Hanover Tavern is an experience in Southern elegance

Hanover Tavern is a beautifully restored structure from yesteryear that offers multi-faceted entertainment today. Owned by the Hanover Tavern Foundation, this historic building is the site of history, theatre, and fine Southern dining.

Guests can take a self-guided tour of the 1733 structure using brochures available on the ground floor. Or guided tours can be scheduled if visitors want to hear stories about the tavern’s famous guests along with the building’s remarkable architecture.

Making its home at Hanover Tavern is Barksdale Theatre, a separate entity and partner with the foundation. On stage now through February 6 is Nunsense by Dan Goggin, an award-winning comedy about nuns who conduct a fundraiser for fellow sisters’ funerals when their cook accidentally poisons some of them.

Christmas Eve Dinner

A full service restaurant is open at Hanover Tavern six days a week. Due to its popularity, reservations are recommended. The tavern specializes in classic Southern foods with modern adaptations. Many theatre goers enjoy an evening of dinner and theatre in this gracious setting.

The restaurant will serve a special Christmas Eve dinner from 4:30 until 8:30 p.m. To make reservations, call 804-537-5050. 

The Colonial tavern is located in Hanover’s quaint courthouse town about 20 miles north of Richmond at 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road directly across the street from the courthouse. The restaurant serves lunch (weekdays), brunch (weekends) and dinner Tuesday through Sunday when the historic tavern is open to visitors.

Irvington Virginia is a town for the ages

Irvington was a steamboat town on Virginia’s Northern Neck that fell on hard times after the fire of 1917 as the steamboat era came to a close. You would never know it now - Irvington made a grand comeback, reinventing itself as a waterfront community and the place to go in the Chesapeake Bay area.

The Tides Inn is a resort in Irvington that epitomizes southern graciousness on it Carter’s Creek location overlooking the Rappahannock River. With its own spa, marina, restaurants, cruises on a historic yacht and an18-hole golf course, the Tides Inn is a destination in itself.

Not to be outdone, Irvington’s Hope and Glory Inn is one of the highest rated inns in America with recommendations too numerous to mention. This boutique inn has seven rooms and 13 cottages in a unique and memorable setting.

Irvington has another golf course, the Tartan Club, designed by none other than Sir Guy Cambell of St. Andrews, Scotland in 1959 – the only golf course he designed in America. And the town’s newest golf course, the King Carter, has been recommended by Golf Digest.

History comes alive

On King Carter Drive visitors can relive life in the age of steam – Irvington’s Steamboat Era Museum features the boats themselves, what the landings were like, and the people who rode and worked on them.

Historic Christ Church built by Robert “King” Carter in the 1730s is an awesome architectural experience in Irvington and a National Historic Landmark that visitors should not miss.

The town is also known for its boutique shopping experience. There are a number of interesting shops worth visiting in Irvington.

The town also hosts a farmer’s market the first Saturday of every month from April through December from 8 a.m. until noon at the Irvington Commons Green that is quite an experience.

And the White Fences Vineyard and Winery is just outside Irvington’s town limits.

A lot of holiday events are coming up in Irvington including a number of events at Tide’s Inn.

Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe persists into the 21st century

The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe has been living in the same location for over four centuries – on the upper Mattaponi River in Virginia up river from the Mattaponi Indian Reservation.

This band of Indians did not belong to the reservation and is distinctly identified in 17^th century records in a settlement that later became known as Adamstown, probably named after a British interpreter working with them in the early 18^th century. They own 32 acres there today.

Grouped with the neighboring Pamunkey Indians in the county educational system for years, the Upper Mattaponi got their own Indian school in 1917. It was initially a one-room schoolhouse providing primary instruction and limited secondary education, and the Indian families had to provide the furniture. In 1952, the building was replaced with an eight-room schoolhouse.

Sharon Indian School operated until 1965 when the county’s three separate school systems – for black, white and Indian children -- were integrated. After segregation ended, the Indians were allowed to complete high school close to home.

