16 May 2013

yet another whirlwind roadtrip to VA/DC

My favorite things about whirlwind trips to VA and DC? Whirlwind. Roadtrip. Virginia. Washington, D.C.

Even better when it involves college friends, cousins and a Josh Ritter concert!

And even better yet when I get to start the weekend with a crazy soil survey in a glorious part of New Jersey, although let's be really honest for a second, I think just about all of New Jersey is glorious.

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I met my soil scientist friend in Woodstown in Salem County to go dig and describe a few pits in a nearby wildlife management area. It was a gorgeous day. The sun shone strongly, but we worked under the cover of the forest so it wasn't too overwhelming. We didn't see many birds, but we definitely heard them. I saw clear evidence of a lot of the chemistry stuffs I've been reading about in a generally confused fashion.

After a good day of digging and texturing and trying to decide how to define the strange colors of the soils made of prehistoric fish poop, I drove to Virginia. It was so nice to already be halfway! I went out toward western Loudoun County, enjoying the Jeep bouncing down these lovely, unpaved, curvy country roads, winding and winding up to my dear friend JT's house in Purcellville. When I got out of the Jeep, I suddenly remembered what humidity is...


Good company, good pizza, good visit there, and the next morning brought me down more winding roads to my cousins in Nokesville, a town with one traffic lights and many horses. My cousins are great. We got to visit Janet at the greenhouse at school, where I acquired a Janet Spain original sweet basil plant that she grew for horticulture. Laura and her mother and I went out for lunch, and I even got to see their dad before heading onward and eastward.

This was my first time visiting Brittany and Adam's new place in Burke! I was really excited, not just because they're grownups and have a sweet townhouse, but because Brittany and I had some awesome plans for the evening.

And then the long drive back, so I could actually be home for Mothers Day, plus I had a beer to bottle, plus I needed to get to camp the next morning to begin another stint as Program Assistant.

But a very good weekend, as per usual. I love visiting Virginia.

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