Life after moving

I'm all moved into my new place, and it's definitely about time for a blog.  I've really missed an internet presence these past two weeks.  I kept my shop open during the move and was able to fill orders sporadically (often sitting in my car, in the post office parking lot).. oh the glamorous life of an etsy seller. hahaha. 

I have been itching for awhile to post about  my recent trip to Blacksburg.  I was visiting friends and attending a drum and bass/dubstep party thrown by the massive sound guys from http://www.massivesound.us/.  I am graciously allowed to host my website on their space.  I really loved seeing my friends who have also moved away, many of them to Washington, D.C.  I used to frequent DC a lot, but haven't been able to in quite awhile as it is so terribly far away.

The guys threw a drum n bass/dubstep reunion party.  If you like those genres, feel free to check out a mix from that party by my friend Steve (Class A), here. There are many many good mixes on the massive sound website.  Definitely check them out.

While in Blacksburg I got to frequent some restaurants I love.  I got my raw oyster and sushi fix at Poor Billy's Seafood Restaurant.

I stole this photo from their website.  They have excellent (although pricey) sushi.  I also love their pan seared tuna.

We also frequented Boudreaux's and I got an excellent crabcake sandwich one day for lunch and a delicious sunny-side up egg served with meat marinara over a english muffin for brunch another day.  One of my good friends, Cassie,  is a waitress there and it was wonderful catching up over such delicous food.  I really miss Boudreaux's a lot.  They used to (and still do) throw awesome parties. 

I also got some hiking in while in Blacksburg.  On Saturday we went to Falls Ridge Nature Preserve in Ellett Valley.  You can find more information about the preserve here.  There's a trail map here.  Its a very easy hike and was deeded to the Nature Conservancy in the 70's.

Taken from the Nature Conservancy website:

A large Indian settlement was located upstream of Falls Ridge Preserve on the North Fork of the Roanoke River, but the only direct evidence of Indian activity has been the discovery of a few white flint arrowheads. In 1823, the Governor of Virginia granted to the Birchfield family 700 acres of land, encompassing part of the present day preserve. A local family, the Dudleys, later acquired the land and used it not only for farming but also to operate several enterprises: a wool carding mill, general store, post office, lumber milk gram mill and a livery. In 1939, a kiln to produce burnt lime was installed at the falls by Harry Dudley. Calcium carbonate cliffs (travertine) deposited by the stream were blasted loose, crushed and carted by mule to the top of the kiln. Traces of this operation can be seen near the falls.

In addition to trails, there's a large open field where I like to picnic and play fetch with my dogs.  It's a lesser known hike in the area, and I rarely see other hikers when I visit.  The Roanoke Times wrote an article about Falls Ridge recently.  You can read about it here.

I also made it out to Buffalo Mountain near Floyd, VA.  Buffalo Mountain offers a spectacular nearly 360 degree view of the surrounding area.  It's a very short hike that goes steadily up.  There was still much snow on the ground here.

Mercury loved it!

Off in the distance (in the center of this shot), you can see the lonely peak of Pilot Mountain near Mount Airy, NC.

Miss Venus and I

I will post more tomorrow..

Night everyone!