Historical marker

“The students at Sharon Indian School had to attend other Native American, private, or public institutions, usually outside the Commonwealth, to obtain high school diplomas. Upper Mattaponi students – and students from the Rappahannock Tribe in the 1960s – attended school here until June 1965. It was one of the last Indian schools to operate in Virginia.”

The Sharon Indian School building today remains integral to Upper Mattaponi life in its use as a tribal center. The tribe hosts an annual pow-wow in the spring with native drumming, dancing, food and games that is open to the public. Next door is their church, the Indian View Baptist Church which was built in 1942.

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe officially organized in 1921 and was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1983.

The Upper Mattaponi tribal grounds are located on Route 30 south of Route 360 in King William County.

Smithfield hams provide holiday hospitality

Smithfield hams are a holiday tradition in Virginia, and where else to shop for them but in Smithfield, Virginia itself!

Smithfield hams are trademarks of Southern hospitality. These hams are salted and dry cured, slowly smoked with hickory, and aged. They are best sliced paper thin and go great with dainty biscuits. State law in Virginia and USDA regulations both require that the “Smithfield” designation be limited to hams produced there.

Smithfield celebrates its three centuries of ham history at the Isle of Wight County Museum just 73 miles from Richmond. Admission is free.

From there check out Darden’s Country Store where you can tour a real family smokehouse. Plan to have lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants that feature Smithfield ham. And don’t forget your ham! Darden’s has them or you can go by the Genuine Ham Shoppe in downtown Smithfield.

Come Saturday, November 20, the Olde Town Curb Market’s “Thanksgiving” specialty event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in Smithfield, and it’s no small event, a shopper’s paradise.

The intense flavor of Smithfield hams comes from the curing and aging process. The mold is harmless. Just scrub the uncooked ham with hot water and a stiff brush. You’ll want to soak it overnight or even 24 hours or longer to remove salt, depending on your taste, changing the water a few times.

To prep the ham, soak it overnight or longer to remove salt, changing the water a few times. Use a stiff brush to scrub off the harmless mold.

For cooking directions, check out my article:

http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/smithfield-hams-provide-holiday-hospitality

Scottsville outdoor park beckons canal lovers

Scottsville, Virginia has an outdoor park called Canal Basin Square that's a fun day trip for people who love canals.

Located on a horseshoe bend in the James River, Scottsville’s outdoor transportation history park is on the site of an old James River and Kanawha Canal turning basin.

There are eight exhibits in the park that tell the story of transportation from the time of the Monacan Indians through the canal era to the railroads. The signage makes for nice self-guided tours from dusk to dark. A pathway leads up the levee where visitors can take a scenic walk along the James River.

Period Boats

The park features a bateau replica – that’s one way people did river travel in the 18^th and 19^th centuries on the James in Virginia -- which participated for a number of years in the annual Bateau Festival held for a week each June with a stop in Scottsville. There is also a canal lock built to scale and a packet boat under construction by volunteers. The park is also a Virginia Civil War Trails site.

The brainchild of none other than George Washington, the James River and Kanawha Canal project was designed to open a water route to the west and facilitate freight and passenger transportation.

Scottsville’s Canal Basin Square  is located at 249 Main Street on Route 6 near the intersection with Route 20 to Charlottesville. The town lies 68 miles west of Richmond in Albemarle County.

For overnighters, there are six quaint inns and historic Bed & Breakfasts in Scottsville.

Ashland Train Day is fun for the family

What started out as a children’s theme day at a local library has turned into an annual event -- Ashland Train Day is held the second Saturday every November.

Festivities will be held on November 13, 2010 at several locations in this town just 15 miles north of Richmond including the Ashland Library where it all started. Children can ride a miniature train around the library and free cookies and cider will be served. The festival runs from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m.

