On a Cold and Frosty Morning

March 29, 2015


Sunday. Jason and I hurried to get ready this morning, fearing that church goers would created a long wait for a table at any possible restaurant in town. We assumed this because we are from Georgia and every Sunday morning we must wait roughly 30 minutes for table at home. However, Virginia is a magical land where there is no wait time on a Sunday morning, at least not at the Mill Street Grill. It was glorious. We were seated immediately and our orders taken right upon arrival. Since we arrived on a Sunday we had the option of brunch, which we gladly accepted. As we waited for our food, the waitress brought their homemade bread (much more fresh than the last time we were here). The bread also came with maple butter, which I thought was the best butter they had ever served. Shortly after finishing the bread, our food arrived. Jason ordered Eggs Benedict with a side of oranges (since he was allergic to all other fruit offered) and broccoli. I ordered an egg and bacon sandwich with a side of fruit and home fries. Below is a picture:

 Below is a picture of Jason about to receive his food.

After eating our food and rapidly devouring our peppermint ice cream, we walked over to the hotel. Shortly after returning, we left for Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home). This was our favorite place to visit the last time we went to Virginia. The whole week it had been cold and windy, but this morning gave a glimmer of sunshine and a hint of warmth. It was the best day for us to visit Monticello--still cold and crisp but not freezing. We drove roughly 40 minutes, stopping once for gas and diet Cheerwine. Upon arrival, we made our way to the ticket kiosk. It was about 2:00p.m. and the next tour would leave at 3:45. Sadly, this one was all booked up. We settled for the tour at 4:25, which actually turned out to be better.

We stopped in the gift shop and purchased strawberry butter, Monticello Reserve Ale, and White Hall Soliterre. We then went back to the car to store our purchases and then made the walk back to the welcome center. Jason and I talked about how much easier to make that walk this year than it was a few years ago. We both were so out of shape during that last trip, but this year we were different. Since receiving fitbits, losing weight, and exercising the past couple of years, Jason and I are in better health than ever.

As Jason and I made the walk back to the welcome center we came across a strange and rare bunny. This bunny was Japanese. We know this because it was a Japanese person in a school girl bunny suit. The man with her must have twice her age and had a fetish for bunnies, or at least was okay with hers. It was kind of nice having them around... kind of like where's waldo but in bunny form.

After passing the pink bunny, we made our way to the bus which would take us up the mountain to Jefferson's actual home and gardens. As the bus arrived, I heard a woman say "Well, they didn't apologize for the renovations yet." I wasn't sure what she meant, but when we got off the bus we noticed a large white curtain on the front of Monticello. Jason and I both were fine with this for two reasons A) we have seen it before; B) It makes it so it's still pretty when we come back. Which we will come back.

Since we had a great deal of time to wander, we made our way to the vegetable garden first. Although just the beginning of spring, some vegetation had begun to sprout. Below are pictures:

 Jason and I tried to see what exactly they were growing in the gardens when I stumbled upon the "Marshmallow" section. I gasped being amazed that they could grow that. Jason said "no" with a chuckle and then I immediately remembered that those don't grow on anything. Wouldn't it be great though to have a marshmallow bush or a tree that rains tiny little mini mallows for the tasting. It would be glorious.

The picture below is of the vineyard which is directly below the vegetable garden.

After viewing the veggies, we made our way to the house gardens. Sadly, spring is only faintly here, small reds and pinks are peeping through the ground but not fully in bloom.  Below are pictures of us at the house.

 *Please ignore the massive wind that overtook our hair in the picture below*

The picture below is of Mulberry Row from the house's porch. 

 At the end of Mulberry Row were the remains of the joiners house. During our last visit we were unable to really see this part of the grounds because it was being excavated during the time. Apparently they have recently found a thimble on the grounds from long ago. Who knew. 

 Below is a beautiful picture of all the Mulberry trees on Mulberry Row.

 After touring the grounds and catching the end of the Slavery Tour (we had already done that once, so just a review), we made our way to the gift shop. The gift shop had recently been moved to inside part of the home (where the Slaves lived and worked). Jason bought Monticello Root Beer. We also bought American Heritage Historic Chocolate (authentic 18th century recipe and ingredients) and Monticello Virginia Peanuts. Below are pictures of us enjoying our snack in the gardens.

