Touchdown, Virginia!

It's been almost two weeks since I arrived in Virginia, and I am loving it!  The weather is warm still and summer is winding down.  Soon it will be Fall, my all time favorite season, and all the colors of the East will be in full array.  I can not wait to see it!!  As the seasons change, so too my life is changing.  Seriously, how much more melancholy and poetic can you get?

Tyler and I are very happy to finally be together in person.  No more Skype for us, although it was fun while it lasted and gave us some awesome memories.  I love the Lapps, Tyler's family.  Here's the line up: Lee & Rosie (dad and mom), Tyler, Ben, Cynthia, Steven, & Jenny...oh, and Jackie the Shih Tzu.  The house is full of music, noise, and laughter, and I love it.  I have been staying in the guest room. Once I am ready, I will move to town (Farmville) into a cute two bedroom house owned by the Lapps.  I have been working over there during the week, cleaning and getting it ready to live in.  Once I move in I will post some pictures.  Living there on my own will be a new experience for me, but I think it will be good and a time of growing.

The front porch at the Lapp's.  Its a great place for morning coffee and evening conversations.

My 1990 Toyota 4Runner made it from Montana to Virginia!  This is at the Lapp's place too.  See the cows?

God gave me a sweet rainbow one day on the drive through Texas...or at least I think it was Texas.

My road trip was great.  I took exactly 7 days from the time I left Montana to get to Virginia.  Here is a list of all the states I drove through: Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and finally, Virginia.  12 states in 7 days!  I stopped at friend's houses in Idaho and Colorado (thanks Mackenzie and Jen!)  Then when I was in Texas, I stayed at a state park in the back of my car.  I didn't get much sleep that night, go figure.  I was in the middle of a HUGE storm.  It passed right over me, and I saw and heard the most thunder and lightning of my life!  I was praying that I wouldn't get hit by lightning and be electrocuted, be swept away in a flood, or get caught up in a tornado.  It was pretty freaky, especially by myself.  But God kept me safe and sound!

This dragonfly stuck with me from about Colorado all the way to Virginia!  He was my travel companion.

The sunrise on the day I arrived in Virginia was beautiful!

Rachel and Ruthie Pernatto.  Ruth is modeling a gorgeous cardigan that I knit her.  Its a little big for her now, but this winter she'll be snug as a bug!

From Texas I headed to Shreveport, Louisiana to visit my good friend Rachel.  It was a lovely time of visiting and catching up. Thank you Rach, Mark, and Ruth for letting me stay!

I had planned on staying with them till Saturday and then make my way to Virginia by Sunday.  But once Friday rolled around, I just couldn't wait any longer!  I packed up my car and left Shreveport at 6pm, and drove a solid 18 hours to get to Tyler on Saturday.   What an experience that was.  Even though it was a very long haul, I was so juiced up on excitement and Starbucks that I only really got sleepy towards the end of the journey. I made it in at noon Saturday, had a wonderful reunion, and then took a three hour nap!  We went to dinner later that night and have not been far from each other ever since.

God has been good to me!  Settling in has not been hard at all.  I love Virginia, the climate, the landscape, and the people.  This past Friday night, Lee and Rosie took Ty and I to fancy dinner at a local vineyard.  It was beautiful!  We all ordered different things and let each other sample our dishes.  One of Tyler's dishes was cow's tongue...oh my, that was sooo bad!  Yuck!  Other than that, everything was amazing.  I had a simple cheesecake with apricot puree for dessert, and Tyler had our favorite, Tiramisu.  What a beautiful evening of conversation, laughter, and food it was.  Thank you Lee and Rosie!

Date night at Palladio.

Lee & Rosie with Tyler & I

The restaurant is on a local vineyard in Barboursville, Virginia.  The grounds are beautiful!

Tyler's cow's tongue plate.  Nice presentation, but looks can be deceiving.

I ended my meal with this wonderful cheesecake topped with white chocolate shavings and an amazing apricot puree. 

 
Well, I hope you enjoy the update and photos. I will post more soon.  Until then, I love you all!