Destination: Central Virginia

Warning! This is not on The List. It's an addendum. An appendix. Or a destination I'll add to it later on.

I haven't begun my research to this place...except to know that there are a cluster of wineries and breweries along a stretch of Highway 151.

Allow me to demonstrate.

Why thank you, custom Google maps!

Let me tell you a secret - this is a beautiful stretch of road. It gets a bit windy the further south you get, but right off of Interstate 64, it's beautiful. Old estate homes made of brick, yellow forsynthias in the spring, and soft, rolling hills. Nestled alongside every couple of miles are signs directing you to wineries and breweries. If you are ever in the Charlottesville, Virginia area (and you've already been to Monticello), this is a beautiful piece of country to visit.

But let's live here for a bit. Let's take a weekend and discover the place. Where will we stay? What are the people like? What will we do (besides taste the bounties of Virginian fields)?

Follow along as I discover what Central Virginia has to offer!

Thanks for reading!

Cumberbund? Cumberbatch!

Do you watch Sherlock? Tell me you do and have fallen in love with PBS for the second time in your life (the first being Sesame Street, of course). Yes, Downton Abbey is great with its monopoly on awesome Maggie Smith lines and insanely cute/heartbreaking Mr. Bates-Anna storyline, but have you heard of Sherlock?

Not to be confused with the Sherlock Holmes of the late 1880's who wore a houndstooth cap (well, per Season 2, Episode 1, he can be confused with that Sherlock), this Sherlock is of the modern era. He has a cell phone and Dr. Watson runs a blog (Do you ever hate how when you start to describe television shows or books and all of a sudden the words coming out of your mouth make you feel like a crazy person because the concepts are so absurd? Anyway.) and they solve mysteries together in England.

And Benedict Cumberbatch plays the best Sherlock. And Martin Freeman is the best Dr. Watson. And they are so funny together. You really ought to watch this show. (Season 1 is on Netflix, last time I checked. Season 2 runs on Sundays May 6-20 - yay!)

So the point is, Dan and I were watching Sherlock on Sunday night (live TV, how I haven't made use of you in so long!) and because it's PBS (or something) there are no commercials (what?!). Ok enough interruptions. The point is the sponsor was Viking River Cruises. And their staterooms caught my eye.

Hello attractive looking cubby.

I've been wanting to do a Mississippi River cruise for almost two years now. This will likely never happen, it's just something I think would be fun to do. But Viking River Cruises are for rivers all over the world including Europe, Egypt, Asia, and Russia. I checked out the website and it seems like this is a pretty structured vacation option (I mean, you kind of have to follow your hotel...), but oh so pretty and easy for people who don't want to worry about transportation (although for me, that's part of the fun - but only part of it).

Tell me someone has taken a Viking River Cruise (or something like it) and can tell me how awesome or not awesome it is so I can continue to or stop lusting after it. Or just tell me you watch Sherlock and my heart will be stilled.

Thank you for reading!

Awesome Sherlock images sourced from here and here. Stateroom picture from here.

Northampton: Day 3

The last day of our weekend...and we're going to take it slow. Is there any other way to work your way from a Sunday to a Monday? The goal is to get back to home base (Boston) by 3PM so that there is plenty of time to prepare for the week ahead (I always end up grocery shopping on Sunday night...I know, it's a problem).

Anyway, first things first: sleep in. (Note: Typically I would go to church on a Sunday morning, but I checked and the nearest church is an hour away. This is a devotion-in-bed type Sunday.) Wake up as late as you can (pull those curtains closed tight before bed the night before) and when you finally do roll out of bed, head down the road to Cup and Top Cafe. Sit down. Relax. Live a little. Have some loose leaf tea, a hot chocolate, or splurge on a milkshake (it's ok every once in a while). Work on a breakfast burrito and make your stomach smile.

When you've finished, continue being slow. Take a walk around the Florence area of Northampton. Sundays are notoriously quiet in many places on Earth which makes them wonderful for walking around. If it's in your legs, head up to Look Park and find out what is so great about it that requires admission.

Once you've worked your way back to the Inn, relax some more if you can. Take a nap if you are able. Pack, check out, and thank your hosts. On your way out of Northampton, stop at Local and grab a burger for lunch. Don't speed back to life in Boston...pretend you are on a Sunday afternoon drive (er...you actually are so pretending shouldn't be hard...) and forget you are hurtling back to reality. It's all about the mindset.

If you are so inclined, pull out a scrap of paper or your travel notebook and record your memories of Hamp. Remember your favorite and more outrageous experiences. Recount what you would repeat. Write down the feelings you had when you first drove into town and the memories you don't want to let go of when you leave.

Thanks for reading!

Northampton: Day 2

On Saturday morning, we'll wake up and grab a bite to eat (remember, continental breakfast) from the Inn. Then it's on the bicycles to take the Rail Trail to downtown Northampton. We're headed to check out the Saturday morning Farmer's Market, so get off at the Main Street access point (you can see a map of the trail and its access points here). Note: Be sure to ask the innkeepers for a bicycle helmet - or bring your own - and bicycle lock.

