Psst...it's snowing

Charlottesville hit a high of about 62 degrees this afternoon and now it's snowing. I added a few pictures to the slide show.

Weather was supposed to be a weekend topic...we'll get back to the admission talk tomorrow.

This is what winter looks like at UVa

It snowed on Tuesday for the first time this academic year. I stepped outside to take a few pictures so you'd see what can close down local grade schools. Classes are rarely canceled at UVa (it has only happened twice in recent years), which is understandable when this is what is on the ground.

The snow usually melts by the end of the day, then freezes overnight and that's when getting around becomes a little more difficult.

Those of you from warmer climates should think about getting some boots and winter gear this year in preparation for college.

Weekend Topics: Time to brainstorm

"Weekend Topics" has become a bit of a tradition on this blog. I'm confident using the term "tradition" because someone told me just the other day that doing something two years in a row constitutes a tradition at UVa. Because this is the third year of Weekend Topics, it's a traditional along the same lines as Secret Societies and Girls in Pearls.

Weekend Topics are posts that I make on Friday night or Saturday morning and the subject of the posts can be anything except college applications and the admission process.

You can use the tag at the bottom of the post to find old Weekend Topics (sports, music, food, shopping, transportation...the list goes on). After looking at those old posts, I'd like you to post some ideas for this year's topics. A current UVa student also made some suggestions and I'll add yours to the list to fill the weekends between now and the big day (notification day).

Let's here it...what are you ideas for Weekend Topics?

Weekend Topic: Shopping

In the weekend topics "series", I've already covered outdoor activities, music, weather, food, transportation, cheap entertainment options, and sports. As some of you are heading out to the stores to find that perfect present for mom (you do know what day it is tomorrow, yes?), I thought I'd cover the suggested topic of shopping.

First, some background: I'm a "city kid". Prior to arriving in Charlottesville, I only lived in major metropolitan areas. Coming to Charlottesville, I imagined the shopping options of a small city being limited and thought I'd be driving to Richmond and Northern Virginia fairly often on the weekends. What I learned is that Charlottesville has everything I need, but might not have a range of options, which turns out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. Before, I'd race all over my city, investigating all the options available before settling on a purchase. Buying even simple things could take weeks. Here, there are still multiple options for things, but still not as many as in a large city, which saves a lot of time and energy when shopping.

So, let's start with an overview of Charlottesville's shopping districts: The Corner (by UVa), the Downtown Mall (covered in a previous weekend topic), and Emmet Street/Route 29.

The Corner
The Corner covers about six blocks along University Avenue, which runs alongside Grounds, and a few side streets. Among the cafes and restaurants are bookstores and boutiques. A few of the cafes, a deli and a pizza place come to mind, stay open late at night, so there's activity on The Corner at all hours.

Emmet Street/Route 29
Emmet Street is a major road that has some University buildings on it (John Paul Jones Arena, Lambeth Field Apartments), but it's mostly known for being the road that has all the big, chain stores that each city seems to have. Students seem to do a lot of shopping at Barracks Road Shopping Center, which is on the UVa bus route and a pretty short walk from Lambeth. Around Barracks Road, Emmet turns into more of a highway than a road. Further up, you'll find lots of "big box" type stores (Best Buy, discount stores like TJ Max, Lowes, Target, etc). The #7 Charlottesville goes up and down Route 29 (the UVa bus doesn't go higher than Barracks Road).

Outlets
The two closest outlet centers currently are in Northern Virginia (Leesburg) and Williamsburg. I heard recently that a new outlet center along the same lines as those two is being planned for Zions Crossroads, which is about 20-25 minutes east on Route 64.

What have a missed? What questions do you have about shopping?

Weekend Topic: Heading home

When you start thinking of the logistics of your move to college, you'll probably wonder how you'll get to and from Charlottesville in the future.

First of all, rest assured that Charlottesville, though a small city, is a city nonetheless. There are plenty of transportation options here.

