Kirk and Ryan Depart + Charlottesville is Picturesque + D.C. Arrival + The Trip's Best Burger

So I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to drive Ryan and Kirk to the Newport News, Virginia airport, which was an hour away from the beachhouse. The silver lining to this story is the fact that Newport News is directly on the way to Charlottesville, Virginia, where the University of Virginia is located. 

(And I thought I had woken up early to drop Jeff off at the airport...Keep in mind this is when we got into the car, not when the alarm rang.)

(The end of an era.)

I was left with a two hour drive once I had dropped off the Southerners, which took me through Richmond, Williamsburg, and the rest of Eastern Virginia.

(I haven't been back to Colonial Williamsburg since my 3rd grade field trip.)

(Sunrise, not sunset.)

After getting some advice from a few of my friends who are UVa alums, I settled on breakfast (I arrived at 8:30 in the morning) at The White Spot, which is located directly adjacent to the prettiest part of campus, known as the lawn.

(The White Spot in Charlottesville, Virginia.)

(I guess not that many people eat lunch at 8:45 in the morning.)

(The Gusburger, a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg. Apparently some guy named Gus came in and ordered this every day for 10 years and then disappeared. Now they have a burger named in his memory.)

Once I had polished off the Gusburger, I went for a stroll around campus. 

(360 degrees of the University of Virginia Lawn.)

(A statue and a building, part one.)

(A statue and a building, part two.)

(The front of the rotunda.)

(The lawn at The University of Virginia.)

(Full view of the lawn with the Rotunda in the background.)

(The view of the Rotunda from the lawn.)

While standing in the middle of the lawn, I was pleasantly surprised by a call from Jeremy, my D.C. host, telling me that instead of working until 6pm, he was going to take a sick day and just hang out. So I got in the car and headed right down to D.C.

(The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.)

(The Washington Monument.)

(Jeremy takes a "sick day" to come hang out. I think he had a light cough or something.)

(Arlington, Virginia Skyline.)

Jeremy knows how much I appreciate food, and as soon as I arrived in Washington, he assured me that we were going to eat some delicious burgers for lunch. Lucky for me, this was a massive understatement.

(Ray's Hell Burger, packed to the gills.)

(My mouth was watering.)

(Modest appearance upfront, but Ray's Hell Burger is a serious sleeper.)

(Near: My New Jack Zing Burger. Far: Jeremy's B.I.G. Poppa Burger. Both Medium Rare.)

(I am ready to officially name Ray's burger the BEST of the roadtrip. That should not be taken lightly.)

(M Street, the main drag in Georgetown.)

(Since Jeremy took a sick day, he had to hide while we drove by his office. Isn't he cute, folks?)

Now we are going to do some food shopping for the dinner party tonight, which will be attended by Jeremy, his friend Steph, one of her friends, my good buddy Dan Milich, his girlfriend Tracey, and myself. The menu is still up in the air, but I'm thinking Salmon.

Go fish.