Once you've had a treat at the market (I would seek out some apple cider, if it were me!), continue further west down Main Street and seek out Baker Normand. Ooo and ahh over the yummy smells and wonderful breads and have a treat if you're not already full. From here, with a chocolate croissant in your hand or not, explore the downtown area. This is your time to seek out the vibe of the town you're visiting, so don't skip it!

Step into Thornes Marketplace or a local shop. Be sure to note the location of Northampton Brewery (you know we'll be there later!). Head over to Smith College and explore the grounds or stop by the botanical gardens and pick up a visitor's guide of the gardens. Stop in at Forbes Library so that you can claim to have been to Calvin Coolidge's presidential library. Be sure to let your feet guide you. Have a destination in mind, but don't worry if you get off track - that is the best way to get acquainted and fall in love.

Once you start feeling the first pangs of hunger, find your way to The Green Bean. Have a sandwich and head back to the Inn to drop off your bicycles and pick up the car. The afternoon calls for a little nature at the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children, which I think accurately reflects the level of difficulty of trails. Have a hike, layer down if necessary, and be on the look out for wildlife!

After you've had your exercise, hop back in the car, drive north through Northampton and cross the river to make your way to the Eric Carle Museum. It's open until 5PM on Saturdays, so be sure to time it so you have an hour to an hour and a half to browse (unless you feel you'll need more time, of course). After watching the Very Hungry Caterpillar devour all that food (providing, of course, he is on exhibit), you'll be very hungry yourself. Stop off at the Inn to freshen up or head straight to Bistro Les Gras. Don't bother about the rich food - you've already booked your calories hiking! Also, plan to leave your car where you park it - forget about dragging it along all night.

If you've timed everything right, head out to a show. I suggest the Academy of Music (solely because it showed Into the Woods), but really whatever is playing whatever looks best to you is where you should go. After the show, slide on over to Northampton Brewery - open until 11 on Saturdays - and try some of their brews.

Assuming you have the energy and you did your homework earlier in the day, find the place to be after 11PM. Perhaps in Hamp it's bed, but if it's a bar or cafe, you'd better make sure you're there!

Thanks for reading!

A Little Bit of Home(sickness)

What a sneaky thing homesickness is. It comes on you when you're least expecting it, when you thought you'd conquered it, even after you've created a new home.

Today I received an e-mail update from the church Dan and I attended while we at college (the "Chapel"). It contained a video of a skit and associated homily the students and pastor had put on recently for the midweek nightly services they offer. The position and location of the camera was perfect for imagining you were there and the more I watched, the more I remembered what it was like to sit in those chairs late at night on a Wednesday. I remembered the smells and the people I typically sat with.

The skit and homily was on brotherly love and Christian friendship, so naturally my mind turned to the friends I made at that church (which we all affectionately called "our home away from home") and the strong feelings I had about that place and the people I remember from that place flooded my mind. All of a sudden, I was trying to hide my teary face from my coworkers in the middle of lunch!

Do you ever get those feelings? I think it's natural to have those feelings for your family and places you spent a long time in and love dearly (like "the Chapel"), but sometimes I get those feelings (although never as strong) for places I haven't spent that much time in (*cough* Germany *cough*). And while they may come at uncomfortable times (lunch!) and when you least expect it, they are oddly warming and happy. I like to remember the good times I had at places and if it makes those places feel like a little bit of home, I think it's that much better.

Thanks for reading!

Northampton: Day 1

All right, Hamp - here we come! By the way, the nickname is growing on me. I kind of want to have every destination have a nickname. I'm also a big fan of Hotlanta (because that's hilarious).

Ok - so it is likely that Northampton will not be a destination (as in, unless someone I loved lived there or I had unlimited resources - read: money - I wouldn't get on a plane or drive a car to the city unless I already lived within a four hour radius of it in which case this would be a review of how awesome it is and not how awesome it could be), but part of a larger trip. For example, Boston is a short two hours from Northampton (which would make it the perfect mini-trip) and Northampton itself is located within New England (so any New England road trip could easily include the Hamp).

For the sake of this post, I am going to say that we are in Boston and taking a weekend trip to Northampton. That means that we'll leave Boston around 2PM on a Friday in the fall (because I imagine that New England is prettiest in the fall) and road trip it out west on I-90.

It may be a bit transparent of me, but I've decided we'll stay at the Sugar Maple Trailside Inn. The rooms are basic and it doesn't quite seem like a true B&B because the breakfast is continental (what can I say, I love homemade omelettes), but they have cruiser bicycles to use, free Internet, are a healthy walking distance (2.5 miles) to city center, Northampton, and are well priced ($120/night for two people in a queen).

Assuming traffic out of Boston isn't terrible (but let's be serious, it's a Friday afternoon), we'll pull into Hamp around 4:30 and check in to the Inn. It's the end of the work week (or a week of touring Boston), but either way we're tired. First things first, head over to The Dirty Truth and have a beer and appetizer. The reason for this is three-fold: 1) we're tired and we just need a beer, 2) I really want to try that beet appetizer, and 3) we're going to Karma for actual dinner and I want to have a little food back up in case the raw food isn't sitting right.