1. Planes
The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (CHO) is a relatively small airport that is served by Delta, Northwest, US Air, and United. Non-stop flights generally go to Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Cincinnati, JFK, and Dulles (the Dulles flight is only 30 minutes long). The airport is 10-15 minutes north of town and most students get there by sharing a cab/shuttle with other students.

The Richmond Airport is just over an hour away. I don't know of any public transit that goes there. Dulles International Airport is about two hours away. Though there isn't direct public transportation to Dulles, some alumni have organized bus that meets international students who come to the last orientation session ("Session L", the one that is held just before the official move in). Washington, DC's Reagan Airport is accessible by public transit, though I'm not sure this is a popular option with students. To get there, you'd take Amtrak from Charlottesville to Union Station, then take the DC Metro to the airport.

2. Trains
There's an Amtrak station about a 1/2 mile down Main Street from The Corner (the student shopping district). The free trolley stops right at the station. Trains run a few times a day and go up to DC and down south.

3. Automobiles
Charlottesville is on I-64, about 45 minutes from I-95 and I-81 and two hours south of Route 66. First year students can't have cars, but there's a "ride board" online that you can use to find an older student who might be driving home to your area.

4. Buses
Obviously, we have bus companies like Greyhound here, but even more convenient are the buses that make trips just for students around the holidays. There's a bus service about which I've heard (forgive me for not knowing the name at the moment) that has two general "trips". One drops students off at a mall in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area and another drops students off at one of the Tysons Corner malls in northern Virginia. I'm sure that you'll hear about this from older students if you wind up here.

Any questions?

Weekend Topic: Free and cheap entertainment options

Someone suggested that I attempt to let you know about some of the low cost options for entertainment around Charlottesville as a weekend topic. UVa events are either free or cheap because the audience is the students. Sporting events are free (you'll have to swipe your ID card for major events like football games, but you won't be charged anything), movies are a few dollars (many that have just left the big theaters...No Country for Old Men is showing tonight), lectures are free, and outdoor events put on by different student organizations are almost always free or charge a small fee that is used for future club events or donated to charity.

On the official student events calendar, there are 15 events scheduled for today, ranging from a 5K to benefit a summer camp for children with serious illnesses to a festival sponsored by the Thai Student Organization. There are undoubtedly events going on that weren't submitted in time to be listed on the official calendar. Most students hear about them by checking out the bulletin boards around campus or by simply looking down at the chalk ads that can be found all over Grounds.

Charlottesville being a college town, you'll find that there's plenty of free and nearly free entertainment if the many options on Grounds don't pique your interest. The Corner area is full of little shops and cafes that are geared towards the students. Down the same street about a mile is the Downtown Mall, which is a pedestrian only shopping district. Now, I normally caution visitors that this is generally where students go when their parents are in town, as there are some pricey restaurants and boutiques there. However, there are some great, cheap options as well. The entire mall is littered with street vendors and performers.

Thanks to asphaltbuffet on Flickr for the photo

At the "top" (really the west) of The Mall, there's an indoor rink where you can ice skate free on your birthday (and a little more on other days). On the other end, there's a concert pavilion. Friday shows at the Pavilion are completely free. Tickets for other shows at the Pavilion are going to cost what normal concert tickets do, however the best part about this venue is that it's completely open. Plenty of people go to the show, but never walk in the gate.

Thanks to Chris Makarsky from Flickr for the photo

For the artists out there, all the galleries in Charlottesville open their doors on the first Friday of the month. People wander from place to place, checking out what's on display and many of the galleries have food and music to add to the atmosphere. If you want to make some art, grab some chalk and hit the free speech wall outside the pavilion. You'll find all sorts of messages there.

