From Villa Appalaccia to 2 Witches

Last week, our good friends Bob & Yvonne invited Brugger and me to accompany them to Villa Appalaccia Winery on Saturday for a day of wining and dining; it goes without saying we were not wont to refuse. Villa Appalaccia, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd County, has long been one of our favorite destinations for spirits and good times. Brugger and I typically visit in the fall, just before Halloween, but we've been known to head that way whenever the mood takes us. It sure took us this weekend.

 

We rode up with Bob & Yvonne early afternoon on Saturday and, once at the winery, met their friends, David & Mary, who are originally from Venezuela. Kimberly and I had made their acquaintance at a couple of other gatherings at Bob & Yvonne's, and we were pleased to see them again. Nice folks, and during one of the hired musician's breaks, Mary stole the stage, grabbed a guitar, and went to town. Fun. We ordered a few of Villa Appalaccia's excellent paninis for lunch and accompanied them with a variety of wines. Good, good stuff all around.

 

We headed back toward Martinsville late in the afternoon and stopped at Lovers' Leap, probably the most famous and scenic overlook in the state. Over the years, I have visited there countless times (one year, in fact, Brugger stumbled into some bear shit there), and the view is still incredible; however, recently, construction to widen US Highway 58 in that area has utterly destroyed the surrounding scenery. Distressingly, much of the devastation has nothing to do with the road itself but the horrific greed of the logging companies, who have deforested countless acres along the highway. It's an infuriating disgrace, and as far as I'm concerned, the motherfuckers responsible ought to be flayed alive.

Good times at Villa Appalaccia. Old Dude, Ms. B., Bob, Yvonne, David, Mary

L: Stella Trudel, the contracted performer; R: Mary, rocking out during Stella's break

A view from Lovers' Leap

On cheerier subjects, on Sunday, Kimberly held one of her regular arts & crafts group gatherings at our place, and friend Terry came along with his wife, Beth, so that he could accompany me (just for the hell off it) to a geocaching event at 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Company in Danville. Some years ago, Brugger and I frequented 2 Witches, but now, it's been quite a few years since we haunted their halls. Both  Terry and I, like most of our geocaching friends, opted for the beer. It turned out to be a large and enjoyable event. Several cachers of my acquaintance whom I've not seen for many years showed up, so in some ways, it felt like a most welcome reunion.

 

In the coming week, both Brugger and I have a lot of work to keep us busy, though not necessarily out of trouble. Whether in or out of it, I'll probably write about it. So, until then, peace out.

Tom (Skyhawk63); Audra (Homestyle, our hostess); Ken & Jennifer (the Alethiometrists)

Tom (Skyhawk63), Audra (Homestyle), Lynn (Spring1), Tom (Night-Hawk), young feller (Hoagland Hunter)

An Oktoberfest Weekend

October has been my favorite month for most of my life, certainly as an adult. It's the Halloween season, don't you know! Since I was a kid, going up to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall has been a family tradition. Apart from colorful fall foliage, the primary attraction for many decades was breakfast at Mabry Mill; sadly, the restaurant is no longer open. The leaves haven't turned yet, but the Virginia mountains are always beautiful, so we didn't mind going a little early this season. On Friday, Brugger and I drove up to Villa Appalaccia, our favorite winery within traveling distance, where we enjoyed an excellent tasting, a partial bottle of their excellent Dolcetto, and some light nibbles that we brought along with us. Following that, we drove over to nearby Chateau Morrisette Winery & Restaurant, where we had another very good tasting, followed by dinner at the restaurant. I had Osso Buco, which was enjoyable enough, though I'm afraid it was hardly my best dinner here. The shanks weren't as tender as they should have been, and the sauce did not go well with the accompanying polenta. Still, the restaurant is beautiful, with traditionally excellent food, and consistently good service, so my enthusiasm for it is no way is in no way diminished.

Below: Ms. B. and Old Dude at Villa Appalaccia and a couple of sunset views from the terrace at Chateau Morrisette.

