Eric's Graduation Weekend: Part 1

My goodness, y'all!  Sorry for the long break!  I really intended on blogging while up in Virginia, but as you can see, that didn't happen.  I took plenty of pictures, though, to document my weekend, and it's time to share those with you!

There was a lot that happened this weekend, so this is going to be a two-part post.  Let's start from Wednesday after school, when my weekend began:

I arrived home from school on Wednesday completely relieved.  I knew I had the next two days off, so I was ready to relax some and get ready for my trip to Virginia.  Just as I was settling in to the couch with my computer to catch up on blog reading, our friends Jacqui and Andrew knocked on our door!  They were driving down to Port Canaveral for a cruise and wanted to see us for a little bit.  What a pleasant surprise!

Joe and I decided to take them to Our Deck Down Under, a cute little restaurant right on the bay in Port Orange.  Joe had to do something for school, so we headed on over there to catch the sunset and order food.  As Andrew waited in line for food, Jacqui and I went to the dock to catch the sunset.

Much to our surprise, we also go to see some playful dolphins feeding on fish nearby!

See the two fins?

It was so awesome to get to see the dolphins, and they continued to feed as we ate our dinner on the deck.

Jacqui and me

Andrew and Jacqui

Joe met us there eventually, and after finishing our food, we went back to the house to do some catching up.  We hadn't seen them since September, so it was so nice to see them and the perfect way to start my long weekend.

Andrew, Joe, and Jacqui

Early Thursday morning, I took off to travel to my grandparents' house.  I was flying up to Richmond, and it was a long day of travel.  My layover was in the Atlanta airport, and I was tempted when I saw one of the local breweries at the terminal.

I went with some Starbucks instead--it seemed more more appropriate for the morning!  After smooth flights in to Richmond, my parents were there to pick me up for the second part of the journey: the car trip to rural Stuart, VA.  Before we got on the road, we stopped for some lunch at McAlister's.  I don't know if you have a McAlister's near you or not, but if you do, you need to eat there.  Great sandwiches, salads, and soups, as well as some of the best sweet tea you can find.

Best. Tea. Ever.

We left straight from the restaurant and drove the 3.5 hours to my grandparents' house.  Fun fact: both sides of my family live in the same small town.  It's really great because I get to see everyone for every holiday!

Once in Stuart, we ate dinner, caught up with family, and went to sleep.  Our alarm was set nice and early to travel up to Virginia Tech in the morning to see my brother, Eric, graduate!

Graduation stage

Friday morning was another early one, but we were all excited to celebrate Eric's graduation.  We made it on time, got great seats, and settled in for a long ceremony.  

Processing in

Eric was receiving his Masters in Accounting, which meant we also had to sit through the doctorate hooding ceremonies.  It took a while, but Eric finally got called up to receive his degree.

Receiving his diploma

We continued the celebration at one of my top ten favorite restaurants in Virginia: Bull and Bones.  It opened at VT my senior year, so I only got to enjoy it for part of that year and my graduate school year.  It's an awesome barbeque and steak place that also brews their own beer.  I ordered my favorite dish, the pulled pork platter with their delicious macaroni and cheese.

Their BBQ sauce is awesome!  They had a special root beer-based sauce that was insanely good.  We were completely full and satisfied as we walked out the door.  Next up was some graduation pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Eric in front of Burruss (main building on campus)

Eric and Me

Whole family (that came to graduation)

Eric posing in front of Torgersen Bridge

Eric is not a fan of long photo shoots, but he was a good sport and took all the pictures that we requested.  Afterward, we drove back down the mountain to my grandparents' house.  Eric and his girlfriend, Sara, met us there for even more celebrating.

Eric and Sara

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post in a little bit!