Photo courtesy of mitznc, phedlund33, and Gary Glass on Flickr

From April through October, early risers can check out the Charlottesville City Market, an outdoor market in a parking lot just off The Mall. I rarely see students at The Market, which is a shame...it's a great place to get produce, flowers, jewelry, plants, and handmade gifts. The fresh donuts, coffee, and cider are addictive!

I could go on for pages and pages about all there is to do here. Let me suggest that you do what I did for inspiration and go to Flickr.com to search for Charlottesville photos. It's a great way to get a feel for town.

One last thing. I will get complaints if I don't tell you about the best, cheap meal in all of Charlottesville: dumplings. For $2.50, you can get these amazing dumplings at a little shop on the Downtown Mall. They used to operate out of a window on a side street and people would line up down the block for these things. The business has moved to a storefront, but the lines are just as long. I had my doubts when I was told about this place, but I have to admit that they're quite good!

Photo courtesy of Janet Moore-Coll on Flickr

One really, really last thing. In my Flickr browsing, I came across this set titled "Renegade Poets" that contained a series of pictures of the construction barricades that surrounded Ross Hall here on Grounds back about a year or two ago. I wish I had seen the barricades in person. The photos are great!

Weekend Topic: Sports

CavDog's a big fan of the fantastic UVa tennis team

March is a great time in the Office of Admission. The end of the review process is in sight. Bookmarks in books that have been neglected start to advance for the first time since December, very understanding friends and family welcome us back from our little caves in Peabody where we read applications, and and we're able to fully enjoy something that grips many college campuses: March Madness. Our dear Cavs have had a rough seasons, so maybe it's best not to focus too heavily on basketball...

What would you like to know about UVa sports? Last year's sports entry might be a good place to start.

Weekend Topic: Music

I started weekend topics just about a year ago with this topic and a lot has changed about the Charlottesville music scene since them.

Our most well-known local band came back to town to work on a new album and word is it's being mixed and mastered in Seattle. No word on another homecoming gig.

Our most popular indoor concert venue closed and the second most popular venue became the "it" spot for shows. Our resident mogul is renovating a historic theater on the Downtown Mall to fill the gap.

UVa's new basketball arena continues to bring in major touring acts, though I think most students go there for games than for concerts.

I could go on and on about our music scene, but would rather answer your questions. What would you like to know? Reading the entry and comments from last year might be a good jumping off point.

Please keep comments to music. If you have admission questions, they can wait until Monday.

Weekend topic: weather?!?

I wanted to continue the sports talk in light of what's happening at the NCAA tournament, but I thought weather might be something interesting to address. Weather's usually a lame topic of conversation, but it's actually a fairly common question posed by our visitors. They want to know how much snow we get, how hot or cold it gets, if we close school, and so on.

Being a northerner, I find winter here pretty uneventful. Charlottesville gets some snow each year, but getting more than a dusting seems rare. A few inches is a major event here. People still talk about the blizzard that dumped a few feet of snow about 15 years ago. As for temperatures, we have four defined seasons in Cville. Winter can be cold, but I don't remember single digit temperatures in the last few years. In fact, we had quite a few spring-like days in the middle of winter.

If you're coming from the deep south or southwest, you'll want to get a good winter jacket, hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and some boots before you come to school. Every year there are a few students who think a North Face fleece will get them through the winter. You need something a little more substantial than that. You don't need monster boots, as the snow doesn't get too high here, but you'll need something to come between your foot and the cold ground for those walks to class.

In case you were wondering, UVa doesn't have snow days. Sorry, kids.

This weekend's topic: Sports!

It was a bittersweet night for sports last night...our dear Hoos went down to NC State. I watched the game on The Corner (a few places show games on big, projection screens) and the mood was pretty somber by the end of the game. On the flip side, one of my Alma Maters won their game and it looks like both teams will make it to the tournament.

Anyway, I thought it might be appropriate to make sports this weekend's blog topic. UVA is usually named by Princeton Review as a school where "fitness is hot" and Charlottesville has an equally active community. If you have questions about UVA sports, opportunities to play traditional sports, outdoor recreation options (hiking, riding, running, etc.), feel free to post them in the comments.

