design, build, learn. repeat.

AT Hike, Pearisburg to Blacksburg

This week I spent four days hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail near Blacksburg, VA. Here’s a short breakdown of the trip and some photography from along the way. Day 1 – Pearisburg to Rice Field: Start near New River/Pearisburg, VA. Approximately 2.3 miles moderate climb to crest of Peters Mountain, then follow the ridge line 2.1 miles to Rice Field, with great views over West Virginia. Cold night, but the most beautiful place for a shelter. Day total: 4.4 miles, around 2’15” hiking time. Day 2 – Peters Mountain to Baileys Gap: Excellent conditions in the morning, cool …

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8.22.11 – Looking for a more substantial look for Southern Live Oak after the minimalism of the past year, I’ve switched to The Morning After for the blog’s new theme. Let me know what you think!

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CHP / CDS

It turns out that Virginia’s New River Valley has its very own design studio. It’s part of a non-profit community development corporation called Community Housing Partners (CHP) that works throughout Virginia and the surrounding region. The Community Design Studio (CDS) is located in Christiansburg, VA, about 8 miles from my house in Blacksburg. And I went and moved 800 miles to work at a design studio in Biloxi, Mississippi! I must be crazy. I found out about the CDS through its connection to the Rose Fellowship Program. The Rose Fellowship is a three-year architectural fellowship supported by Enterprise Community Partners …

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Happy Birthday, Chris

My friend Malcolm Christopher Eckel turns 24 today. In honor of your birthday, Chris, I thought I’d pull out a couple pictures from back in the day. Those were good times.

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Christmas in Virginia

Christmas came with plenty of good food: Crepes, orange rolls, beef wellington, cranberry sauce, salad, gingersnaps, almond butter cookies, peanut brittle, ice cream, and more. Adding to the list of healthy foods are Dutch treats, like Chocoladeletters — big chocolates that come in all letters of the alphabet: From the back of one (this is a Dutch rhyme about Black Pete): “Zwarte Piet ging uit fietsen, toen klapte zijn band. Hij moest toen gaan lopen, met de fiets aan zijn hand, Hij kwam in een dorpje en zei tegen de smid. Ik geloof dat er in mijn achterband een pepernootje …

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Category Archives

Virginia

My experiences in Virginia, especially Blacksburg, my hometown, and Charlottesville, where I went to college.