That's right - we're going straight to crazytown (er...just-a-little-bit-different-town). Now, per Google Maps, Karma used to be about 100 feet from The Dirty Truth, but it appears they have moved across the river. That's ok - we'll use that opportunity to see if there are some scenic outlooks somewhere near the bridge. Once we're done with dinner, we'll go to East Heaven and slip in a hot tub for a half hour or so...happy Friday!

Thanks for reading!

Northampton: Restaurants

Admittedly, our time spent in Northampton will likely not be a long affair, but that doesn't mean the town doesn't have enough restaurants to last us two weeks without repeating. Also, I will not lie, I took the restaurant list provided in this post (which originally sparked my interest in Northampton) and pared it down to a slightly more manageable list of restaurants that tickled my tongue. So without further delay, the list of restaurants...


1. Joe's - An Italian restaurant that doesn't take itself too seriously. From the picture exhibited on the Daily Specials page, the place looks like a hole in the wall...which is exactly what makes most great Italian places great (Mama Zu in Richmond, anyone?). My only complaint? No tiramasu. Lunch, Dinner


2. The Dirty Truth - This is pretty much a bar, that specializes in beer, of which I am a fan (over 40 from around the globe means there must be one I haven't tried). While I've seen notes that they do serve brunch on the weekend, the bar food seems to be what I would likely try...maybe the sweet potato and beet chips with fennel cream dip? Yum! Dinner


3. Local Burger - My boss says his dog has a look about her when she sees squirrels that says, "Get my mouf!" and that's the way I feel about this restaurant's website. I think it is that it feels In-n-Out-ish to me and I haven't had a burger since...okay it was Saturday, but I haven't had a real burger since the last time I was in an In-n-Out. Anyway, fresh ingredients and basic burgers are just calling my name...hold the American "cheese". Lunch, Dinner, Late Night


4. Herrell's Ice Cream - I've mentioned this before (remember this is the ice cream place at Thorne's Marketplace) and now I've realized it's a chain, but I still don't care...I'm mentioning it and mentioning it again because ice cream is amazing. Plus they have 200 flavors. How many do you think they let you taste test? Snack


5. Karma - As I've mentioned before, I like to try new things and I've never been to a raw food restaurant, so Karma made the list. Karma isn't all raw food, but there are plenty of options if you want to give it a whirl (all dishes are vegan and soy-free, however). If you're in the mood for a main dish that has reached the upper temperature echelons (above 118 Fahrenheit), maybe just try the raw ice cream for dessert. Karma also serves herbal elixirs. I don't know what these are, but if I go to Northampton, I'm trying it out! Lunch, Dinner


6. Northampton Brewery - You'll see this again and again, but I might as well tell you now...our family goes to breweries...so you shouldn't be surprised that Northampton Brewery is on my list. It's billed as the oldest operating brewpub in New England, but don't let that get you too excited...it opened in 1987. That doesn't mean the beer isn't good! Plus, they have a sunroom and a rooftop beer garden. The menu looks fine, but let's be serious...we're here for the beer. Lunch, Dinner


7. Bakery Normand - One of the things I fell in love with in Germany was the bread. Dan and I were both blown away and we loved going to the bakery in the morning for a few baked goods for breakfast. I had Bakery Normand on my list as a possible breakfast option after viewing the pictures, but I just read the backstory and realized that the baker trained at three different bakeries in Germany. No wonder the bread looked so good in pictures! This place opens at 7:30 in the morning, so it's perfect for a morning stroll around town. Those Chocolate Croissants (shokolade croissant) are calling my name. Breakfast, Snack, or an unhealthy lunch


8. Haymarket Cafe - It was the smoothie list at the top of the menu that drew me in to this little slice of heaven. Dan is a huge smoothie fan, so I know he'd enjoy this place. Honestly the menu looks pretty good, but I love things like bourbon french toast (yes) and wild mushroom risotto. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner


9. The Green Bean - Socially responsible and focusing on breakfast and lunch (as well as winning awards in its first year of business for best breakfast and second best lunch), Mary Wiseman (who narrated the Design*Sponge post) noted that the wait is part of the experience. I'm guessing this means you better make a stop here for breakfast otherwise you're missing out. Breakfast, Lunch


10. Bistro Les Gras - I chose this partially because Les Gras means "the fats". They claim to shy away from cream and butter, but it doesn't seem to matter from looking at the menu which looks amazing. Roasted mockingbird, anyone? Lunch, Dinner


11. Hungry Ghost Bread - This is my backup bakery choice in Northampton (really, there aren't too many places that have at least two bakeries, anyway!), but I should also note it serves pizza. Breakfast, Snack, Dinner


12. Cup and Top - This place looks like it would be great for parents with kids as it has a children's area. Also, my mouth is watering after reading the panini menu... Breakfast, Lunch


13. Cafe Evolution - This place serves vegan baked goods and a regular cafe menu. Honestly, I just want to see if those vegan cinnamon rolls are as good as the non-vegan ones. Breakfast, Lunch