By the way, outdoor rec is a big deal here. I have to admit that I showed up here after living exclusively in major cities my entire life. Within a few months, I found myself climbing rocks in Shenandoah National Park and hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway. UVA has groups to take everyone from the completely inexperienced to the most expert camper on little adventures in our area.

The Blue Ridge Mountains really are blue!

This weekend's topic: FOOD!

The non-admission topic of the weekend is food. What are your favorites? What are you wondering about food in the dining hall? What do you want to know about food in Charlottesville?

Background: I was born and raised just outside of New York City, so I'm pretty particular about food. I was also raised by a woman obsessed with a cooking show on PBS that was hosted by the most unusual woman (it was Julia Child, before she was famous).

I love food. I couldn't care less about the decor if the food is "authentic". That being said, here are some of my picks.

Breakfast (my favorite meal of the day)
That students seem to love The Tavern, the place with "Where students, locals, and tourists meet" painted in huge letters on their slanted roof. Personally, I find it a tad too greasy (greasy is good, but too greasy isn't always good) and chaotic.

Bodo's Bagels is a local chain (three locations, one on The Corner) that makes the closest thing to a real bagel in town. It's not an authentic bagel shop, but they have white fish and lox, which earns them major points. The Corner location seems to be staffed primarily by students, which probably makes it a fun place to work (for those of you who'll be looking for a job in the area). The Corner location was a running joke because there was a sign in the window that said "Coming Soon" for six years.

I have three favorites for breakfast: Blue Moon Diner, Cafe Cubano, and Tip Top Restaurant.

Blue Moon Diner (that link is for their MySpace page) has been a Charlottesville institution since 1979 and it just reopened in January after a few years of only offering catering. The staff is known to be hip and spunky. I wouldn't be surprised to walk into a local music venue to see one of the waitresses on stage. They're open all day and into the night, but I think breakfast is the best meal they serve.

Cafe Cubano serves great breakfast with a southwestern twist. It's located on the Downtown Mall, so the crowd ranges from students to professionals. Cubano used to be called Higher Grounds and the coffee there is still Higher Grounds coffee (some of the best around).

Tip Top Restaurant is the closest thing to a Jersey diner that you'll find in Cville. The waitresses call you "honey" and don't ask before they refill your coffee. They also don't blink when you order breakfast and add on a big Belgian waffle. Tip Top is on Pantops Mountain on the east side of town.

Another good "diner" option is Espresso Italian Villa, right between the Cavalier Inn (Best Western) and the basketball arena. They offer breakfast all day (and into the night) and I doubt the prices have changed on their menu in years (it's unusually cheap).

Of course, we have IHOP and Waffle House, for those of you who are looking for the chain breakfast places.

Pizza, sandwiches Thai, dessert, and others will be posted in the comments section!

It's "Let's not talk about college admission" day (or weekend)!

I've decided that we all need a break. The constant worrying about a process that isn't going to be complete for another month is unhealthy. I looked to my blogging colleagues at other schools to see if I could lift an off-topic of discussion for today's post. Dan at Hopkins wrote about The Oscars, but to be frank, I'm not a big fan of award shows. Libby at Chicago wrote about their last blanket of snow, but unfortunately for this northerner, the snow we got on Valentine's Day is long gone and it's around 60 degrees today. I thought about asking "What's your passion?", but while that question was fresh five years ago, it's a little predictable these days.

When I want to relax and think about something other than the task at hand, I turn to music. I imagine there are many of you out there who do the same. So, tell me what's on your playlist. What concerts are you looking forward to seeing this summer? What band's videos do you find yourself watching on Youtube? Is there a genre you don't "get"? Don't just stick to my questions. Let's see where this conversation goes.

I'm going to answer my own questions, but I'll let a few of you start.