A Fresh Start

Last night was our first night sleeping indoors since we left. Our friend Andy (from WM)'s family in Glen Allen, VA, hosted us and gave us a place to rest and recoop before heading on our way.

After leaving Fredericksburg, we headed westward deep into the George Washington National Forest near New Market, VA. There we met up with some folks from William and Mary and spent the weekend rejoicing and recreating in the forest and nearby Shenandoah River. But on Sunday morning, when the campfire died down and the car was repacked, we had only a vague sense of what and where was next.

After getting back into civilization where we could access cell phone signal, we made a few phone calls. We coordinated with both of our sets of parents and decided to meet up in the Short Pump area for dinner. We felt quite like fish out of water while we walked around Short Pump Towne Center, a new, upscale, designer mall catering to the nouveau riche residents of the Northern Richmond area. While delicious and relaxing, our meal was a far cry from the home-shot venison steaks and fried homegrown okra (cooked over the campfire) from the night before.

After saying goodbye to parents all over again, we met up with Andy and Connor's roommate of four years, Nishant, for a few rounds of beer. We spent a comfortable night indoors at Andy's place, and awoke to an insistent, growing feeling of profound uncertainty, as we didn't know where our next move on the map was. One thing was for sure, we had to get out of Andy's parents' house, since Andy was departing today for his backpacking adventure in Europe. We spent the morning on the internet and on the phone, calling what seemed like every farm in Virginia. "How can no farmer need our help?!," we thought. Finally, we got a hold of someone at the Acorn Community, which is in Louisa County. Not too much progress geographically, but at least we found somewhere to volunteer for the next few weeks. One plus is that it's still close to Charlottesville area, which means we'll be able to visit with a few more friends before we leave Virginia. We're hitting the road again in a few minutes, bound for Louisa County. We'll update you with stories and pictures from the Acorn Community soon!