If you don't like Charlottesville...

then it's your fault. After two consecutive great weekends in town, I remain firm in my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville, it's your fault.

A brief recap:
Friday August 31- Sparky's Flaw at Friday's after Five. What a great time we had, seeing tons of friends and watching the boys perform a great set. The great weather and venue only added to the fun. Even the two attempts by the sound guys to ruin the show by stopping the sound didn't diminish the performance. If you haven't heard of Sparky's Flaw, check them out here; they're a great band that keeps getting better. Capped off the evening with a quick dinner at Guadalajara [variously pronounced] off the mall with some great friends.

Saturday- Took the dogs swimming and walking on the Rivanna Trail over at Riverview Park. Great times were had by all, especially the pup, Hazel, who is still learning that she's a labrador and is supposed to love the water. Finished off the evening with a nice quiet dinner with the Cletuses, our neighbors to the north.

Friday September 7- Another Friday saw us heading to the Mall for the last Friday's after Five. The weather cooperated again and helped round out a great evening watching SGGL return to Cville. This week featured sound problems again. The UVA marching band showed up -early, by the way- to kick off the UVA home opener pep rally, which was supposed to follow the concert. Following a concert is different from interrupting a concert, which is what they did. SGGL was still playing it's 2nd to last song ["Rocking in the USA", and old Cougar song from the 80's] and was gearing up for its finale and quick encore when the marching band appeared and literally marched down to the stage. It was kinda surreal to watch SGGL on stage, still playing and trying to have fun with what was happening, as the marching band marched and drummed its way to the foreground; by the way, it's a big band of ~300 people. That they were loudly drumming and playing as they marched down to the stage was somewhat comical, but mostly it was rude and annoying. They took over the area where people were dancing and drowned out the band on stage, who waved good night and left the stage. It was a shame that the band came early and had such poor PR skills.

Saturday September 8 Saw us getting up and heading to the Cville Farmer's Market to wonder around and to buy some produce. We had a great time browsing, though it was a bit hot in the sun. We skipped the UVA game b/c of school work concerns, though it was fun to see everyone gearing up for it. An afternoon working led into a stint at the pool, which unbelievably remains open. After making some home-made salsa with the new produce, it was off to our second installment of Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard. The weather was fantastic [there's a theme here] and we enjoyed being with good friends as we picnicked listening to the band.

All in all these two weekends have provided a lot of fun in activities unique to Cville, and solidified my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville...