New River Camping Trip

Luke and I have been wanting to go camping together since we started dating, but weekends always seemed to fill up so fast.  This summer we finally had a few free weekends and were excited to try something new together.  We sent out an email somewhat last minute and luckily a few NC friends were able to join us.  Lindsay and Nick are our camping experts and set us up with an amazing camp site along New River in Piney Creek, NC.  We got there on Friday night just in time to set up our tents before the sun went down and enjoyed just chatting by the fire!  

The next morning we had a great breakfast.  I just always assumed that camping meant you ate bad food that was easy to bring and cook...i.e. beanie weenies, granola bars, beef jerky, etc.  Linds and Nick proved all that wrong.  They made us a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, muffins, and even coffee (which was a concern of mine from the moment we decided to go camping).

We enjoyed a relaxing morning full of hammock cuddling...

We were right in front of the river and had a great amount of space for all of us!

The plan was to go tubing, but the weather was a little too chilly, so we decided to go canoeing instead!  I think we were out there for about 4 hours paddling, stopping for rope swings, and just enjoying ourselves.  We even found a great log/rock combo in the middle of the river to stop at for lunch. 

After spending a great day on the river we were ready for a relaxing evening of hot dogs, smores and good conversation.

Oh how I miss seeing these 2 on a regular basis...

and of course we had to play some cornhole...although Linds and I did not do as well as our last trip!

Charles joined us on Saturday night...great to see him!

We seriously had an ideal weekend with everyone and I am thrilled to go camping again sometime soon!

From the Vineyard to the River

Not only have Luke and I enjoyed wine tasting this summer, we have also LOVED exploring some small towns close to Harrisonburg (more posts on that to come).  About a month ago we found ourselves in Woodstock...not to be confused with the legendary music festival, but Woodstock the town.  It lies precisely in the middle of nowhere VA and is about half way from DC to Harrisonburg.  Given its prime location and a few cute vineyards, we met 2 friends coming from the DC area, Meg and Charlie,  and our Woodstock local friends, Jake and Ash, for a fun Saturday.  I lived with Meg and Ash for a couple years in Harrisonburg (Big Love!) and Charlie is one of our good friends from home...so it was great to see our two worlds collide!

Our day started out at Shenandoah Vineyards, which is the 2nd oldest vineyard in VA.  It was country, cute and simple.  The wine was OK...they had a lot of red wines and I am more a white gal myself!  But of course our company, view and picnic was to die for!

guac+chips+cheese+crackers+fruit+nutella+carrots+carmel popcorn+bottle of white wine=amazing.

After our fun picnic, we headed 10 minutes down the road to Wolf Gap Vineyard.  The scenery was delightful and we had a great time sitting out on the porch.  It was extremely hot, so the nice cold wine was nice!   

That sun was bright..and 90 degrees!  We love that Charlie is in DC for the summer and hope to see him again soon!

Gotta love our cheap JMU sunglasses.  I will be sporting free university swag for the rest of my life...and Luke too I guess!

big lovers.

The cutest Woodstock couple I know.

and the guac is back...

After hours at the vineyard, we still were not sick of each other and ready to extend our trip to the river.  We grabbed a few chairs and drinks and continued great conversations!  

We even saw a hot air balloon!  Perfect ending to a great day!

We had another great weekend as the Logan family "Staycationing" continues!

A Weekend with Joshua, TJ and Trump

One weekend in March Grandpa John and Grandma Becky came to visit Luke and I in Harrisonburg and we spent the weekend with Josh, TJ and Trump.  It was a fabulous weekend that we were finally able to do after receiving gift certificates to all these lovely places over Christmas!

First, we spent Friday night with Joshua at the Joshua Wilton House.  Luke and I went there last year for our anniversary and have been dying to go back ever since.  The dinner did not disappoint and we had a great time!

The next morning we got up really early to head to Charlottesville to check out Thomas Jefferson's Montichello.  Grandpa and Grandma have been wanting to visit for so long and when they found out it was only an hour from our house - we started planning a fun weekend.  I was looking forward to the trip, but I had no idea how beautiful and amazing this place really was.  It was inspiring to learn so much about TJ and his visions, hopes, dreams, inventions, etc.  If you have not been before, go!!

I apologize for all the pictures, but the gardens and architecture were too beautiful for me not to share...

I think they grew every kind of vegetable, herb, flower, etc. that exists!

I loved the view from the garden!

red poppies were everywhere!  

The front of his house

We enjoyed a tour of the inside, but were not allowed to take pictures.  We spent the rest of the day exploring the gardens and other rooms beneath the house.

The only group pic from the day

 There was beautiful path on the way to TJ's grave...

It was crazy seeing TJ's grave and descendants of the Jefferson family are still buried in this graveyard today.

The gate of the graveyard

 I had to take a pic with the man himself before we headed out!

After we left we went to a cute little place for all you can eat fried chicken and other Southern Cuisine.  Then we realized that Donald's Trump new vineyard was close by, so we decided to stop by since they knew Luke and I are trying to visit all the VA vineyards over the next few years.  I never in a million years thought I would go wine tasting with my grandpa...but it was so fun despite the wine being HORRIBLE.  It was by far the worst I have ever had. Their selection was minimal and actually included a lot of champagne, which I am not a huge fan of.  Anyway, Donald Trump, "YOU ARE FIRED" as a winemaker.

 good thing we decided to split our tastings!

the tasting room

Grandpa was more interesting in the backhoe than the wine of course!

The tasting room did not have the best views, but the vineyard itself was beautiful! 

After a fun and full day we ordered pizza and watched We Bought a Zoo (great movie by the way)!  It was the perfect ending to a great weekend.  Luke and I loved having Grandma and Grandpa up here. They are always so fun, supportive and wise.  We can't wait to spend more time with them at the beach!  Thanks for coming up to visit us!