I'm back!

Some Massassians may recall my departure thread a few days ago over here - http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?t=34655

In summary, I had a great vacation with my dad, we left our home in Black Mountain, North Carolina for a few days, and headed up to Staunton, Virginia (some of the way taking the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway). We went hiking, visited Jefferson's home at Monticello, and even saw a couple of Shakespeare plays (Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors) in the only life-size recreation of the Blackfriars playhouse in London in the world.

Great trip, and we did many other things, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Feel free to ask me any questions about the trip.

This first set of pictures is from a few days before my vacation with my dad. While he went away for a few days with my mum, I stayed home and looked after the house. Here are some shots of their journeys:



















picture limit!!!!

Here are some shots from our trip (my Dad and I):

This is Mayberry Mill, a 100 year-old structure located along the Blue Ridge Parkway.


Some pretty scenery along the way:


Here's where we stayed at Peak's of Otter lodge. The moutain in front is called Sharp Top. In the next picture, you'll see how we hiked to the top:



Here we are at the top, read the sign for more info!



What a view! You can see our lodge from here!



We encountered some very tame deer on the way back down:



Here's a beautiful shot of Crabtree falls:



And another shot a bit farther up:



This concluded our travels for the day. After this we went back to our hotel room outside of Staunton:



MORE PICTURES TO COME!

Reminds me of that dam level from COD

That is absolutely beautiful.

And here we are at Monticello, outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. For those of you who might not know, this was Thomas Jefferson's home almost 2 centuries ago, the co-author of the Declaration of American Indepedence and 3rd president of the U.S.A.



Here's another view of the house:



Here are the kitchens down below the main building:



We also went to James Monroe' home (called "Ash Lawn Highland"). He was the 5th president and a good friend of Jefferson, living only a few miles away from Monticello. This is a statue of him.



Here is the BlackFriars' playhouse - the highlight of our trip! We saw two Shakespeare's at this marvelous theatre: A Comedy of Errors (Comedy) and Hamlet (Tragedy). Beautifully acted and exquisitely staged, I cannot more highly recommend the talent of this local troupe. They are officially recognized by Dame Judi Dench back in London and back by the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company).



In these two photos, one of the actor's is giving us a tour of the stage before the show.



And finally, here is a dome outside of James Madison's home. This is the so-called "Temple" he had built on the grounds of his estate at Montpelier.



Here are the gardens of the estate:



And one last shot!

Someone in your family has an eye for good pictures. :]

I live about an hour away from where I live. I just went there a couple months ago, and I sat next to the waterfall right where you're sitting on that last pic! Isn't that view on the top amazing? You should've visited Shenandoah Valley... very beautiful place. Haven't visited Jefferson's home in a few years though. Dang, you should've stopped by my place! Have a Massassi party, or something.

Seeing as Whelly is a Massassian whom I much love for both your levels and friendliness, I would have liked that. But sadly, my Dad would have found that a bit weird!

Still, awesome to know you were so near by. Have you been to Staunton and the Blackfriar's playhouse?

Indeed?

^ Oh, oops.

Haven't been to any playhouses I know, but I do have some good friends in Staunton. Don't go there often, but I kinda know the area.