Last week, I had a good time helping my parents and sister as she moved into Virginia Tech. She had to bring many large appliances, including a mini fridge, a microwave, and a cello, so we took two cars. Yeah, on the ride back, when you have no one to talk to for five hours while driving down a single road, your mind goes to strange places and then flatlines on a level of numbness I had, up to then, not known was possible. It's the appropriate level of mind-numbness to unconsciously believe that dancing by oneself and singing along in different voices (again, with no one to encourage you but yourself) to a song with a name like "Promiscuous" is permissible, when we all know that is Wrong.

Anyway, despite the aforementioned large appliances, it seemed like Sarah brought much less stuff than I did my first year at school. So that was good. And the drive down to Blacksburg on 81 is really quite lovely, and a welcome change of scenery after living in a state that is hopelessly flat. This is a picture from a rest stop on the way back. (It looked nicer if you were actually standing there in the moment...btw, I was standing in the "pet area" when I took this, which means I was trying to avoid dog poo.)

I kind of like that Gothic architecture Tech has...it's nice. And the moving-in process is much more old-school college-y; like, they actually sell those hutch things that go on top of your desk, and parents are eagerly purchasing pieces of wood that will eventually create an elaborate loft. Frankly, I would be afraid to sleep on one of those lofts if I knew it was one my own hands had assembled.

After we moved Sarah in, my parents and I stayed overnight in Blacksburg. The place we stayed was right next to a Cracker Barrel, which my dad insists on calling "Chicken in a Basket," even though they don't sell that, to my knowledge - at least, I don't think they serve it in a basket. This insistence on an alternate name will never cease to be amusing to me. The Chicken in a Basket misnomer all started when our family drove through many southern states, and my dad earnestly, in all seriousness, suggested we eat at "Chicken in a Basket," which led to much confusion, since he insisted he'd seen them everywhere, when we were convinced no such place existed.

We ate lunch on campus the next day, and my mom drank a suspicious liquid labeled "Hokie Water."

Yeah, so actually the move-in was really easy, I think it was just leaving Sarah there that was the hardest part. It took us a good 24 hours or so to finally get it over with and say our goodbyes. Sarah's roommate is actually an upperclassman and didn't move in until the evening after we left, so I think my parents were also holding out to meet her and make sure she wasn't a psycho. By some strange coincidence, this roommate is actually someone who used to be one of my Mom's patrols when she was in charge of that, so at least we know she can keep people from crossing the street if she is called to do so.