Railroad folk music will provide the background for a day of fun. Visitors can enjoy wooden, lego and electric model trains set up at various locations along with the real deal -- CSX and Amtrak trains – which will be there all day near Ashland’s 1920’s train station in historic downtown. There is a Visitor’s Center there which makes it a good place to start.

Children can jump on a locomotive moon bounce, and adults can enjoy organizational displays with lots of railroad memorabilia. Event mascots, the engineer bears, will mix with visitors, many of whom dress for the occasion. 

Other locations housing the event are the Hanover Arts and Activity Center, Ashland Coffee and Tea, the Henry Clay Inn and the courtyard of the Ashland-Hanover Shopping Center.

There is parking near the library and satellite parking at the shopping center and Ashland Town Center where trolleys will be available to transport people to and from the various locations ($2 teens and adults, children free). The event itself is free.

Ashland Train Day is sponsored by the Town of Ashland, Friends of the Ashland Library, the Ashland Police Department, and Train Town Toy and Hobby.

Gordonville invites visitors with its Main Street charm

Where is this Main Street Community called Gordonsville, Virginia?

A true “small town America” kind of place, Gordonsville makes for a great day trip from anywhere in Central Virginia. The town has so much Southern charm that visitors can’t help but feel a warm hospitality calling out to stop and visit for awhile.

Right on the tree-lined Main Street, visitors can enjoy fine dining in a French restaurant named “Pomme” or at the Toliver House Restaurant, both great choices, plus there are other eateries for people in a hurry.

Gordonsville’s Main Street is home to a number of antique stores, boutiques and other shopping opportunities.
History buffs can visit the old hotel on the railroad tracks shown above which overlooks the town. It served as a hospital for some 70,000 wounded soldiers in the Civil War. The Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum is located at 400 South Main Street.

Community Events

Community events coming up include the Annual Veteran’s Parade on November 13 and a Christmas tree lighting on December 5. From May through September there is bull riding sponsored by the local fire company (the Gordonville fairgrounds are a block off Main Street), a Cops and Kids Day in September and the Annual Gordonville Street Festival in October.

Truly a “Main Street Community,” Gordonsville is situated in Orange County, Virginia, 54 miles northwest of Richmond, 41 miles west of Fredericksburg, and 18 miles northeast of Charlottesville.

Mattaponi Indian Tribe’s mission is sustainability and harmony

Mission: Build a sustainable community on the Chesapeake Bay that will extend the thousands of years of Mattaponi history and heritage and, in doing so, demonstrate to all people how they may live successful and rewarding lives in harmony with the earth.

The Mattaponi Indian Reservation was established on ancestral land in an1658 treaty with Virginia. Situated on the Mattaponi River, the tribe was identified by the name Mattaponi and at that location by John Smith in 1607. It was one of the tribes under the famous Chief Powhatan. The treaty requires an annual tribute payment to Virginia’s governor of fish and game which the tribe still honors along with their neighbors the Pamunkey.

Fishing has always been central to the Mattaponi’s culture, shad in particular. Today the tribe operates a fish hatchery started with a grant from the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. According to their website, “Each year the Mattaponi people return millions of shad fingerlings into the river, putting back more than they take away.”

Other buildings on the reservation include homes, a church, an Indian museum and a community building that once served as a tribal school. Land is held in common but plots are assigned for members’ use.

Tribal Governance

The Mattaponi has its own sovereign government, the Mattaponi Tribal Council, made up of a chief, a vice chief and seven council members. The Custalow family has been prominent in tribal leadership for many years. The tribal roll has about the same number as were identified by the English in the 1600s, around 450 members, of whom about 60 live on the reservation.

The reservation, located in King William County east of Richmond off routes 360 and 30, consists of about 125 acres, part of it wetland, which they are hoping to expand. To this end, the non-profit Mattaponi Heritage Foundation has been formed to seek funding. Their dream of the Mattaponi:

 “Combining modern science with indigenous knowledge about the ecology of the river and bay, the Mattaponi people seek to show all of mankind how to live in harmony with the natural world while sustaining the highest quality of life.”