Yesterday—Saturday—Brugger and I hauled ourselves, my books, and bookselling accoutrements uptown for Martinsville's 44th Annual Oktoberfest. I've been a regular vendor here for many years, and predictably for an event like this, sales can be very much hit or miss. Happily, this one was not at all a miss. I sold a record number of copies (which put me well into the black) and met lots of avid readers. I also ran into several good friends, some of whom I've not seen in far too many years.

 

Happily, good friends (and frequent traveling companions) Terry & Beth came up from Kernersville both to wander about Oktoberfest and hang out with us poor miscreants. After the fest was over and we'd broken down and packed up all our stuff, we all retired to Ground Zero for drinks and dinner. Ms. B. made a fantastic Italian chicken with basil & Parmesan on pasta that made us all very, very full. And then... cheesecake. Woot!

 

Below: A couple of images of Church Street during Oktoberfest.

Today, Ms. B. spent some time fixing up the living room to usher in the Halloween season, and this evening, we watched Night (Curse) of the Demon, which means things are getting real.

Beyond our own little corner of the world, things are far less content and "normal," so who's to say how the rest of our October (and beyond) will fare? For us this weekend, the world turned out to be very nice. I sure wish we all could enjoy much more peace, tranquility, and fulfillment. That said, I desperately wish certain people and parties wouldn't make that so damned hard.

A Slightly Belated Parkway Picnic

Traditionally, Brugger and I visit the Blue Ridge Parkway in October, as a gear-up to Halloween. Last month, the Parkway was closed after damage caused by Hurricane Helene, but at least in the area nearest us, the closing was brief. Still, our schedules were pretty hectic this past month, so we missed going prior to All Hallows. However, more or less on the spur of the moment, to decided to drive up yesterday to Villa Appalaccia and Chateau Morrisette, our two favorite BRP destinations. Sadly, the restaurant at Mabry Mill closed a while back — having breakfast there has been an autumn tradition since my childhood — and there are no definite plans as yet for it to reopen. I certainly hope it will.

The weather turned out perfect for the outing, and though the fall foliage is a bit past its peak, some beautiful color lingered in various areas. At Villa Appalaccia, we did our customary wine tasting, grabbed a bottle of their San Giovese, and had an excellent picnic lunch in the walled terrace a short distance away from the main building (which we always think of as "ours" because, well, it's usually empty except for us, which makes it ours). Then we made the very short truck over to Chateau Morrisette, did the customary tasting, and drank a single glass each of Red Mountain Laurel, which is one of their sweet wines — something we almost never do — but since we'd already had our lunch and some dry red, we figured the Mountain Laurel would make a good dessert. It did.

There were several Adventure Lab stages in some very familiar haunts along the BRP, so on our way back home, we stopped off to grab the stages and take photos at some of the overlooks. We hit them at a lovely time, as the setting sun painted lovely colors out in the valley.

I do hope we'll have a chance to get back up there before winter weather sets in. And for the love of God, for all our sakes, please vote Blue tomorrow.

Blue Ridge Parkway Caching, Wining, and Dining

Since my birthday fell on last Thursday, and Brugger's birthday is next Thursday, we decided to celebrate both by heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday, primarily to visit Villa Appalaccia Winery for wine (it's our favorite winery in the region), and Chateau Morrisette for dinner (plus some more wine). There are a couple of Aventure Lab caches on the Parkway with a handful of stages at Mabry Mill, so we stopped there on our way so that I might claim them. I did. It was nice to visit the mill, which was a long-running personal & family tradition for many years, but — very sadly — the restaurant has closed, possibly permanently, though hopefully temporarily. Mabry Mill is one of the most photographed locations on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I've taken more than I can count there over the years. And I'm posting a couple of more here.

