Anna Grows

VCU Visit  The college tours continue with a February 11 visit to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  Anna signed up for the open house and the family headed south to Richmond, Virginia bright and early on Saturday morning for the tour.  It turns out this was their largest open house since before the pandemic with large crowds of prospective students.  VCU is a state school located just outside downtown Richmond.  They are noted for the art and music programs as well as their healthcare program, so it really has everything Anna is interested in. It was a busy day with tours and information sessions.  Anna focused on the art program and talked with some faculty from nursing, radiology and laboratory sciences.  The most important visit was the dining hall (the open house included a free lunch).   In addition to the dining hall, another important factor in a school is whether they have a football team (no team = a higher rating on Anna's list).  There is no football team at VCU. 

Fairfax Chocolate Festival  In yet another sign that the pandemic is receding, the annual Fairfax City Chocolate Festival was back on after a 3-year hiatus!  Anna and Theresa stood in the freezing temperatures to get in for some chocolate sampling (it was worth it).  There were also events outside, including a cake walk and a chocolate fountain.  There was even a visit by the Presidents (that would be the Washington Nationals presidential mascots).  Anna and Theresa were a bit startled to have a giant George Washington behind them in line.  It was a fun afternoon out.  In other news of the past couple of weeks: George at the Festival Anna and Theresa also got to enjoy a cabaret performance at George Mason University along with some friends.  Anna did a campus tour of GMU a couple of weeks ago and it was fun to see the work of some of the theater students.  Girl Scout cookies arrived this week.  We have no pictures as the order is considerably smaller.  There were definitely some issues