It started with the idea to visit my brother Andy and his wife Georgeanne in Virginia, taste some wine and take some pictures. It grew to include an excursion into North Carolina and then back to Virginia and the Sydnor farm. On the way home, we visited the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
That's Andy and George. Our stay with them included a drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains, a visit to Shaps Wineworks near Charlottesville, and a BBQ and swim meet with their son Brian and grandkids Jasper and Talon.
Pictures start in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
On a drive to Charlottesville, we stopped at the University of Virginia, founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, and photographed its classical Rotunda and statue of the founder.
Also in Charlottesville, we found Michael Shaps Wineworks, a winery recommended by our son Andy after his trip through the Burgundy region of France. Two pictures of the winery are below.
This is Andy and Georgeanne's son Brian and his two boys, Jasper and Talon. While we were in Virginia, we enjoyed a BBQ at their house and watched a swim meet where both of the boys did very well. Talon is wearing his ribbon.
Our next stop was in Cary, North Carolina, where Mike's brother Steve and his wife Robin graciously offered their home as a Bed & Breakfast for us.
During our visit we enjoyed happy conversations and a memorable Asian fusion dinner.
Leaving North Carolina, we headed back toward the Northern Neck area of Virginia to the Sydnor farm near the town of Warsaw. George and Ellen are good friends, and their 400-acre farm has been host to an annual fall event that Mike never misses - the Big Dig to bring in the sweet potato crop. Below, scenes from the farm.
Our last destination was Cranberry Glades in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, photos below. Mike had been here before and introduced me to the bogs and rare plants in this unusual preserve.
An odd memory from this trip . . .
On our drive to the farm, we had lunch in Gloucester at Ann's Family Diner. Walking in, I was struck by the picture above the door, presumably of Ann. She looked just like a teenage me! Even her glasses were like mine (though the photographer probably told me to take them off for this picture).