A sane person would never agree to a last minute road trip to the middle of nowhere right before said person was supposed to embark on an expensive trip to London. As you may have already determined, I am no sane person.
In an inebriated state of Halloween madness, my friend Christine asked me if I wanted to visit her brother with her in Blacksburg, Virginia the next week. I couldn’t think of a reason why not, so I said “Sure.” A sane person would also have researched the weather and found out it would be far below freezing, but that’s not me.
I had to switch around a few prior commitments, but by Wednesday afternoon, I had packed my limited amount of winter clothing (I’m still a Charleston girl at heart) and hit the road for a 7 hour journey to Hokie country.
The weather was rainy the entire drive up, so I didn’t get to see the maroon and orange leaves the Blacksburg area is known for. We met up with Calvin around 11:30 at a bar called Riverwell for a few beers before calling it a night. I’ve stayed at dirty college boys’ houses, but this one took the cake. Christine and I told ourselves it was just like being on Fear Factor. I did my best to sleep in preparation for the next day’s game against Georgia Tech.
We woke up late, just like I used to in college. Calvin took us to a classy lunch at the West End Dining Hall, which was surprisingly good. It made Craig Dining Hall (at College of Charleston) look like a soup kitchen, although it didn’t take much. Later in the day, we bundled up for an afternoon of tailgating before the 7 p.m. game. I was ready to hunker down in front of the tv at a warm bar, but Christine tracked us down some tickets so we could go to the game.
The stadium was completely packed with maroon-colored Hokie fans. It’s like all of Blacksburg showed up for the game. I only stayed through halftime (did I mention it was cold?) but the Hokies went on to defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, much to the dismay of Christine’s boyfriend, a GT alum.
What I loved about Virginia Tech was the sense of family. Blacksburg is isolated from pretty much everywhere, so you bond with those around you. I was a freshman in college when the VT shooting happened, but it still feels fresh in my memory. The Hokies have moved on, but will never forget.
Peach says
yay for spur of the moment road trips!!! spontaneity is an oft overlooked quality in a person…
Margo says
I'm so glad you went to Virginia Tech. I live close to B-burg and my best friend goes to school there (along with half my high school). VT has the best football games too, even if it is -10 degrees. Oh and funniest thing about the school is that people dress in VT clothes every day..like seriously, they even make fun of themselves for only wearing maroon and orange.