Pamunkey Indians seek federal recognition for the tribe of Chief Powhatan

           

The Pamunkey Indian tribe of Virginia has filed for federal acknowledgment as a self governed nation in Virginia. The tribe’s 1,200-acre reservation on the Pamunkey River in King William County is the oldest continuously inhabited Indian reservation in America. This is the tribe and the land where the famous Pamunkey Chief Powhatan once ruled, father of Pocahontas.

The tribe filed its petition with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs on Oct. 14, 2010 documenting how the Pamunkey has remained an identifiable Indian tribe with self-governance throughout the centuries of English and American rule.

Supporting evidence

Evidence supporting its claims of sovereignty include newspaper articles showing that the Pamunkey pay an annual tribute to Virginia’s Governor every Thanksgiving to honor their part of the 1646 and 1677 treaties. In full tribal dress, they come to Richmond bearing gifts of wild game like deer or turkey along with traditional pottery. It’s said that they have never missed a payment since the treaties were signed hundreds of years ago.

Federal acknowledgement would establish a government to government relationship and provide access to federal services and benefits for the some 200 tribal members.

Open to the public

The Pamunkey reservation is about 50 miles east of Richmond and is open to the public on weekends, 10-4 Friday and Saturday and 1-4 on Sunday. A museum and gift shop sells many Pamunkey handcrafted items including pottery that is made using centuries-old techniques with clay dug from the Pamunkey River. The tribe has also constructed a miniature village and railroad depot on the reservation.

According to the Pamunkey’s website, their “museum is the only documented history of a tribe that has existed on its present homeland since the Ice Ages.”

Visitors can mapquest the reservation at 175 Lay Landing Road in King William, Virginia 23086.

The Pamunkey were the largest tribe in the Algonquian Powhatan Confederacy. It was the Pamunkey who gave gifts of food to the Jamestown settlers in 1607 and kept them from starving that winter. It is one of only two tribes that still retain reservation lands assigned by the 1646 and 1677 treaties, the nearby Mattaponi being the other.

Raven’s Roost provides rock climbing on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Raven’s Roost is an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway with stunning views and rock climbing opportunities.

Located at milepost 10 south of Interstate 64, the overlook provides great views of Torrey Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley looking west. A trail on the south end of the parking lot crosses a broad rock ledge where ravens roost, hence the overlook’s name. Ruins of an old iron furnace from the 1800s is nearby.

The Raven’s Roost trail goes down to the base of the cliff, which is great for trad and top roping. The trail is steep and turns from south to west before reaching the base. The rock is metamorphic.  Although a bit smooth with no continuous crack systems, because of the angle of the strata, there are plenty of in-cut edges for climber holds on the west-facing side of the cliff making for safe climbs.

Difficulty on the ascents of the various routes range from 5.1 to 5.12 according to rockclimbing.com.

Bouldering is also available on the granite traverse wall at Raven’s Roost.

Elevation at Raven’s Roost is 3200 feet, 1800 feet above the valley floor.

For more pictures, see my slide show.

Rockfish Gap joins Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Rockfish Gap is an old junction in Virginia’s majestic Blue Ridge Mountains where the Skyline Drive meets the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors can enjoy stunning views at Afton Overlook, the first stop south on the Blue Ridge Parkway, or turn north onto Skyline Drive for a trip through the scenic Shenandoah National Park off of Route 250 over Afton Mountain. The parkway is free and the drive has a fee.

After sightseeing or hiking the Appalachian Trail in the Rockfish Gap area, visitors can stop at the Afton Mountain Vineyards Afton which is open daily from 10-6 (closed Tuesdays). This is one of the state’s first farm wineries with some vines dating back decades. The farm produces the usual Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon but also wines unusual for Virginia producers -- Gewürztraminer and Sangiovese.

