Tighten up: C'ville vacation edition

The missus and I spent four nights in a B&B outside Charlottesville (yes, I feel very old writing that), and while the old college town and surrounding environs overwhelmingly lived up to its reputation for tightness (pictures to follow), all signs pointed toward the near-universal law of the universe that tourists must tighten their shit up. In particular, I refer to the following sign, posted outside the hiking trail around Crabtree Falls (the tallest cascading waterfall East of the Mississippi!):

Did I mention this is a waterfall? What this sign means is that there are people in the world stupid enough to try to climb a waterfall. I can only imagine how many have been injured, in addition to those who died. Presumably, some have climbed partway up the falls unharmed as well.

My anger at people stupid enough to attempt climbing a cascading waterfall is compounded by my anger at the Virginia Park Service, for dissuading potential Darwin Award Nominees from meeting their destiny. While anyone who climbed the falls and perished deserves a forceful, if posthumous, tighten up, I will refrain issuing a similar declaration to VA, if only because the precision of the sign (why not just write "many" or "over twenty"?) caused me to smile. I wonder: if a 24th person is stupid enough to plummet to their death, will the notoriously cheapskate state of Virginia spring for a new sign?

(On an unrelated note, Virginia does need to tighten up for their insane new speeding law, whereby going 75 in a 55 could net you $3550 in taxes and fines, as well as up to a year in prison. The best part of the law? It only applies to Virginians! What an insane state. VA's 42nd district needs to tighten up and boot out Dave Albo, their child-rapist loving representative in the House of Delegates, who authored the bill).

As I said, Charlottesville - and specifically the Blue Ridge Mountains, where we spent the bulk of our trip - abounds with tightness. Three examples:


Sweeping vistas.


Rolling hills.


Bow-tie wearing vineyard guard dogs