 Above is a picture of me showing the Virginia Peanuts. The woman in the gift shop told us that these were the best peanuts in the world. Jason said (later as we ate on this bench), "As Georgians we should not abide this northish aggression." Jason was extremely upset that a Virginian should claim to have better peanuts than Georgia :^) Oh the weird things he says. Side note: he is currently enjoying the crunchy goodness that is Virginia peanuts. Jason says that apparently what makes anything Virginian is that you salt the crap out of it. e.g. Virginia ham. I have to agree--except the peanuts are actually good.

 Above is a picture of kids playing in the yard of Monticello. There was a dad with maybe four or five kids playing tag in front of us. They were adorable. They ended up climbing the tree next to us for pictures. They also all longingly stared at our peanuts while doing so.

Below is a kickass picture of Monticello's most Tim Burtonish tree I have ever seen. It was beautiful and amazing!

 We waited at this very tree for our tour to begin. We were informed we were not allowed to take any picture of the inside in order to preserve the home and it's art/artifacts. A man named Justin greeted us and gave us a tour. Justin talked a lot more about how Jefferson was in debt than our last tour guide. Apparently he inherited a great deal of debt from relatives and lavishly spent his money on his home and the finest he could buy. When he died, he left his entire family with a great deal of debt to their name. In fact, they were required to sell Monticello to pay some of it off. Luckily, years down the road, the Levy Family decided to preserve it as it is now and be a place to provide tours and history to the world. Thank goodness for those people. Too bad for Jefferson's family. After the tour, we were led out on the porch where they showed us the view. Apparently Jefferson designed the building for the University of Virginia, which was built within eye shot. There was literally a small opening between numerous trees that reviewed the beautiful school's building. He was able to watch from his home the progress of the builders.

After the tour, we walked down the slave's quarters. Below are pictures of us in this section.

 Above is a bell that was used during this time period. Jason thought my mom would appreciate it, as it resembles Downton Abbey's bell on the show.

 A random example of a lock and key during this time period.

When we finished browsing, we headed back over to Mulberry Row. Here is a picture of Jason there.

 In the vegetable garden is a small lookout room. The glass must be original to the time because it was wavy and with numerous imperfections. Below are pictures of us in this room:

After this picture, Jason and I made the walk back down to the welcome Center. I love that they have a walking trail on his property. We then drove back to the hotel. We got back right in time for dinner. We saved Shenandoah Pizza for last because we knew they were open on Sunday when many other places aren't. Below is a picture of the street as we headed that way:

The picture below is of the coffee house we stopped at numerous times during this trip (the By&by).

Another picture of the street:

Below is a scary-ass screaming bust of a head for wigs... not sure what's going on there but we liked it. 

Finally, dinner. We were given a seat across from where we sat the last time we were here. Two men played music at the window. One with a guitar and the other a violin. They were pretty good. A man with an armful of tattoos took our order. Below are pictures. I ordered the picture on top (crustless pizza... meatball and feta); Jason the crustless pizza with chicken and feta. Both delicious. We also ordered an appetizer of Pepperoni Pizza Roles. Delicious!

After dinner, we made our way to the Split Banana for some more ice cream. Jason's is to the left (brownie bash and Guinness Extra Stout). Mine is to the right (Snickers and brownie bash).

Below is a picture of the outside of the shop. 

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for blogging and then sleeping. Good night Staunton. We shall be leaving you tomorrow.

Devil Went Down To Staunton

March 28, 2015

Jason and I woke up early today. We wanted the room cleaned and decided it was easier if we didn't sleep in too much. Also, we were hungry. After showering and getting ready for the day, we made our way to the cold streets of Straunton. I say this not because the streets are unkind but because it was 30 degrees and windy. I, being the exact opposite of a boyscout, brought a sweater and forgot my coat. It was freezing. Our noses quickly became red and our ears frozen as we walked the streets looking for breakfast. We quickly stumbled across The Pampered Palate. It was a small, southern style restaurant with Easter decorations lining the windows. We walked toward the register and waited for a table. Two tables were without people, but they had yet to be cleared. A woman came out from the kitchen wearing a baby bjorn and a small, cheerful baby bouncing on her stomach. She greeted us and cleared the table near the window. We browsed candy in the small shop at the back of the restaurant and made our way to our seats the moment she finished cleaning. A young boy (I assume a relative of the woman that greeted us) asked for our drink and order. Only moments later, our food arrived. They are pretty quick here. Below are pictures:

My bagel, fruit, and homemade sausage:

Jason's Turkey, bacon, and coleslaw croissant with a side of chips:

After breakfast, we made our way to a few stores. We decided it was too cold for me to simply wear a sweater. I would need an actual coat. We popped in a cute little boutique shop where we were immediately greeted by this lovely creature...

