Genevieve
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	The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam...

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the journey is often the best part
2001-10-10 - 5:36 p.m.

yes, I know, I need to update.

Well, University was, um, University. The good parts were stopping at Witness Protection Pizza on the way down, and driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone to Roanoke on the way back.

Witness Protection Pizza, otherwise known as Mountain View Italian Kitchen, is seated in rustic rural Ironto VA. Basically, you take Exit 128 on I-81 South, and take a right at the top of the exit. You follow this little curvy mountain road for a while, who knows how many miles it is and after you think you are lost in the middle of the woods, you come across this old white converted garage on the edge of a hill looking out over a beautiful ridge of mountains. You park in the gravel lot, and walk in to no wait, and decor like that of a mom and pop diner. Then comes the food. The food is superb, you'd never imagine. The best italian food anywhere in southwest VA. And the owner is the middle aged Italian Guy from New York, straigh out of a Mafia scene in a movie. Hence the unofficial name of the place, Witness Protection... 'cause why else would he be in Ironto VA??

On the way back on Sunday morning, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone, NC thru a few detours up to Roanoke, VA. The trees were absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't get enough of them. The colors of true red, orange, peach, yellow and the few evergreens thrown in were breathtaking. Every scenic outlook we passed involved a deep sigh, and deep breath to attempt to take it all in. Even after several hours, it didn't get old. It was renewing, inspiring, refreshing. It is times like these you can understand why folks take trips to the mountains in the fall just to see the trees. Often I wished I had packed hiking supplies to stop at an overlook and take one of the trails, but I had clogs instead of hiking boots and a chocolate milkshake instead of a bottle of water. Oh well. I can't remember the last time we went hiking, unless it was the time we took and broke Cuan on some trail near B'burg. eh.

I took my graduation party to Witness Protection Pizza after my graduation from Virginia Tech. It was lovely, and I tried the Black Dog Chardonnay in the blue bottle that I still love best. Nice and sweet, just like me.. :) or not...

So, other highlights of UofA... Ysolt, Genevieve d'Evereux (your faithful clerk signet) and Katherine Luvel all got their Golden Dolphins. It was very cool. Azza got inducted into the Order of the Laurel, which was cool, but the logistics were a nightmare. Some people just should not be placed in charge, poor Zoe. Probably shouldn't have put that in there, but oh well. She was ver deserving and she got to go teach classes afterwards for the second half of UofA as Mistress Azza.

The rest of the time, I'll spend a lot of energy trying to forget. They say that the human mind has a short memory for pain which is why women can give birth to more than one child, but sometimes I disagree. The company was good, although lacking in a few folks I really had hoped to see, and overall I just wasn't in the right mindset I guess.

Laura did look stunning in her new outfit. Sometimes I really hate her... actually it's envy, not hate... eh, she's got lots of practice and natural artistic talent. :)

I gotta run, tons to do tonight and not enough time left before Crusades. I did get to see an example of the Queen's favors, and they are so cute, and yet regal at the same time.

Oh, and stop and say a little prayer for Tara and Tamma, poor twins lost someone close to them.

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