 

People wishing to spend the night may find accommodations in the Afton Mountain Bed & Breakfast Inn, an 1848 Victorian farmhouse at 10273 Rockfish Valley Highway in Afton. The inn has lots of antiques and original heart pine floors, an original staircase and stained glass entranceway with wireless internet access and private baths.

 

A gap with a history

 

Rockfish Gap is the site of an old Indian trail that became Three Chopt Road, also known as Three Notched Road, in the 1700s. This is the trail that opened the Shenandoah Valley to westward expansion. It was at Rockfish Gap where sitting president James Monroe, former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Chief Justice John Marshall met in a tavern in 1818 with others and selected Charlottesville as the site for the University of Virginia.

 

A railroad tunnel was built under Rockfish Gap in the 1850s and used by Stonewall Jackson to move troops in 1862 during the Civil War. The old tunnel – a nearby town Crozet is named after its engineer – is still in good shape.

 

Located between Charlottesville and Waynesboro off of Interstate 64, Rockfish Gap is 78 miles from Richmond .

Drivers should turn on their headlights and pay attention to the fog warning signs as they ascend Afton Mountain as dense fog can roll in suddenly. There have been multi-car pileups – two involving over 60 vehicles. Rock slides have also been reported, adding to the excitement of crossing Afton Mountain. Rockfish Gap is also known as a wind gap.  

Humpback Rocks farm museum on the Blue Ridge Parkway offers glimpse back in time

Humpback Rocks Visitor Center and Farm Museum is a great stop for people driving the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Located at milepost 5.8 just south of Skyline Drive, visitors can get a feel for life as it was in the 19^th century by walking the mountain farm trail which is open year-round.

The National Park Service has assembled actual buildings from nearby locations to create the homestead, which consists of an original log cabin and several outbuildings. The self-guided walking trail provides signs explaining the setting. The farm museum shows how mountain people used the abundant resources around them to be self sufficient.

Actual farming takes place at the mountain homestead in season, when interpreters are on site in period costumes demonstrating local crafts and skills.

The Visitor Center and Hiking Trails

Humpback Rocks Visitor Center offers exhibits and books about the area as well as gifts and crafts. To get there, visitors can take Interstate 64 or U.S. Route 250 between Charlottesville and Waynesboro.

Humpback Mountain is named for an outcrop of rocks near its peak of 3,080 feet. A short distance south of the visitor center is a trail where tourists can view geology and flora in the area or hike a longer trail to the rocks, which takes about 40 minutes. Hikers who reach the summit can see in all directions, and the Appalachian Trail is nearby.

Manatees in Florida

My daughters Susan and Anne arrived in Sarasota County, Florida today to visit Grandma and Uncle Andrew. They visited the jetty park in Venice and what did they see right off the bat? A manatee! Susan snapped a picture and emailed it. She wrote: "It was just one feeding on rock algae for about 30 minutes, then it swam out and came back with two friends. I was about 15' away from them when I took that picture.  It was super cool!!!!!"

James River in Powhatan County

The James River attracks a lot of boaters in the Richmond, Virginia area. Here is a shot from Watkins Landing in Powhatan County looking west (upstream).

Landmark lighthouse beckons visitors to historic Cape Henry at Virginia Beach

The new Cape Henry lighthouse (1881) overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay



The first lighthouse built by the new United States government in 1792 today beckons visitors to the shores of Cape Henry in north Virginia Beach. It is here, at the junction of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, where the first settlers landed on their way to founding Jamestown in 1607. And it is here that a crucial battle in the Revolutionary War was fought.

The Cape Henry lighthouses – there are two of them, the second one built in 1881 – are located on the Fort Story army base and are accessible to the public. Visitors must first pass through a security gate to be admitted to the historic grounds where the two lighthouses, a memorial cross, and a statue of Admiral Comte deGrasse describe the site’s importance to the birth of a nation.

