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Scenic Virginia
We decided to spend a few days exploring the area if Virginia between Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge before heading north toward Baltimore. We rented an Airbnb in a small town called Afton for our home base, and visited a few of the nearby wineries, breweries and distilleries. We would normally have spent most of our time hiking, working out, and being healthy, but Lorri's leg was hurting, so.... we made the most of our situation.
On the way to Afton
Our first stop however, was James Madison's Montpelier, the home where President Madison lived with Dolley, his mom, assorted other family members in numerous slaves.
Here we are with Jim and Dolley
We learned that he was probably only around 5'-2" tall! We thought these were mini-statues but I guess they were life-size!
View from the house of former tobacco fields in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background
The desk upon which the US Constitution was written
So much for historical stuff except maybe the above referenced "Historic Ruins". On to wine tasting!
Barboursville Winery, like all the wineries we visited in this area, was an impressive facility!
They were big on Italian varietals, as you may have guessed
The tasting room
The "Historic Ruins"
The view
Our Afton Airbnb
It doesn't look like much from the outside, but...
The interior was very nicely done!
The living room
The kitchen was fully equipped
Plenty of pillows and blankets
The second bedroom
Thursday happy hour again! The Padres were still alive!
Hazy Mountain Vineyard
Highly recommended and did not disappoint
The entry
Huge building, plenty of space for large parties
The back patio
Surrounded by vineyards
Lorri and the, um, not sure what this was.
Looking back at the winery
Vines and mountains
And more! We were continually impressed by the beauty of the countryside, the vineyards, and the wineries.
King Family Winery
Another highly recommended stop...
...and another great facility
Plenty of opportunities to spread out and soak up the ambiance
Rolling hills and vines
And wines!
More vines and hills
And polo! Every Sunday! And the 2025 Arena World Polo Championship! We have to come back!
On down the road we found Chiles!
Peach season was gone but apple season was in! Pumpkin season too!
How could we resist???
We went in and ordered pizza!
We also bought some apples.
Here is the pizza and it was pretty good. We opted for root beer instead of wine but still reached a good level of happiness!
View from just off the Blue Ridge toward the valley where Afton and many of the wineries are located
Selfie from the overlook
Veritas Winery
This was the closest winery to our rental, about a mile away
The entry
The tasting room building
The wine menu. These prices were fairly typical of the area
Food too!
Another beautiful weather day!
Vines and mountains again!
We had a nice view from our table
In wine, there is truth?
Vines and woods
Wild Man Dan's Brewery
Time for a break from wine!
Not too far from Veritas, we found Wild Man Dan's. a brewery recommended by the owners of our Airbnb
It was the kind of place that makes you feel at home right away
Sophisticated decor (jk), friendly people and a laid back vibe
Sitting at the bar
Selfie with our new friend, Dan's wife, the bartender!
Silverback Distillery
Continuing our non-wine afternoon we had a few sips here at Silverback.
The tallest, skinniest column still I've ever seen! I haven't see too many.
We had some fun and bought a bottle of their Bourbon blend to take with us.
Dickie Brothers
Made a quick stop here for a photo op on our way to our next winery
Afton Mountain Vineyards
Our Airbnb was actually on Afton Mountain Road!
Another great spot!
Plenty of room to spread out!
A nice presentation - two whites, two reds, and a great view!
Charlottesville
On Sunday, October 5th, we drove the 20 miles to the home of UVA, University of Virginia, to do some shopping, sight-seeing, an lunch!
This is the "Downtown Mall" a shopping/dining area located in the historic center of town.
Guess what? We found a nice wine shop/bar where we enjoyed a break from all the hard work we had been doing.
They had a nice selection of wines from VA and around the world.
After the mall we drove over toward the UVA campus to find a place for lunch
Campus on the left, restaurants/shops on the right.
This is where we had lunch, The Virginian
That's The Virginian from across the street
The is "The Rotunda", Thomas Jefferson's pride and joy, on the UVA campus
The student study area and the inside of the rotunda, which at night doubles as a planetarium
Not many students were indoors studying on the beautiful Sunday afternoon
Here we are with TJ himself.
I wonder how many TJ statues exist. This is not one of my favorites.
This is. Apparently it was done from life which perhaps is why it is more life-like.
The Rotunda from the other side.
Northern Virginia
We left Afton and drove up I-81 to Winchester and stopped in the Visitor Center to see what it was all about.
Like so many places in Virginia, the Civil War played a big part in its history
And Patsy Cline was from around these parts!
Bluemont Vineyard
Heading east from Winchester, we found ourselves in another wine-producing area a Virginia.
Another inviting venue
We stopped at Bluemont which is set on a hillside with amazing views
Vines and more vines!
And wines and an excellent flatbread pizza
We bought a bottle or two of "the goat" Viognier which was good but not the goat.
The tasting room
Stone Manor Boutique Inn, Lovettsville, VA
We stopped for a night at this little place.
The is our room, the "Manor Suite"
We booked this room because it was the only room with a kitchenette which allowed us to safely stow the food and stuff we had been travelling with since we left the Burg.
The bathroom
Lorri enjoying the ambiance
The place had three different wedding venues. Fortunately no weddings on this Monday. The is the Wedding in the Woods venue.
Well that's it for Virginia! The next day we drove to Baltimore to start a great week with the whole Filling clan!