 In my head I called her Sammie.Scarves and hats (in the shape animals, I might add) were available but no coats. I asked the kind woman in the shop if she knew where I might buy one. She said there was a clothing store across the street from her or possibly a store called "17." We thanked her and walked over. There were indeed clothes across the street; however, only a queen can purchases them. Also they didn't have coats. We then made our way to "17." It was a very very cute store that was three stories high. Inside was a cute antique shop, filled with older clothes from the 40s and on. I found numerous coats, all about four sizes bigger than me. I decided if I were going to spend $20 on a coat, I'd rather just get a new one that I could wear all the time. So, Jason and I went back to the hotel and decided to drive to the nearest Target or T.J. Maxx.

As we drove, we stumbled across a GoodWill store. Without much thinking, we immediately turned in. It was huge!! It was much bigger and the clothes way better than the one in Newnan. Toward the back of the store we found the coats (almost typed goats... what a weird Goodwill that would have been!). We found maybe 5 that could have easily worked. Jason spotted a brown one that was lined with fake fur. It was sooooo warm. I told him it felt like a bear was hugging me! It was $8. Score! Here is a picutre:

And, yes, it does come with a hood! Can't beat it. After GoodWill, we drove back to the hotel. Today was going to be another relaxing day. We wanted to do some antique shopping and go visit Juliette at the Bed and Breakfast Anne Hathaway House. Jason and I emailed Juliette yesterday asking if we could pop by sometime today to purchase some of her wine jelly. She said yes, so we were definitely going to make a stop at her place. But first, antiquing.

Once back at the hotel, we tried to find the antique store where Jason purchases his razor on our last trip. Sadly, we were unable to find it. We ended up walking around in the bitter wind until stumbling across Suntrust. We realized we needed cash for the wine jelly. We began to become numb from the cold, and decided to warm up in the nearest antique shop. Not sure the name, but it was a great antique store. They had a original drawing of Woodstock and Snoopy that was drawn by the original animator of Charlie Brown. It was only $135. If I had the money I would have bought it. We also stumbled across a dream chest/trunk that I've always wanted. It was large and round on top. The kind I always imagine pirates use to hold liquor. Sadly, it was also $150, which is honestly an amazing price for that. But I don't have that kind of money or the room for it at the moment. Jason also stumbled across this:

It's where self-absorbed people go to see three versions of themselves... there's even a pull down light at the top. Jason--being hilarious and not self absorbed--walked in, looked at me in the mirror, and said "Which one is the real me?!" I love him! He's fun to be around even doing mundane things. After we could begin to feel our ears again, we made our way to Juliette's home. We had forgotten how long of a walk it was. We ended up popping into one other antique shop to warm up. This last shop didn't have much of anything to note... just warmth. Wasn't too long before we were back on sidewalk. We saw the old homes we passed two year prior and the beautiful church that I loved so much. Soon we could see Thornrose cemetery. We had previous planned to walk through the cemetery as we did before, but it appeared too cold for such a walk.

As we came upon Anne Hathaway's B&B, we noticed a large group of people leaving her home. We knocked on the door, Juliette's husband answered. He asked if we were checking in. Once we said, no that we had emailed his wife about buying some wine jelly today he said "Oh, on no. Uh... I know nothing about wine jelly. I'll have to get Juliette." He seemed rather flustered. He told us it had been a crazy day and that Juliette went to try and take a nap. We apologized and said we could easily come back some other time, but he insisted on waking her. He said it was useless--there was too much going on for a nap anyway. She quickly came from around the corner, looking somewhat frazzled herself. We purchased two jars of wine jelly (we went through the last one rather quickly). We apologized again, thanked her, and then hurried off so she could rest.

