Hokie Reunion Weekend in Blacksburg

Last fall when a bunch of my friends were in Blacksburg for a football game, I had to pry myself away from social media to avoid crying.  Living 800 miles away is tough sometimes.  But this year, when talk of a reunion came up, I knew that I was not missing it!  Well worth a plane ride from Mississippi!



I flew out of Jackson on Thursday and into DC to spend the night with my parents.  Rob couldn't come since Blacksburg is out of bounds (and let's be honest, even if they would have approved his leave, he wasn't going to take it for a VT game!) so I was flying solo.  It was nice to be able to have dinner and catch up with my parents.  Friday morning, Molly and Shawn picked me up on their way to Blacksburg.  We got into town just in time to grab lunch at West End.  (For you non-Hokies, West End is one of the insanely amazing dining halls at VT.  Think fresh lobster and steak daily on your meal plan!)  I would be lying if I said I didn't get a little teary eyed walking on campus but let's just blame it on the wind.  To no one's surprise, I got the old standby: london broil, garlic mashed potatoes, and a roll.  Just as delicious as ever!



After lunch, we headed back to the house to wait for the others to arrive.  There were 17 of us in town for the weekend and we rented a big house about half a mile from the stadium.  It worked out great because instead of all being in separate hotel rooms, we were able to hang out all together in the huge common areas.  Most people got in around 5 and we headed straight downtown to Cabo for dinner.  (Soy ginger shrimp tacos and a workmans margarita -- again, no shock there!)  After dinner, we headed to TOTS for a rail and I have to say I was a little depressed to find that TOTS might not be the most popular bar anymore :/




The only downside of the weekend was the weather.  While Mississippi was sunny with temperatures in the 80s, Blacksburg was hit with pouring rains and temperatures in the high 40s!  Needless to say, none of us made it to the actual game!  We had a big tailgate breakfast at the house and then headed to Sharkey's to watch the game.  It honestly felt like we never left!  Just like a typical college Saturday, Sharkey's blended into Big Al's which blended into Benny's for late night pizza.  Unlike a typical college Saturday, I didn't bounce back quite as easily as I used to ;)





We woke up early Sunday morning to start the drive home.  I had dinner with my parents and lounged around all day.  I flew back home to Mississippi on Monday wondering how on earth we survived four years of college!  I am so grateful to be a Hokie, to have such amazing friends that pick up right where we left off, and to be able to see them for weekends like these even though we all have our own busy lives.