Cape Henry lighthouses

Virginia deeded the site to the new federal government in 1789 specifically for building a lighthouse, and George Washington and Alexander Hamilton both played a role. Hamilton arranged the contract for the stone octagonal structure along with a keeper’s residence, and Washington ordered the applications for the lighthouse’s first keeper.

Confederate troops intentionally damaged Cape Henry’s lighthouse during the Civil War; Union troops repaired it. An inspection report in 1872 recommended the lighthouse be closed. It wasn’t until 1881 that the new black and white checkered lighthouse was built. Today the original lighthouse is a registered National Historic Landmark managed by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

Memorials

A granite cross on Cape Henry memorializes the landing spot of the early English settlers, who planted a wooden cross in thanks for their safe passage across the ocean. Nearby is a statute of the French commander who engaged the British in the Battle of the Capes, blocking them from Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown which helped end the American Revolution. A three-way interpretative panel pulls together the lighthouses, the landing and the battle for visitors.

Fort Story is located at 583 Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach. The lighthouses are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of October, and from 10 to 4 between November 1 and March 15. The site is closed for the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children 3-12.

Wildflowers thrive in Indian summer

Wildflowers seem to be everywhere! As we enjoy the Indian summer days, the wildflowers dot the countryside and beckon us to take country drives.

Farmer's fields in the fall

It's getting to be that time of year when farmers' fields take on a look of the season - fall season that is. Here is a scene in Bertrand, Virginia where the Corrotoman and Rappahannock Rivers meet. That's where the old wharf used to be before the hurricane of 1933 took it out.

Walking country roads as the foliage changes

There's nothing like taking your dogs on a walk down a country road when the weather turns cooler. This picture was taken in the Valle Crucis area of western North Carolina about 15 or so miles from the Tennesse border. The dogs are Blue on the left and Odessa on the right with Susan Winston holding the leashes in the middle.

Empty beach signifies summer's end

Empty chairs on the beach (above) and no volleyball players (below) signify the end of summer, which officially ended this week. On to autumn!

Fall foliage spectacular predicted as Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary

Experts predict the best color in years as the Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary. 2010's fall foliage spectacular will peak this week in the higher elevation mountains of Western North Carolina, the state where it all started 75 years ago this month.

The prediction for a fabulous fall comes from Virtual Blue Ridge out of Boone, North Carolina, a supporter of the non-profit Blue Ridge Foundation. After consulting professionals in the field, Virtual reports that this summer's combination of drought and rain with September's clear sunny days and cooler temperatures will in all probability combine to produce "the most colorful leaf season in years."

Virtual Blue Ridge begins publishing weekly fall color reports online in a few days. In Virginia, the Department of Forestry offers a "Fall Color Hotline" at 1-800-424-LOVE starting the end of September.

A year to celebrate

For a great fall foliage trip that's free, the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway not only offers visitors stunning scenery with vivid colors but this year visitors can participate in celebrations of the parkway's history.

It was in September of 1935 that the groundbreaking occurred at Cumberland Knob near the Virginia-North Carolina state lines on this Depression-era work project. Visitors can relive the creation of the landscape architectural wonder at the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation close to where the parkway begins near Afton Mountain in Virginia. "The Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration" is open through the end of this year at 420 West Main Street in Waynesboro from Tuesday through Saturday between 9:00 - 5:00 and is free.

http://www.virtualblueridge.com/color-reports/
http://www.waynesboroheritagefoundation.com/
 

Beach walks in autumn

The summer crowds are gone, the weather is still warm, so what better place for a hike than the beach! Plus you can take your dog on most beaches between Labor Day and Memorial Day. This picture shows the north end of Virginia Beach at Fort Story where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Note the ships leaving the bay in the distance.

Civil War 150th kicked off today in Richmond

The 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War starts in 2011 and Richmond is ready! After two years of planning for the sesquicentennial, a local and national partnership officially kicked off their "On to Richmond!" campaign.

