So, we got to Charlottesville ok, but needed to start exploring our new town! Of course, Evan and I know it quite well already, but it's one thing to remember locations from nearly 20 years ago, or from visiting for a day or two here and there since then - it's another thing to now live here! Plus, the kids don't know C'ville nearly as well as we do, so we wanted to take them on some local walks so they could really get to enjoy their new home.
We ventured to Walnut Creek Park, which is only a few miles south of our house. I'm always on the lookout for new places to walk, and it has a ton of trails. It turns out that, like a lot of the places I've found to walk in C'ville, these trails are actual woods trails, not paved, which is tough with all of the rain we've had (hello, mud!). But...when it dries out this summer (we hope!) they'll be fun to explore more.
We drove through Walnut Creek and explored a few of the paths, and also found the lake beach area that will be really fun to enjoy this summer!
Of course, you can't live in C'ville without walking around Grounds. UVa has perfect places to walk (when the sidewalks aren't overrun with students, that is), and the kids have really enjoyed our walks there (mostly because of getting Starbucks drinks from the Corner, I'm betting). The Lawn is just beautiful pretty much any time of day. This first sunset walk was a real stunner!
I've taken a lot of walks on Grounds in the past 4 months (it's probably my favorite place to walk so far). Mornings, evenings, even some mid-day...it's just a great place to walk, especially on the weekend when I can park for free on Grounds. And it does make for some stunning photos.
In fact, I have a whole folder of photos on my computer now labeled "UVa" and the vast majority of those photos include Lucy. I'll have to do a post on those soon!
We ventured to Walnut Creek Park, which is only a few miles south of our house. I'm always on the lookout for new places to walk, and it has a ton of trails. It turns out that, like a lot of the places I've found to walk in C'ville, these trails are actual woods trails, not paved, which is tough with all of the rain we've had (hello, mud!). But...when it dries out this summer (we hope!) they'll be fun to explore more.
We drove through Walnut Creek and explored a few of the paths, and also found the lake beach area that will be really fun to enjoy this summer!
Of course, you can't live in C'ville without walking around Grounds. UVa has perfect places to walk (when the sidewalks aren't overrun with students, that is), and the kids have really enjoyed our walks there (mostly because of getting Starbucks drinks from the Corner, I'm betting). The Lawn is just beautiful pretty much any time of day. This first sunset walk was a real stunner!
And don't worry - when we do these family excursions, we always bring Lucy with us! It's not always easy to keep her from getting too muddy/dirty, given all of the rain we've had, but she loves exploring with us.