Near the Parkway, U.S. 58 is undergoing a massive construction project, and last year, we had the misfortune of being stuck on it for an exceptionally long time while the work was going on. Google Maps indicated there might be delays, so on the way up — which was rainy (and very foggy once we reached the Parkway) — rather than taking 58, the more direct route, I went up U.S. 57 to Route 8 to the Parkway. It's a bit longer, but it's somewhat more scenic, especially since the construction work has utterly destroyed the most beautiful scenery along 58. We did take 58 home since by then it was late evening, and we ran into no problems whatsoever.

At Villa Appalaccia, we encountered a large crowd, which we found surprising since the weather was pretty dismal. Regardless, Ms. B. and I sat out in our favorite location — a little walled courtyard set back from the main building in a scenic grove of trees. We met a couple of interesting gentlemen smoking cigars out there, so we buckled up and shot the shit with them for a solid hour. Turned out to be a lot of fun.

Then Ms. B. and I migrated to the nearby Chateau Morrisette restaurant, where we enjoyed a first-rate dinner (as we almost always do) — butter-poached filet mignon for me and a beet salad and French onion soup for the missus. To accompany dinner, we went with a bottle of Dry Dog red, which wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

So, it was a lovely birthday excursion. We even enjoyed the fog and rain because it offered us a somewhat haunted atmosphere. Not much could be better for a birthday celebration.

Yesterday also would have been my brother's 60th birthday. He and I shared a lot of times on the Blue Ridge Parkway in our younger days. Here's to remembering all the best times with him.

Spirits of Appalaccia and More

Due to our hectic pre-Halloween schedule, we ended up making our traditional Fall excursion to the Blue Ridge Parkway a bit late this year. Since daughter Allison is staying at Pleasant Hill, the old Martinsville homestead, she came with us this year. However, due to our weekend scheduling, we didn’t get up at the ass-crack of dawn for the traditional breakfast at Mabry Mill (sadness!). Instead, we headed straight for Villa Appalaccia Winery, which is, without question, our favorite winery in our region. We took a picnic lunch and settled ourselves in our favorite spot, the enclosed garden terrace. (No, we are NOT creatures of habit or anything like that.) Excellent wine (their 2020 Dolcetto vintage is superb) and an excellent lunch. The company could be sour on occasion, but that’s kind of a given. (Ducking, running, etc.)

Then, also following long-held tradition, we scooted over to nearby Chateau Morrisette Winery and sampled a few more vintages. Their restaurant is still closed, as it has been since the onset of COVID-19, but we talked at length with one of the owner‘s sons, and we were happy to hear that there are plans to reopen it — sooner rather than later. I can’t wait.

So, another gratifying outing to the Blue Ridge, and better late than never. 

The Colours Out of Space

The fall colors are pretty much at their peak this weekend, and it's a shame that we haven't been able to work a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway into our schedule this year. Traditionally, Ms. B. and I visit Mabry Mill for breakfast, take a hike somewhere nearby (Buffalo Mountain and Rock Castle Creek Gorge have been prime destinations), and find wine at Villa Appalaccia and/or Chateau Morrisette. Just couldn't manage it this year, although we may yet manage a wine outing on one of these upcoming weekends.

I did come up to Martinsville this morning to keep Cannoli company for a couple of days, as Allison is away for the weekend. On the way, I stopped at Summerfield Community Park to hunt a new Adventure Lab cache, which put me on a nice nature trail through the woods. Indeed the foliage was beautiful. Once I got to Martinsville, I took a nice long walk around Lake Lanier, near my house. I enjoyed the walk on the trail immensely, particularly since I didn't fall into the lake (not that I ever have actually fallen into the lake; where might you have gotten that idea?). Anyway, while I was out there and not falling into anything I ought not, I took a passel of photos of the scenery. I'm posting a bunch of them here for posterity's sake, or something such. There aren't any geocaches around Lake Lanier currently, although I keep threatening to remedy that situation. Eventually....

Arrivederci, America.

Nope... absolutely no work getting done here.

Another Parkway Pilgrimage

For Brugger and me, the pandemic impacted but did not snuff our regular autumn Blue Ridge Parkway pilgrimage. We did miss it last autumn because we were abducted and hauled away to Europe, but I would wager that’s a fair excuse. Today, unfortunately, we did miss out on the always-anticipated Mabry Mill breakfast because, although the restaurant was open, it’s so small and confined that I can’t imagine effective social distancing being possible in there. So, as painful as it was, we opted to avoid the mill and restaurant this year. As a consolation, I expect I’ll be making a batch of my own killer slapjacks for my breakfast in the morning.

Our adventure kind of began last night, as we headed up to Martinsville, where we got together with our friends Stephen & Samaire, which resulted in us drinking perhaps a bit too much, getting perhaps a bit too loud, and having perhaps a bit too much fun. It was pretty late when we arrived back at Pleasant Hill, so we got off to a slightly later start than we had anticipated this morning. This was hardly a complication, though, particularly since we were avoiding the Mabry Mill breakfast. As it was, we headed up to Fairy Stone Park so I could snag a relatively new geocache, which I did, and then made our way to Villa Appalaccia, the first of our winery destinations. A good crowd had already gathered — there was live music on the schedule today — but the winery folk did a great job with facilitating social distancing, requiring masks, and limiting the number of people inside the facility at any given time.

They were not doing tastings, but since we already know several of their wines that we enjoy, we ordered a couple of bottles of Aglianico, one to consume on the premises, one to bring home. Our favorite seating area at the winery is a remote walled enclosure, but as the musicians were setting up there, we opted for a secluded table at the edge of the woods, which wasn’t bad except for the fact it kept getting hot when the sun broke through the clouds. The temperature rose to 80 freaking degrees on the Parkway today, so we had to wear our summer clothes, in stark contrast to our typical attire there this time of year, which is distinctly cold-weather wear. I much prefer the chill.

We had brought along a picnic lunch, so we enjoyed that along with our wine. Now, the Aglianico was tasty enough, but a 2019 vintage; obviously young and a little too tart yet. I’m going to let the bottle we bought age for a couple of years. Make no mistake, Villa Appalaccia still makes some the best wines in the region, and I can’t wait to go back. I hope we can manage it before next fall.

We had a nice, secluded table in the shade near the restaurant (closed) at Chateau Morrisette

The skies darkened a bit while we were at Chateau Morrisette, but the rain held off for us.

From there, it was on to Chateau Morrisette, where we have had some good experiences and we have had some great experiences. No doubt due to the pandemic, and the Parkway offering attractions that allow for good social distancing, the mountains were mobbed today. Both Villa Appalaccia and Chateau Morrisette had very large crowds, but both get high marks for safety. We were able to buy a bottle of their Petit Verdot from an outdoor booth rather than having to go inside the winery. While I have always enjoyed their Petit Verdot, it has generally been less striking than Villa Appalaccia’s Aglianico. Today, it was the other way around. For the first time, probably ever, we preferred Chateau Morrisette’s fare. Again, no one would ever mistake any of these wines for Old World or US west coast, but for what they are, they pretty much hit the spot.

The skies began to darken a bit as the day wore on. The chances of rain increased during the afternoon, but happily for us, the skies never dumped on us. Once we wrapped things up at Chateau Morrisette, we hit the road for Reynolds Homestead in Critz, VA, where a bit more geocaching awaited me. This one was an Adventure Lab cache, which is a bit different than your typical follow-the-coordinates-and-find-the-cache cache. Adventure Labs are “virtuals,” in that there is no physical container to find (unless, as in this case, you put information together from the various virtuals to find a physical cache somewhere nearby). Using the Adventure Lab app, you go to a series of locations, find the specified landmarks at those locations, and answer questions about them. Each one you correctly identify gives you credit for a geocache find. And if there is a bonus cache, you will also get information to help lead you to it. I find these a lot of fun, and this one provided for some exceptional scenery. I had done some geocaching at Reynolds Homestead back in 2008, and I’ve not been back since. Located on about 7 acres at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Reynolds Homestead is the birthplace and boyhood home of both tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds and A. D. Reynolds, whose son Richard S. Reynolds was the founder of Reynolds Metals. The lab cache took us all around the property, from an imposing old Catalpa tree (which was part of a much older cache — “By the Old Catalpa” GCJMCV — which I had found on my 2008 visit); to the main house, which took on a distinctly haunted aspect as the clouds grew darker; an old slave graveyard; and a spring in the woods along a beautiful nature trail. Happily, I was able to locate the nearby bonus cache without difficulty.