The capital of the Confederacy, Richmond lies just 100 miles south of the nation’s capital Washington D.C. where the battle cry “On to Richmond!” rallied people during the 1861-1865 civil war. Many major events of that epic struggle occurred in or near Richmond, and the American Civil War Center has teamed up with the National Park Service and the Richmond Visitor’s Bureau to showcase them.

Housed in an old ironworks factory on the James River in downtown Richmond, the center prides itself on being the first museum to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the war from all angles – Northern, Southern and African-American. Visitors can see original artifacts as part of their “In the Cause of Liberty” exhibit and tour the grounds of this 1861 gun foundry.

The U.S. National Park Service operates the Richmond National Battlefield Park, which encompasses 763 acres at 13 different sites in or around the city. For a starting point, visitors can get an overview at their the National Park Service Civil War Visitor Center located next door to the American Civil War Center on Tredegar Street. Historic markers at the various sites provide detail on the federal campaigns to capture Richmond and the confederate resistance.

The third partner in the sesquicentennial observation is the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is available to assist sightseers on their journey into Civil War history.

View on Rogue's Point

Rouge's Point looking upstream from the north bank of the Rappahannock River. The blue of the sky and water seem to merge in harmony as the gentle waves lap the shore. Bird foot imprints tell a tale on the sand, some quite big like the Great Blue Herron. The area is also home to our national bird the Bald Eagle.

Casperson Beach in Southwest Florida

My mother sure picked a great place to retire in southwest Florida! Here is one of the many public beaches in Sarasota County -- Casperson Beach just south of Venice on the Gulf of Mexico. You can walk for miles in a natural setting. Sharks teeth are plentiful. Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs in its sand. Sea birds dart in and out of the surf. Sunsets are gorgeous. It's often warm at Christmas!

Sunset on the rivah

Sunset on the Rappahannock River facing Urbanna from the Lancaster side

Jetties build sand beaches

Did you ever wonder why Virginia's tidal rivers have such wonderful sand beaches? Oftentimes it is the human-made jetties that catch and deposit the sand.

James River flows through Virginia’s Mountains

Ever notice how the terrain dips down and you just know you’ll find a river or creek before the roadway starts its climb back uphill? The Blue Ridge Parkway winds down to a bridge and wow! There is the James River. Stunning!  I turned the car around first chance I got, came back, parked and hiked out on the bridge to get this shot of the James River, which then comes to Richmond on its way to the sea.

Flowers on the Gulf of Mexico

In all the years I’ve been going to Florida, I had never been in the summertime.  I figured it was too hot. (It WAS hot and very humid.) Surprise! There was a summer beauty I had never seen, such as these flowers crawling toward the Gulf of Mexico in Venice.

The Water Keeps on Rolling In

Saltaire is a small community in Lancaster County, Virginia on the Rappahannock River with the nicest people.  One thing that bonds the community is a gathering spot – a long pier that’s great for sunsets, fishing and just plain visiting with neighbors. Here the dock is pictured in solitude as the tide rolls in from the Chesapeake Bay.

Blue Ridge Majesty

The Blue Ridge Parkway is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year! Fall foliage season is coming up fast – here’s one of my shots from last year – so be sure to mark your calendar with some of the special anniversary events that are listed on this web site:

http://blueridgeparkway75.org/

Canoeing with Alligators

The first time my family went down the Myakka River, rumored to be teeming will alligators, we took the tour boat pictured here out of Snook Haven in Sarasota County, Florida. We didn’t see any alligators, maybe because the boat captain was a loud fellow (the dude really didn’t need to use that bull horn) so we decided to come back and rent canoes, pictured below, for a peaceful river cruise. The Myakka is a beautiful river, the scene of an original Tarzan movie (I didn’t believe the boat captain that the monkeys escaped and were still in the trees). We wanted to get up close and personal to the river life, you know, commune with nature on our own sweet time.

