DISCLAIMER: I once again forgot my fancy shmancy camera on a very significant outing!!! These pics were taken with my handy Moto phone....It does a good job in a jam.
JR and I don't spend a lot of time alone or away from all the rush and responsibility of the farm....this Valentine's Day, we decided to do something different....we arranged for Gma Kathy and Uncle Travis to hold down the fort and keep an eye on the Little Brat....we packed our bags and we headed to Charlottesville for a weekend away! Looking back, we determined this could actually be the first trip we have taken in the 6 yrs we have spent together ALONE!!! Life has a way of bogging you down, I guess.....so we were in much need of an opportunity to stop, take a step back from everything and everyone, and spend some quality time with each other.....what a concept!!! I'm not sure what took us so long, but we are committed to doing something like this every few months from here on out.....the experience was priceless.
We stayed at he Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville. It was the most interesting building....designed in a triangle shape.....the rooms rooms were nice, but I thought the greatest part of our stay was the service...the concierge and staff were top notch! They really made us feel like VIPs!
The Omni sat at the end of the Historic Downtown Mall. From there, we were able to walk up and down the Mall, visiting lots of great shops and boutiques.....there was even a Cupcake Store solely dedicated to the creation of the most tastiest little cakes you ever met! This Mall is unique because you would normally find a street up the center, with shops on either side..however, this mall is for pedestrians ONLY! So that leaves plenty of space for musicians, vendors, dancers, and lots of other entertainment and activities to set up.....Here is a view from the end back towards the Omni...
We paused to pose in front of a memorial as we toured the Mall....we would later visit the homes of two of the men named above us...James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
After we got some exercise on the Mall, we made our way to Monticello (Home of Thomas Jefferson), less than 10 minutes away! We walked the grounds and took in some amazing sights....JR loves him some history, and I have a great appreciation for things from days gone by, so it was a really great experience! Here is JR on the steps to the rear of the home....he loves those columns, but I am more of a 'wrap-around-porch' kinda girl....
We stopped to view the 1 miles garden that grew all the vegetables that were needed to feed Thomas Jefferson, his family, and his staff! That's a lot of rows to hoe!!!!
The in-home tour was so exciting! It was furnished with period furniture and artwork...ANTIQUES! It was a guided tour and our orator was a very knowledgeable man with many great stories to tell that made the experience a memorable one....HISTORY! Truly a fun time for us BOTH! (Antiques + History) The gadgets that Thomas Jefferson implemented throughout his home and work were also extraordinary....I cannot even begin to list them all...I highly recommend you go see for yourself, if given the opportunity!
We finished our historical tours with Montpelier, (Home of James Madison). This home is currently in restoration...the foundation responsible for its' restoration has spent about 24M so far in construction...all of which comes from donations!!! That's some serious fund raising! This tour was unique because we got to self tour the entire home (unlike Monticello where we were kept on a tight leash thru specific parts of the home)......that meant we could visit all the areas that peaked our curiosity....In particular, the basement! We wanted to see how it compared to our own home, and found it comforting to see the same type construction and flooring in Montpelier that we have in Westwood....Heart Pine flooring, hand cut.....large rough cut beams....it gave us inspiration and excitement for our own place and what we have yet to accomplish in its restoration....I did not get any pics of Montpelier because my phone died.....but the porch looks almost identical to Jefferson's portico above! They had similar tastes in French/Colonial style.
Finally, our single most favorite guilty pleasure over the entire weekend....The Pointe Restaurant in the Omni Hotel! Yes, there may have been 30 some places to eat within walking distance of the hotel....but who needs to walk when you have the best at your doorstep? We ate breakfast and dinner here each day and the food was phenomenal...we agreed it was our best overall experience to date....the servings were HUGE...the food was FRESH....and the taste was OUTSTANDING....I had a salmon dinner and JR had beef, as usual....I do not recall the names or sauces or much of anything other than the fact we went back and had the same thing every night! LOL.....
I am curious though.....why did the waiter laugh at me when I asked him what a Mimosa was? Am I the only one on the planet that looked puzzled when he asked if I would like one?
Finally, our single most favorite guilty pleasure over the entire weekend....The Pointe Restaurant in the Omni Hotel! Yes, there may have been 30 some places to eat within walking distance of the hotel....but who needs to walk when you have the best at your doorstep? We ate breakfast and dinner here each day and the food was phenomenal...we agreed it was our best overall experience to date....the servings were HUGE...the food was FRESH....and the taste was OUTSTANDING....I had a salmon dinner and JR had beef, as usual....I do not recall the names or sauces or much of anything other than the fact we went back and had the same thing every night! LOL.....
I am curious though.....why did the waiter laugh at me when I asked him what a Mimosa was? Am I the only one on the planet that looked puzzled when he asked if I would like one?
Now we are home, and settled back in the grind....I'm already looking forward our next outing tho....this Mommy-Daddy-Only experience was a great idea!
Happy Trails!
Leah
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