Charlottesville Going Away Party.

      As much as I wanted to leave Charlottesville and move on to a new radio job in a larger city, I knew that leaving would certainly be bittersweet. During my almost 3.5 years in Charlottesville, I was so blessed beyond measure with incredible people in my life. Never in my life have I had such a close-knit group of friends.

     There was no way that I was saying goodbye to Charlottesville without a proper going away party. I'm excited to share a little recap and some photos with you today! I also wanted to share about the special bucket list for Virginia Beach that my Charlottesville friends helped me make.

      Since I was job hunting for quite awhile, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted a going away party to look like. It is no secret that I loved all of the local wineries in Charlottesville, and when I first started thinking about party locations, I debated between a few of my favorite wineries. But the more I thought about it, I started thinking that I'd actually rather do something in Charlottesville (the wineries are all a bit outside of town). 

     Once I decided the party would be in Cville itself, it was a no brainer for me to pick Kardinal Hall. Kardinal Hall is a popular restaurant and beer hall that's just about a mile or so from downtown. They have a generous amount of space for group gatherings both indoors and outdoors, and they had recently put up a nice shaded tent with some trees on their patio, so I thought that would be the perfect spot to reserve. Kardinal Hall is honestly a bit casual for my normal restaurant or going-out vibe, but it has something for everyone for both drinks and food (they have a huge beer selection and a variety of wines and other drinks as well) and I really liked the tented patio. Kardinal Hall is also special as I've been to a few others friends' going away parties there over the past three years! So it just seemed right.

     I cannot stress enough how I truly had the most wonderful friends in Charlottesville. First and foremost, I had my core group of girlfriends, my "Family Dinner" girls. My roommate Abigail is included with them! I met most of those ladies through the first church that I attended my first year in Charlottesville, although Abigail and a few of the others attended different churches. They are just the most encouraging, fun, loving and all around amazing group of Christian ladies, and it was the highlight of my time in Cville to be part of the friend group.

    I also had many other friends in Charlottesville that I also met through church or faith based things, and also some friends from working out / fitness, former neighbors, and a few blogging / Instagram friends! I also invited Marc and his family and a few coworkers to my going away party as well. It was such a beautiful moment seeing so many people there at the party from different parts of my Charlottesville life. 

     Below are some pictures! The vertical ones are from my iPhone, and the horizontal ones are all taken by Viranga from Chuti Raamu Photography. Viranga is one of Abigail's friends in her PhD program at UVA, and I've gotten to know him and some of their other colleagues over the past few years. He kindly offered to bring his camera and grab some candid photos at my party!! His photos are the horizontal ones. 

     The above picture was a special moment... after we took the group photo with everyone assembled in one place, I took a few moments to share a few words impromptu about how much everyone meant to me and my time in Charlottesville!

     I ended up being really glad we were under the patio tent.... it started to DOWNPOUR about halfway through the party! Fortunately no one got wet because of the tent, but the insane humidity did make my hair look significantly less cute for the second half of the party- ha! 😉

    I also did something unique to celebrate the move. I stole this idea from a former Charlottesville friend who moved to the West Coast a few years ago. Before her move, she asked everyone to share a bucket list item for her to do during her first year in her new city. It could be an item specific to her new location (like try a specific restaurant, visit a certain attraction), or something general that would help her make new friends (like try a dating app, visit a new church). I loved this idea and stored it in the back of my head for whenever the time came for me to leave Cville. 

     Here's the ginormous bucket list that my Charlottesville friends helped me make!! It includes entries from my party guests, as well as some Charlottesville friends who weren't able to make the party or who have already moved away from the area.

Virginia Beach Year 1 Bucket List:

• Abigail - Sit for 30 minutes uninterrupted by other people or cell phones at the beach
• Alicia - Eat brunch at Citrus
• Amy - Do a wine and kayak day trip tour in Virginia's Eastern Shore
• Annika - Watch a sunrise or sunset on the beach
• Bari - Have a drink at every prominent bar at the Oceanfront
• Cara - Eat at Chick's Oyster Bar
• Caroline & Shawn - Eat at Bay Local Eatery and drink at Bay Bay Brewing Company
• Courtney - Rent a bicycle on the Boardwalk
• Emily - Be open to dating guys that aren't my usual "type" in Virginia Beach
• Garrett - Get a boogie board, and hopefully do a sponsored blog or Instagram post about it
• Grayson - Go to the movies with a boyfriend (Grayson is my former co-host Marc's six year old son 😂)
• Hannah & Casey - Drink an Orange Crush at Chick's Oyster Bar
• Jonathan - Learn to surf
• Kendall - Go to a concert at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
• Krista - Take a Jazzercise class at the Virginia Beach studio
• Laura - Skinny dip in the ocean (Hahaha! This made me laugh but I don't think this will happen lol.)
• Leslie - Visit the Virginia Beach Aquarium
• Marc - Take a martial arts class
• Marilee - Go on a kayaking tour
• Megan - Eat ice cream at Lolly's
• Meredith - Swim in the ocean at midnight
• Mike - Enjoy a flower garden
• Sherry - Visit Cape Henry Lighthouse
• Sierra & Ryan - Go on a date with someone that isn't my usual "type" in Virginia Beach
• Spencer - Paint a mermaid at the Mermaid Factory
• Taylor - Go to Chick's Beach
• Tyler Rae & Corey - Eat breakfast at the Thirsty Camel

     With a list like this- looks like I have lots to keep me busy for my whole first year here! So grateful for all of these Charlottesville friends for helping me make this. Cheers a perfect first two years in Charlottesville, a decent last year and a half (in a pandemic).... and an even bigger cheers to what's to come! 

    Last but not least- something interesting was that we had to switch tables at Kardinal Hall a couple hours into the party. That was because the reality show 90 Day Fiance was filming a Charlottesville episode, and the management at Kardinal Hall wanted to use the back tables in the patio tent (that my group was at) for the show crew!! I don't watch 90 Day Fiance so I don't know anything about the show, but it was kinda weird and cool to have a legitimate TV show start filming right next to my party- ha! 

     For a fun blast from the past- here's my Charlotte NC Going Away Party from 2017!

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese