Blue Ridge Mountains

The drive from Boston to Charlottesville takes me 11 hours almost to the minute!  With the rain and storms this week, I was expecting a long drive, but when I got into PA, things cleared up.  Everytime I enter Virginia, I feel like the mountains and clouds welcome me home in all their glory.  It could be a perfectly clear, blue bird day or, as it was this trip... there could be storm clouds to my left in Shenandoah with half rainbows appearing over the mountains and then beautiful blue skies, marshmallow clouds, and sunshine to my right.  Virginia is the most beautiful hometown state there could be.

view of crazy clouds from I-81 South

I love driving through Virginia, and especially as you cut over into Charlottesville and get to cross over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I had to stop at one scenic view to take pictures... 

It smelled of fresh rain and though you can't see it well in this picture, everything down here is vibrant green.  It's almost like a highlighter green, it's so bright!  Maybe it's also seeing spring growth after being in Boston where the snow has finally melted and we can finally see the brown, soggy grass.  Spring is in full bloom here, leaves on the trees, grass, bloomed and flowering trees.  Ok, well here's a quick view from the front yard!

on the left you will note a rubber snake hanging from the tree branch, c/o Mr. Johnny Mayo

I'm right back to work with RCS, which is fun.  This is an exciting week for the staff, as 2 of the part timers are in finals week, and RCS is hosting it's Rivanna Sojourn on Saturday morning.  This is a paddle on the river, led by RCS staff with kayaks, paddles, and lunch provided.  I missed the Fall Sojourn, so I'm excited to see what the turn out is like.  

On Tuesday, I got the chance to table for RCS at an event at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports (BRMS).

I think my time as Merch point person really paid off here

This corner of the store usually holds Kayaks, but doubles as an event space!

The event was a "Lunch and Learn" hosted by the Rivanna River Basin Commission.  The RRBC invited two speakers for the talk, one from Scenic Virginia and a representative from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).  There were a lot of representatives from local organizations focused on preserving natural resources, as well as some folks from Senator Warner's office and other local branches of government.  It was an interesting turn out and there was a lot of mingling and networking that happened...

folks start trickling in

I got a whole page of additions to the RCS email list!  *Patagonians may recognize a fjord flannel behind me

Though the speakers acknowledged that they were "preaching to the choir" at this presentation, it seemed like everyone got energized by the event.  For my first tabling ever, I thought it went well, and I learned that I can use my customer service skills in many different settings!  I may not know the answer to everyone's questions about RCS and the Rivanna, but I know how to redirect and satisfy them enough to be interested in what the group is doing, and maybe even get them on the email list!  It was a lot of fun!
Now it's back to the office for me today.  We're expecting another storm this afternoon, which will likely cancel my plans to paddle down the river with one of the RCS River Guardians today.  We were planning to kayak through town a little, but the water levels are pretty high from the rain over the past few days already.  So, I may have to delay my first paddle experience on a river until Saturday's event.  That's all for now!