of educational institutions in this country are immense, and as this shows, there is always something for everyone.

For dinner, we got gussied up and went to the Blue Light Diner (at the Downtown Mall).

http://www.bluelightgrill.com/

Brienne and I split our meals.  She ordered the steamed lobster while I had crabcakes.  Each dish had two portions, perfect for trading plates halfway through.  She also ordered a watermelon daiquiri.

We are such non-drinkers that we had to Google how to spell daiquiri when she posted a pic on Facebook.  I had a local brew.

Ironically, most everyone told us to go to a winery.  See the comment above as to our drinking habits.  We skipped the wineries on this trip.

For dessert, we walked to the other side of the Downtown Mall and went to C&O Restaurant.  It looks like a greasy spoon on one side, has a gorgeous brick facade on the other, and then you feel like you are in a circa-1850's tavern once you get inside.  Dark wood (not paneling, actual wood) lines the walls with great ambiance and gives an amazing feel.  It was so dark that the flash kept going off while trying to take a picture, so I did not get one to post here.

This is, however, what our plate of chocolate bread pudding looked like.

After the fact.  It. Was. Awesome.

On Sunday, more delicious food and Monticello.    We attempted to go to a place called Beer Run for brunch.  It was 10 am and they didn't open until 11.  Then we opted for Horse and the Hound.  They opened at 11.  Back to the Downtown Mall for breakfast at Cafe` Cubano.

French toast and Chorizo and Cheese Potatoes.

Monticello was a sight to see.  Apparently I saw it when I was four, but have no recollections at all.

http://www.monticello.org/

After a tour at Monticello, we went back to Beer Run for a late lunch.  Brienne had the bacon, egg, and pimento cheese croissant and I had their fish tacos.  Not my favorite food from this trip, but still decent (the fish was in a thick batter that took away from the slaw and chipotle sauce).

http://www.beerrun.com/

Had we gone to brunch in the morning, we would have gotten to and stayed at Monticello until about 3:30 or so.  And would have been standing on the little mountain in this...

Funny how things work out.  I'll never have another bad day.