I Finally Saw Virginia

So for months now I've been wondering and invisioning what all these places look like that Ryan has applied to medical school at. I haven't seen much of the U.S. only California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, and a little bit of Wyoming (and that was enough to last a lifetime)...until now. I finally got a glimpse of the east coast and it was great. Virginia is a beautiful place with so much to offer. It was exciting to be out of my Utah bubble and out to a new place with new people. When we arrived in Norfolk I was reminded of Northern Cali where I grew up. It had a similar feel, especially weather-wise. Virginia is quite different from Utah in many ways. These are some things I noticed about Virginia:

-There are tons of trees. This is a good thing because they are so pretty. The only bad thing about it is when driving along the freeway you really can't see around or see what's "out there" because the trees block your view. Virginia is also flat, at least where we were. I kept expecting to see mountains in the distance through the trees but there was nothing but blue sky. Pretty and different, as was the Chesapeake Bay too.

-There are a lot of personalized license plates, a ton actually. My personal favorite is this one which reads "BLKBAR-B":


-Yes, there are way more African-American people in Virginia than there are in Utah. Way more. I found the diversity refreshing and found the people of Virginia, any race, to be quite nice, friendly, and very professional. I thought a lot about slavery while there and felt a new compassion for African-Americans that I haven't felt before. The white/black ratio in Norfolk is 50/50. Not many Hispanics as there are here in Utah.

-The speed limit on the freeway is 55. People drive at a slower pace than we do here in Utah, for the most part. I found this refreshing as well. There was a little more relaxed, down to earth feel in Virginia and I loved that everyone wasn't in a total rush going 80. As we got back to Utah and drove home we were instantly reminded that Utah drivers can be so inconsiderate!

-There are a ton of Waffle Houses in Virginia. Waffles and fried chicken joints. Also lots of Cracker Barrels and IHOP's.

-This has nothing to do with Virginia, but if you want a car that gets excellent gas mileage, get a hybrid. We rented a Nissan Altima hybrid and were amazed at the excellent gas mileage. We drove around 500 miles while there on a full tank of gas (this made up for the $100 parking ticket we got in D.C--oops).

-I've never seen so many Beemers, Mercedes, Lexus, or Volvo's in any other place before, not even in Cali. Virginia is crawling with them.

-This isn't Virginia either, but Washington D.C. is a little over-rated in my opinion. The historical aspects of it are amazing and the old buildings are so cool, but I am not a city girl and felt myself annoyed with the crowds, the dirty crowded city, and the freezing cold weather there!

So all-in-all we had a great time in Virginia. The interview went well and we had fun touring the place. I hope to see more of the United States in the future.
(did you know Pocahontas was only 11-years-old when she saved John Smith's life? After that she never went back to Virginia and she died at age 22 of pneumonia. Sad. Why couldn't it end like Disney's? Although, I guess that one ended sadly too.)
This was a fabulous little famous restaurant in Lightfoot with a southern feel and hushpuppies and collards to boot. We knew we had to eat here and show Pierce. The national archives building was my favorite. It was so neat to actually be there. We couldn't resist buying a copy of the Declaration of Independence, just as on National Treasure.)
Eating my hot dog. It was good.