Virginia Is For Lovers

Have you ever seen this sign?

This is the slogan for Virginia. Growing up I remember commercials, bumper stickers, tee shirts and billboards with this. 

Being back “home” to visit is always fun. I love spending time with my family and catching up with friends.

During my visit last month I had the opportunity to visit the campus of University of Virginia (UVA) and get a tour from my cousin who attends there. It was a gorgeous fall afternoon and we walked all over the campus. What an absolutely gorgeous school and setting for learning. Now just in case you aren’t already familiar with UVA and how it came to be, here’s a little history lesson for you. UVA is in Charlottesville, Virginia and was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson. Walking around on the grounds makes you feel almost like you’ve been transported back in history. Talk about gorgeous architecture. Southern architecture is so beautiful and I forgot just how much I missed it until I was walking among all the beautiful brick buildings.

Growing up in Virginia and then being able to raise my kids there for the first 13 and 15 years of their lives was wonderful. The southeast part of our country is so rich in history and a terrific place for kids to be in school. Not only were we blessed by a great school system as far as academics, but they also got to take awesome field trips.

I took a bunch of pictures while touring the campus and thought y’all might enjoy seeing them, so today I’m going to give you a little tour of some Virginia history.

This is the Rotunda and the center piece if you will of the campus. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson himself.

It has just undergone a major restoration.

Free People Cowl Neck Top / Lucky Booties / jeans  / necklace

When you walk into the Rotunda you are greeted by the statue of Thomas Jefferson.

This is a room off one side of the foyer.

An oval shaped room to the back of the building.

And this is a panorama of the upstairs. There are nooks all around with tables and chairs where students can come to study. I mean seriously, can you imagine a more conducive environment for learning? You feel like you are a part of history just entering this room.

This is a reflecting pool outside of the Rotunda.

This is the Rotunda from the back (or front depending on how you look at it.)

We were there on a Sunday afternoon and the campus was extremely quiet. If you look closely at the steps you’ll see a couple sitting there. They were having what I’m pretty sure were engagement photos taken. All the heart emoji’s go right here!!!??????? 

These are actually little dorm rooms with fire places in them. Students have to buy they wood from the school to ensure it’s aged and bug free. The rooms are tiny and you have to go outside to go to the bathroom, but how incredibly cool would it be to live in one of these?

This is another row of dorm rooms, but here’s something pretty neat…

There is one room that has a glass door on it so you can look inside. It’s referred to as No. 13 and is  believed to have been the room of Edgar Allen Poe. It is furnished as a students room would have been in the early 19th century and is maintained by The Raven Society.

If you look really hard at the plaque over this window it says Echols. Big deal your saying? Well that just happens to be my maiden name and the name of my cousins dorm. Are you kidding me? How cool is that. 

Here I am, all blurry and proud to be standing by this sign bearing my name.

Our family had nothing to do with the school, so I don’t know why the dorm is named this. I guess there were some Echols somewhere along the line that were somehow associated with UVA.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing this beautiful campus and getting a little history lesson at the same time.

Happy Hump Day friends.

Lisa

XOXO