After all that, we hit the road for home. We did make a stop at a local jewelry store, where we had to pick up a little something, with which I had surprised Ms. B. a while back, that needed sizing. Done and done.

It was a day. Nary a thing happened that wasn’t better than be slapped in the belly with a wet trout.

The old Reynolds house, looking a bit haunted under the darkening sky

Some striking foliage near the Reynolds house

Ms. B. at the spring

The tobacco barn, protected from evil spirits by a handy-dandy hex sign

The Parkway Pilgrimage: Better Late Than Never

Not that I'm complaining — not even a little bit — but since Kimberly and I were otherwise engaged conquering several countries in the Mediterranean during the month of October, we missed our traditional pre-Halloween vittles-and-vino pilgrimage to Mabry Mill, Villa Appalaccia, and Chateau Morrisette on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Then November turned out to be a whirlwind of both happy and sad personal obligations. Thus, we resolved to undertake a make-up pilgrimage at the earliest possible opportunity. That meant today.

Last night, Ms. B. and I left work, bound for the old homestead in Martinsville, where we took care of some necessary business, then enjoyed dinner and a movie. This morning, unfortunately, our favorite slapjack breakfast was right out, as Mabry Mill closes for the season at the end of October. Regardless, we made do at home and then set out for the mountains. I stopped for a fun, aptly named geocache near the Blue Ridge Parkway ("Is It Really Possum?" GC88JWD), and then drove up to the site of Floyd Fest, where, some months ago, a couple of caches had been placed. The Virginia geocache reviewer subsequently archived them for not conforming to geocaching standards, but I had a sneaking suspicion the containers might still be in place. So, playing against the odds, I set out on the hunt. Not altogether unexpectedly, I came up empty-handed. Well, drat! At least it was a worthy attempt, and I got in some strenuous exercise going up and down (mostly up) the mountainous terrain.

From there, Brugger and I made the very short hop over to Villa Appalaccia, which is under relatively new ownership. Their wine, as always, proved itself exceptional. The dry reds — a delicious Sangiovese, a refreshing blend called Rustico, and our perennial favorite, the Aglianico — all put to shame the multitudes of wines we've sampled in Virginia and North Carolina. That said, once we headed over to Chateau Morrisette, where we had lunch reservations, we found that their 2017 Petit Verdot, a varietal I've always appreciated, rivaled Villa Appalaccia's best. Chateau Morrisette typically makes decent if unexceptional wine, but this one — bold, full-bodied, and aromatic — did not taste like "Virginia wine," which, much like wine from North Carolina, tends to have a distinctive, young, juice-like flavor and thin mouth feel. We've generally gone to Chateau Morrisette more for the food than the wine, but today we found the best of both. Lunch consisted of a delicious Cobb Salad for Ms. B. and a perfectly done medium-rare house specialty burger for the old feller. Excellent service topped off a most satisfying meal.

So, better late than never for a Parkway Pilgrimage, though I did really did miss the slapjack breakfast at Mabry Mill. The mill and restaurant reopen in the spring, so I reckon the nice lady and I will have to add another required pilgrimage to our schedule. I reckon I can deal with that.

