Back to Boydton!

Okay! I think I have left you hanging for long enough! Do you want to know what adventure I had?

Well, ever since I started at Randolph-Macon, I always knew I wanted to make it to Boydton, VA at some point. For those of you who don't know Boydton, VA is where R-MC was founded back in 1830. We didn't move our campus to Ashland until 1868 after the railroads were destroyed in Boydton by the Civil War. They have preserved what is left of the campus in Boydton, and I have always, always wanted to make a trip there to see the ruins!

So, that is what I did!  I went to Boydton, VA! Finally after all these years my dream came true! I thought travel season would be a perfect time to go and since I was in Lynchburg that weekend I figured it was probably the closest I would get to Boydton during my travels.

I can't explain to you in words how amazing it was to be there but I will certainly try. Kevin came along with me for this trip which was nice to have a fellow R-MC alum along for the ride. When we were going we didn't have any exact directions we just knew how to get to Boydton and figured once we got there we would have no problem finding it. Boydton may be the smallest town I have ever been too, hehe. Once we arrived in Boydton we enjoyed just driving around until we found it. All we knew to look for was a yellow sign that says, "Save the Original Campus of R-MC" so we knew once we found that sign we will have arrived!

We kept driving and Kevin and I were so excited we couldn't even speak, and if we did speak we would whisper! haha I couldn't tell you why but we kept spooking ourselves. Suddenly we came upon the sign! I screamed! We had found it! I could hardly contain myself at this point. Once we found the sign it all happened so quickly. We pulled into what seemed like a driveway where the sign was and right in front of us was a house which seemed like it could have been the president's house but we didn't see any other buildings surrounding it.

And then, in the corner of my eye, I glanced over and there it was! The main building! Literally I immediately had chills rush through my entire body and it took my breath away! The first thing we saw was this huge hole in the side of the building. It was such a creepy sight! I gasped when I saw it. Not only are we in this small town which seems like a ghost town but now we are standing in front of this extremely old run down building, it had creepy written all over it!

Kevin and I pulled the car up, I got the camera out, and we began to explore! It was an incredible site to see! I will admit we jumped the fence so we could get closer but it was totally worth the risk! We got to peer in all the windows and see what was left. It was actually pretty sad to see the building left in such bad condition. I wish they would have always taken care of the preservation of the buildings. I am assuming, though, that over the years nobody really thought the buildings would mean anything or were worth anything to preserve or save but I wish they would have been kept in better condition. Now, it would be way too late to do anything to salvage the building if you wanted anything to be left original. They would have to rebuild the building from the ground up. Never the less it was still so amazing to be able to walk around and see what was left and still standing. All these thoughts just came running through my mind of what it must have looked like or been like all the way back in the 1800s. We had such an incredible time, I really think I could have stayed there all day just looking at it!

Right before we were leaving I wanted to get a picture infront of the sign and on the sign they have a place where brouchures are supposed to go. I looked in and it was empty! So being the admissions counselor that I am I went to my car got out some admissions pamphlets and went back over and filled it up! It was pretty funny and I really wonder how many people pass by to take a look at it but hey, every little bit counts. Kevin and I were joking that they probably have somebody in charge of restocking it and they will probably come by the next week and get really spooked wondering where all the flyers came from!

I highly recommend for any current students or alumni of R-MC that haven't gone to Boydton to see the original campus to definitely check it out! Although, if you do plan to go I would try and get there as soon as you can since judging by the looks of it I don't know how much longer it will be recognizable as a building, I was so amazed and I really can't put into words how happy it made me!

Now for the fun part...the pictures!

This is what we saw when we first pulled up! Talk about creepy!

Here is a close up

This is when we jumped the fence and we could get a closer look! You can see where the stairs used to be.

This was a look into one of the windows! There is still stuff there!

In this picture you can see where the floors were!

This is a picture where you can actually see where three floors of stairs collapsed on top of each other!



Me in front of the building!





This is what we think may have been the president's house





Haha, me putting in some pamphlets!



This is a view from the driveway entrance

This is the Boydton Tavern which was built in 1790. Kevin and I were thinking this would have been the hotel that the parents of the R-MC boys would stay when they came to move in their sons! Kinda neat!

It's Raining, It's POURING!

Rain and High School Visits Do Not Mix!

That is an understatement! I got so washed out last week during my travels. I am sure if you were anywhere in the country you were either experiencing the same type of weather last week or you certainly heard about it! It was flood city! I was going to and from schools and I would be completely drenched by the time I got inside, no matter how big of an umbrella I had or how many layers of protective rain gear I had on, it did not help! Plus, it doesn't help that no school I visited thought to have any parking close to the school entrance so I had to walk what seemed like miles in puddles to get to the main entrance! There was one time I arrived at a school and once I got to my session I ended up pulling out soggy materials!!! Haha all I could do was laugh and say...when it rains, it pours!

It was a much needed rain though so I had to look past it and enjoy the week. Last week I was very excited about my travels because I started the week in Williamsburg!!! I had been looking forward to this week all travel season, of course because of the great schools I would visit... okay let's get real because of the shopping! I was going to meet up with my good friend Lauren (Lern) Soles! She lives close by in West Point so we had planned to meet up for dinner and shopping at the outlets.

Before I met up with Lauren I got to go to Colonial Williamsburg and walk around for a bit. I stopped by the best candy shop in all of Williamsburg (says a reliable source) Wythe Candy Shop! It had so many yummy treats! You can smell the sweetness seeping from the door frame before you even get inside! I had to get a variety of the delicious candies! Once I had a true sugar high I made my way down the streets of Colonial Williamsburg; such a charming place full of history. I hadn't been there since I was a kid so it was nice to revisit the fun. While I was there I got to see a performance/reenactment of the Fifers & Drummers along the streets! It was so neat and the drums were so old! They sounded really good and their marching was perfect!




The Horses I saw at Colonial Williamsburg



So sweet!



After the reenactment and the Fifers & Drummers were coming out



The Fifers & Drummers!





The Drummers!

After walking around Colonial Williamsburg for a while enjoying the scenery I met up with Lern at the Olive Garden. It seems like every time I have been to Williamsburg recently I have had dinner at the Olive Garden...it's becoming tradition apparently. We had a wonderful dinner catching up on everything and once our bellies were full we were so ready to do some serious shopping! First we went to the Yankee Candle Store! I am officially obsessed with this massive store! It not only houses everything Yankee Candle but it has all the Vera Bradley you could ever want, a Fudge Shop, which I thoroughly enjoyed (adding to my already massive sugar high), and a whole Christmas section! I don't care what time of year it is there is just something about Christmas music and decorations. I even signed my name on the "Nice List" in Santa's Workshop...I hope he gets it! From the Yankee Candle store I ended up getting some fudge, a new bag (that Lern helped to convince me that I just had to have), and some Halloween candles.

We then made our way to the man event...The Outlets! Yes, yes no trip to Williamsburg is complete without a trip to the outlets first. And let me just say, if you are going to go to the outlets with anyone you should try and go with Lern...she knows those outlets like the back of her hand! I learned that back in May when I went with her the first time. So I knew this would be no different! We only had about an hour and a half to shop at this point and we still got some incredible deals! I am becoming impressed with our made outlet skills! Haha!

Well after a wonderful few days in Williamsburg and a great time with Lern it was time for me to leave and head to Lynchburg. The rain followed me to Lynchburg for the rest of the week but it cleared up just in time to have a wonderful adventure over the weekend!!!! You'll never believe what I did.....