So we had a great trip to Virginia! The Inn was so/so, but the wineries are winners in my book. When they say “Virginia is for Lovers”, they mean Wine Lovers! In addition to imbibing along the beautiful scenic roads we stopped at some super cool historic places too!
Morven Park Mansion was incredible! Everything there is original, I mean everything all the furniture the antiques all of it. It’s incredible and probably the best $5 you could spend!
Next up was Goose Creek Bridge, which was the site of a civil war battle and is one of the last four arched stone bridges left in Virginia.
We went to Aldie Mill which was pretty cool. Those guys would have told you anything you wanted to know about mills, mill stones and the entire process. It’s pretty cool when you realize how ahead of their time they were with the innovations and use of water.
After a lovely leisurely drive we arrived at our cabin in the woods, the Wexford at the Blackthorn Inn in Upperville, Virginia.
Of our tour of the wineries in the area my two favorite were Chrysalis and Delaplane Cellars. The views at these two were stunning and the wines were wonderful! I’m not a chardonnay drinker, typically there is far too much ‘wood’ in them for my taste but the ones in Virginia are light and have a hint of oak. The one from Chrysalis was soft caramel and just divine, I can hardly wait to enjoy a glass sitting on the deck!
I love all the stone walls in Virginia, they are beautiful testaments to the lasting power of rocks. I look at them and think what a story those rocks could tell, what they’ve seen.
I don’t know who built this wall, it ran for miles through the woods, along the hillside and even along unpaved roads. How they got there, who put them there I don’t know, but what a fence they make!
Our last stop was Oatlands and it was very interesting. Randy and I both have an affinity for history and we both love to see the details that went into the crafting of furniture and the homes. Neither of us are fond of Greek Revival so it was sort of funny that the two plantations that we stopped at were both of that design.
We were interested in stopping here because of our experience at Carters Grove Plantation in Williamsburg. We went there at Christmas and were enamored with the details that went into the building and furnishing of the home. Oatlands is from the same Carter family, a cousin to the person that owned Carters Grove. I think my favorite part was the gardens and this:
It’s a greenhouse, thought to be the oldest in Virginia and those Japanese maples are over 100 years old. You actually walk through them to get into the glass portion of the greenhouse! There are several acres of gardens here and I could have happily sat and walked all day but Randy can only take so many flowers and my fascination with finding a nest of native ground bees or prattling on about the way a tree looks!
Happy Travels!
