Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Charlottesville’ Category

Charlottesville must have angered the gods because yesterday we had one hell of a storm!

Yesterday, Charlottesville experienced what the meteorology world calls a microburst.  And it was the second microburst experienced by the Charlottesville area in less than three weeks!

I was driving from work to pick up Ben so that we could go to my Team in Training Batesville Store fundraiser.  Ben works in the heart of downtown Charlottesville which was the hardest hit area, so lucky me got caught in the middle of the maelstrom that came out of nowhere.

I was driving and chatting with my brother on the phone when I heard a message from the Emergency Broadcast System come on the radio.  I knew a storm was coming because I saw dark clouds and heard thunder, but I just expected it to be a quick passing summer storm so I didn’t pay too much attention.  Less than two minutes later, rain started pounding, large branches started beating my car, and huge tree limbs were blocking parts of the road.  I barely had time to turn on my windshield wipers when I heard a loud popping noise on my right.  There was a huge burst of flames from a power line in the field next to where I was driving.  I quickly put down the phone (the storm had already ended my call for me) and started to inch my way through torrential downpours, strong winds, and falling trees.

When I was almost to Ben’s office building, I heard another loud popping noise, this time on my left.  This one was even louder and came with a flash of blue light that scared the shit out of me!  I believe it was a transformer blowing.  When I got to Ben’s office parking lot, the storm was starting to die down, but the parking lot was covered in trees and a downed power line.

Ben and I spent the next two hours driving around Charlottesville trying to find a way to Batesville, and then giving up on the fundraiser and trying to get home.  Traffic was terrible because of power outages affecting traffic lights, trees blocking roads and intersections, and power lines down everywhere.  We saw one tree that had a root system at least 10 to 15 feet in diameter that had been uprooted and was leaning against a house.  We saw a light post that had been broken from its pole and was dangling near a power line.  We saw several trees and power line poles snapped in half.

I’ve never seen so much damage and I grew up were hurricanes and tornadoes are a common occurrence.

When we FINALLY got home, we were surprised to see the large poplar tree that is usually staring back at as through our fourth story windows on the ground.  We have worried about this tree falling and damaging our building many times in the past, but I am glad it is finally no longer a threat and did not hurt anything or anyone in its demise.

Here are some pictures of the tree’s final resting place:

I’m glad that everyone I know was not hurt and we all came out alive and safe, but I’m still wondering what is with all this crazy weather: 2 large snow storms in December and February each totaling more than 2 feet of snow, 2 microbursts in June that have caused tons of damage, and a June heatwave that I’ve never seen in Virginia!

If you’d like to check out more pictures from the storm, they can be found here.

Last night was a blast!

Cheryl, Jennifer, Kristen, and I headed out to the Charlottesville Pavillion to celebrate the first day of summer and see Colbie Caillat and Sheryl Crow play!

We started out the evening at my apartment with a quick glass of wine and then headed to the downtown mall.  You may remember me writing about Ventana a few months ago and their very unique margaritas.  Well Ventana was offering a discount to all Sheryl Crow ticket holders so we decided to stop in for a pre-concert cocktail.  I finally got to try the cucumber margarita.  It was delicious!  It wasn’t as good as the jalapeno margarita, but it was definitely the perfect refreshing beverage for a hot summer day.  Jennifer tried the strawberry margarita and Cheryl had the habanero margarita which I tried the last time I was at Ventana.

After drinks, we headed to the Pavillion for the music.  We enjoyed some awesome Star Hill Lucy as we chatted and listened to Colbie Caillat play.

When Sheryl Crow took the stage, we got to hear all of our old favorites and some new ones too!  We danced and sang and had a great time and even bumped into some more friends!

Overall, it was an awesome first day of summer.  We definitely started Summer 2010 off right!

If you live in the Charlottesville area and are free this Thursday, June 24th, you should come out to the Batesville Store in Batesville.  There will be food, face painting, and music by Eli Cook.

10% of all money made that night will be donated to my Team In Training team to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The event will take place from 6 to 9:30 PM.  The atmosphere will be family friendly so please come out, bring your friends and kids, and have a good time for a good cause!

You can check out our flyer for more info:  batesville store fundraiser.

Hope to see everyone there and don’t forget to donate toward my goal of $4000 @ http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf10/leslieelsaifi !

A while back, a good friend was poling her friends on facebook about their favorite roller rink songs from back in the day.  She asked me if I was old enough to have experienced the roller rink craze.  My answer:  OF COURSE!!!  And for those wondering, my most memorable roller rink song was Come and Get Your Love by Real McCoy.  I have great memories of skating in circles, trying desperately not to fall, and thinking I was soooo badass to the beat of this song!

The conversation between my friend and I lead me to wonder about those who had not had the opportunity to skate like no one was watching as a kid.  I quickly thought about the city that I currently live in.  Charlottesville doesn’t have a roller rink.  I wondered if they had one in the past.  I quickly dialed Ben’s number to ask him what seemed to me like the most important question (but probably seemed to him like a pointless one).

Ben’s answer was no, Charlottesville had not had a roller rink in his twenty-seven years as a resident.  This saddened me.  All of these Cvillians, and I’m sure countless others hailing from small town, Anywhere, had been deprived of the roller rink experience.  They had no roller rink songs, no memories of skating beneath flashing neon lights to the beat of some one hit wonder while trying to impress their friends.

But then I realized, what they lacked in roller rink experiences, they made up for in other ways.  For example, I never experienced a snow day living in south Texas, but Ben’s childhood was filled with them (especially from the blizzard of ’96 that I hear about so often).

I still hope my kids get to enjoy the roller rink experience someday, or the twenty-first century equivalent.  Hover boarding perhaps?

Today, February 22, 2010, is National Margarita Day and to celebrate, I want to tell everyone about one of the most unique margaritas I’ve ever had.

Now my mom’s homemade margaritas are definitely my favorite.  She usually makes them out of frozen limeade, Jose Cuervo tequila, Triple Sec, ice, and salt on the rim.  However, recently I discovered a new type of margarita.  It was a jalapeño margarita!

I know it sounds dangerous, but it was actually quite delicious.  For those who are not a fan of anything too spicy (definitely NOT me), the heat of this drink would definitely be tolerable.  It tasted like a regular margarita with a hint of jalapeño that was spicier to the lips than the tongue.

Where did I discover this new beverage you ask?  At a high-end Mexican restaurant in downtown Charlottesville called Ventana.  They don’t currently have a website, but I figure it’s only a matter of time.  I dined there a few weeks ago with a couple of friends before attending the Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater.  It was the perfect beginning to the evening!

We dined during Restaurant Week since Ventana was offering a 3-course  meal for only $26 (substantially cheaper than their usual prices).  The food was different and delicious and I can’t wait to check it out again for a taste of what is on their regular menu.  However, the drinks were what really wowed me!  In addition  to the jalapeño margarita that I ordered, the drink menu featured several other unique drinks that I’d love to try in the future, including a cucumber margarita, a habañero margarita, a $100 dollar margarita called “el dinero”, and according to a friend, the best long island iced tea they’ve ever tasted!

I definitely plan on making a trip to Ventana again soon for both dinner and drinks and will introduce it to any of my Texas friends and family who make the trip to Virginia for a visit!  For a more descriptive account of Ventana’s cuisine and atmosphere, you can check out the local Charlottesville blog, Cvillain.  You can also read more about Ventana’s unique margaritas on the local Charlottesville blog, Mas to Millers.

Happy National Margarita Day!  I hope everyone celebrates with something cold and delicious that hits the spot!