We had wanted to see polo in Charlottesville for a while and between the weather, sailing conflicts, we never had a good weekend for it. The stars finally aligned for a perfect Sunday for it on the weekend we had planned to be in Charlottesville for a UVA football game on Sunday. And as an added bonus – our friend Michelle was playing on one of the teams so we got to see her play.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving I won two tickets from my company to their box at UVA’s John Paul Jones Arena to see the game between UVA and LeHigh University. Jess and I made a day of it starting out with some cider shopping at Albemarle Ciderworks and Potters Craft Cider to try out some new varieties and stock up for winter.
Our next stop was Mincer’s to pick up some UVA attire followed by a quick visit to The Lawn.
Finally we arrived at the game (showed our COVID vacination cards to get in) and found our seats in the box. It was a great view and there was an entertainment area. It was also great to see some co-workers I had either never met in person or hadn’t seen in person for quite some time.
UVA won and Cavman even stopped by the box.
Laurie, Jess and I were in Charlottesville to catch the UVA vs Duke Football game. It ended up being a bit of a blowout and it was great to see quarterback Bryce Perkins playing in person and dominating the game. The lopsided result made it a fun game to be at.
That night Jess and I stayed just west of Charlottesville and then went for a hike to McAfee Knob on the Appalachian Trail. The foggy conditions were a bit spooky but also meant we didn’t get much of a view for most of it. At the top we were entirely surrounded by fog. It was nice to be in nature and a fun hike.
Mumford & Sons came to Charlottesville and we were able to see them play. Before the concert we stopped for dinner with Jen and Janek at The Local in Charlottesville for a fantastic meal. At the concert the stage was set up square in the middle of the floor and our seats were in the corner. It was a cool setup having people all the way around.
We spent the night in Charlottesville and then next day we visited Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards and Albemarle Ciderworks.
Dave Matthews Band was in Charlottesville to finish their 2018 tour I got to see them live for the first time. What a show it was!
Sunday we checked out Bodo’s Bagels for breakfast and then went to the Bold Rock’s Nellysford Cidery.
Saturday I joined Jess and her family in Charlottesville for the UVA vs Liberty football game. We had a good tailgate spot and brought plenty of clothes to bundle up in the cold. We were going to leave early if the point differential ever got below the temperature. Being a 21 point game and not 35 we stayed until the end.
Jimmy Buffett has been on my to-see concert list for a long time and Jess got us floor seats to see him play at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. We made a weekend of it going out for dinner in Charlottesville before the concert and spending the night at the Inn at Darden.
Caroline Jones opened and was great. The floor seats were awesome and we had so much fun!
ECU Basketball was in Charlottesville playing UVA who was ranked in the top 10 at the time. I got to see the game with Patrick, Lauren and Jen. In the end it wasn’t much of a competitive game, but it was fun to root for ECU from the UVA section.
I joined some UVA friends on a non-ECU weekend for the UVA vs Duke game. We had a great parking pass right at the stadium and the plan was to park the van there with all of our tailgate stuff and have everyone congregate there. We arrived only to find out that the van was WAY to big to fit in the tiny parking spaces let alone have any space to tailgate. After shuffling cars and parking the van elsewhere we commenced with our tailgate and ended up having a good time. UVA even won the game!