Yikes! The kids pushed off in one canoe before we could get ours loaded, and right away we heard them scream, followed by a big splash! They said it was a “great big” alligator on the river bank that jumped in the water while they were trying to get the hang of navigating the canoe. By the time we caught up with them, we didn’t see anything. I thought maybe their imaginations were running a bit wild after listening to the boat captain’s crazy stories. It wasn’t until the trip back hours later when we passed the same spot and I saw the alligator – a 14 foot monster!

We saw maybe a half dozen alligators that day, mostly babies and young adults. The alligators didn’t bother us and we didn’t bother them. One thing for sure, we didn’t go swimming in the river like we do when we canoe Virginia’s rivers! The turtles and the water fowl and scenery were awesome to behold but I kept scanning the river for trouble so it wasn’t quite the peaceful trip I had envisioned.

Later we went to a backwoods restaurant and what was on the menu but alligator and turtle! I ordered alligator, to complete the experience.  I’m not sure I would do either of those things again, canoe with alligators or eat them. But hey, I did it, and I’m still talking about it!

Rogue’s Point on Virginia’s Northern Neck

Rogue’s Point on the Rappahannock River is a narrow spit surrounded by water on three sides. The only way to get there is to walk or boat -- or in the case of Karen and Steve Lewis who have stables nearby -- ride horseback. I'm not sure how the folks in the cottages get their supplies there with water in front and back and no roads on the spit. I'll have to ask Karen.

I love to walk out to Rogue’s Point at low tide. There’s a steady wind -- "weather beaten" becomes an understood term. The disheveled grasses tell a tale as the wind comes across these open waters endlessly, shaping the vegetation that thrives there. So too the gentle waves lap onto shore, over and over again, washing up gnarled wood with a beauty all its own. Walks there restore the soul. There's a sense of eternal harmony.

Birds find a sanctuary on the spit and the Chesapeake Bay blue crab is plentiful there in the waters. The smell of salt is in the air on every breath you take.

According to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, in its publication on oyster harvest restrictions, Rogue’s Point is located at 37° 40.040', N., 76° 32.253', W not too many miles from the river's junction with the Chesapeake Bay.

Smoothie at Farmer’s Market in Boone, NC

Boone is a quaint college town nestled high in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina not far from the Tennessee border. The town has a cool Farmer’s Market located next to a frontier park where you can visit the settlers’ original log cabins while buying local food and crafts.

The highlight of my trip there of all things was a delicious homemade natural smoothie! This smoothie was like no other – not only was it made on the spot with fresh ingredients, but it was made in a blender on a bicycle! Yes, organic goes powerless -- a bicyclist named Susan produced the power to run the blender. “Mango Smoothie” is made from the organic ingredients of coconut milk, mango and pure cane sugar, a concoction created by vendor Lisa Hummel, who also offers a choice of mango types and lets buyers add other ingredients to suit their smoothie palettes, such as dragon fruit and papaya.

The Idem - A Unique Sailing Boat in the Adirondacks

My good friend Daphne Chase Montgomery lives on an island in New York's Adirondack Mountains during the heat of each summer -- the third generation of her family to spend summers there. The only way to get to her camp is by boat, so I parked at the landing and she came and got me for a visit.

Daphne's camp is on the Upper St. Regis Lake where you'll see a boat you can find nowhere else - the Idem, a sailing sloop designed specially for sailing competitions on this lake. It was in 1899 that the St. Regis Yacht Club commissioned a young naval architect to design a class of wooden sailing sloops specifically for their winds.

Going through my pictures back home in humid Virginia, I wanted more detail on this lovely old wooden boat that we saw when cruising the lake, so I sent Daphne the picture above and got this email back: "The old boat is an IDEM - they were designed by Clinton Crane specifically for our lake, Upper St, Regis. Twelve of them were built around the turn of the century - one is on display at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake - but the others are all being sailed and right here. They are 32 feet long, with 600 square feet of sail area - gaff rigged with Egyptian cotton sails - and take a crew of 5."

And get this - the sailing competition on the Upper St. Regis Lake still takes place every year!