we heart Charlottesville

It seems like I say this all the time, but last weekend may have vaulted to the top of the list of "best weekends ever." In fact, it was so great that I think I need to break it up into a post for each day. On Saturday we drove down to Charlottesville, VA - the home of Monticello, UVA, and one of the coolest downtowns this girl has ever seen. Davey and Jenna were also going this weekend (great minds or what?), so we met up with them Saturday afternoon to tour Monticello. I can't say if it was prettier than Mount Vernon...but mostly because I simply have to love George Washington more than Thomas Jefferson - architecture be damned.

The gardens next to the house

Jefferson's original house on the site - a spacious 400 square feet

The upgrade

Matching...oops.

Cutie Talbots

 Dave was so excited about this eggplant that he had to go roll around in the garden for awhile.

Cool watchtower-thing

Will being artsy

We finished off the day with a fantastic dinner at the Ivy Inn Restaurant. The only thing I can say about that is if you are ever asked if you'd like heirloom tomatoes with crispy feta, say yes yes yes. Don't try to figure out how it's going to be crispy...it's more fun that way.

Then on Sunday we got up at 5:30 and went on a hot air balloon ride - but that needs its own barrage of photos.