A couple of happy folk with happy wine at Villa Appalaccia

Our lunchtime view at Chateau Morrisette

Halloween May Come Now

The prerequisite things for Halloween to come have now happened. The viewing of Night (Curse) of the Demon? Check! The viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Check! The trip with Ms. B. to the Blue Ridge Parkway for breakfast at Mabry Mill, roaming the countryside and grabbing any stray geocaches we can find, and having wine and a picnic at Villa Appalaccia Winery? As of today... check! Now, this is not to say other things aren't going to happen—such as picking up pumpkins for jack-o'-lanterns, maybe getting in a bit of decorating, watching some more scary flicks, and having a Halloween party. They will. But with these most necessary of necessary things now out of the way, Halloween can actually occur with our blessing.

Brugger and I went to Martinsville last night and took Mum out for a pleasant, slightly belated birthday dinner at Rania's restaurant. Then, well before dawn's early light this morning, Ms. B. and I hit the road for the Blue Ridge Parkway and arrived at the mill/restaurant a bit before 8:00 a.m., their usual opening time. But how nice—we now come to find they're open at 7:30 a.m., which is a first (a very welcome first), so we were able to walk right in and get seated. Historically, there have been some very long, very cold pre-dawn waits, as the staff would not unlock those doors till the striking of the hour, no matter the bitter elements patrons might face. An autumn trip to Mabry Mill has been tradition in my family for just about as far back as I can remember, and I love nothing better these days than keeping it going. You know, for the longest time, I've said Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I reckon it is, but the best day of the Halloween season is the one where Brugger and I make the Parkway Pilgrimage. Due to weather and other conditions, things worked out a little differently than planned today, but it still turned out to be everything we hoped it would.

A wee bit blustery on the mountaintop

Brugger talked me down from Lover's Leap.

Pretty, but not much fall color yet this year. The peak is about a week late.

Breakfast was basically my typical favorite: three pancakes—one buckwheat, one sweet potato, and one traditional—with a side of sausage and flowing rivers of hot coffee. Ms. B. enjoyed eggs, sausage, a biscuit, and hot cocoa. From there we had intended to hit the trail head at the western end of Rock Castle Gorge, which we've hiked several times, but always from the other end. Today, however, the road leading to the trail head was closed off, and the weather was looking somewhat menacing, so we opted to make other plans. There was a geocache at the nearby Floyd Fest site, adjacent to Villa Appalaccia, so we popped over there, wandered the grounds for a while, and made the cache find ("Got Wild?" GC7TA5Y). Afterward, since we had plenty of time before the winery opened at 11:00 a.m., we drove into Floyd and wandered one of the shops Ms. B. had enjoyed on a previous outing. Then, as the 11 o'clock hour struck, we hastened back to Villa Appalaccia to do those things that had to be done.

We were the first customers to arrive, so we ended up having an excellent tasting and some entertaining and educational conversation about Italian wine with our hosts. After the tasting, we carried a couple of glasses with us down to the garden terrace area, which is the best place we know to drink wine, and there... we drank wine: delicious Sangiovese and Toscanello for me, and a fine Aglianico for the nice lady. Also following tradition, we had packed a picnic lunch, which we destroyed in a fairly spectacular feeding frenzy.

After all that, we had thought to perhaps check out some wine at Chateau Morrisette winery, which we frequently include in our plans, but once we arrived there, we ran into an all-but-impassable wall of humanity (mostly engaging in sweet wines, it appeared; oh, ye poor unsnobbish souls), so we opted to forego the Morrisette experience and return to Casa de Rodan for a couple of episodes of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, which we have been enjoying. We both love the restaurant at Chateau Morrisette, but I'm afraid we haven't had many stellar experiences at the winery. It's generally mobbed, the wines are fair at best, and the service is hit-or-miss (we've had at least as many misses as hits). So though we cut the outing a little shorter than anticipated, our alternate plan worked out much more to our liking.

And what all this means for you, ladies and gentleman, is that Halloween may now come. We accept donations via cash, Paypal, and all major credit cards as tokens of your appreciation.

Stopping for a little love on the way to the cache

Waiting for the dead to perform

Waiter! Where's my wine?!

Oh, there it is. And a nice lady in the bargain. Happy horrorween!