The walk back was less cold, as the wind was now on our backs and we were walking downhill. As we passed different stores and buildings, we came across this little fellow on one of the walls:

This is what I love about Staunton. It's an artsy town. It's somewhat like a game of where's waldo here... at any moment there could be a painting on a wall or a picture of House on a door. You just have to keep an eye open for it. After passing this friendly bunny, we saw a young couple with a small boy with them. Right as we passed, we saw the little boy look up at his mom and she said "We'll go inside soon." The little boy replied "I don't care where we go as long as we're inside." We laughed to ourselves and fully agreed with him. We made our way to our now favorite coffee shop in Staunton, the By&by. Jason and I both realized we were a little dehydrated and began to feel lightheaded... something to drink was just what we needed.

The same girl from yesterday greeted us. We both ordered Black Tea today. All the tables were full so we took a seat at a bar in the middle of the room. A man at a nearby table, asked if they could move for us (since they were taking up two or three tables). We thanked them but said they were okay. Our tea arrived shortly after this. We listened to kind people next to us discussing the tv show Arrested Development as we sipped the warm refreshment. We also learned that one of the women at that table worked with missiles. Oh the interesting things you hear at a coffee shop. We left after drinking our tea and headed back to the warm hotel, right around the corner.

Before retuning, however, we decided to go ahead and purchase tickets to the White Devil play that was showing tonight at 7:30 at the Black Friar's Playhouse. We walked in and were greeted by two women. I asked for two tickets, if they had any left. They chuckled and said "For you, we can make that work." I guess they had a lot of seats. She asked what seating preferences we had. We told her we had never been there, so just pick where she would want to sit. Jason did say, he'd prefer something that faced the stage directly instead of from the side. She picked row J, seats 11 and 12. As she rang us up, we noticed a drawing of a cat. I told her I liked her cat and then the other lady pointed to three other cat drawings near her computer. I told her I liked the one with the eye patch on it the best. She said they named it Purricles. Super cute. We left and walked four feet over to the hotel. 

After resting and blogging a bit, we decided to go to dinner at the Clock Tower... another favorite restaurant of ours. We walked some ways in the cold but were greeted by the warm bar inside the restaurant. A young, bubbly woman sat us to our table. We picked the high-top table in the corner. Here is a picture of Jason:

We ordered spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer and two waters. Here is a picture:

 The lady took our order moments later and also discussed Jason's desire to purchase a flight of beer. He picked all Virginia beers... we can't remember what they were called but they were good. Here is a picture of Jason with his flight. Side note: our waitress laughed about how her coworkers were making fun of her for arranging his flight from lightest to darkest. Jason said he would have done the same thing.

 Our waitress noticed we took a picture of the beer. She turned to her coworkers that had previously laughed at her and said "See! They're taking pictures! That's why you arrange them like that!" She then brought us some bread and our sweet potato andouille. It was stupidly delicious!

 As we finished up our soup, the dinner arrived. Below are pictures of my Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti noodles (almost spelled noddles), and Jasons lasagna. Again, stupidly delicious!

After finishing up, we asked the waitress for a picture together. We almost never can get good pictures of both of us when we go on vacation, but she seemed nice and trustworthy with a camera.

After dinner, we made our way to the Split Banana, possible the best ice cream spot in all of America (I haven't been to a ton of ice cream places). It's actual homemade gelato that is sure to add 100 pounds with each bite and 20 years happiness to your life, somehow at the same time. I ordered one scoop of apple pie and one scoop coconut. Jason--one scoop cookies and cream and another scoop of kick-you-in-your-crotch-fantastic peanut butter. Deloicious!! We ate at the bar because all of staunton was currently getting ice cream and no seats were left. That's how good this place is.. it's freezing outside and the ice cream place is packed.

 After ice cream, we dropped off at the hotel for a second. Turns out there was a wedding at the hotel. We quickly caught a glimpse of the bride, sporting a beautiful pair of thick, black, hipster glasses and a stunning wedding dress. After half an hour we made our way to the Playhouse for the White Devil. We were seated in the most perfect spot. It was right in front and just far back enough to see the whole stage. Below is a picture... I later found out I wasn't supposed to take this picture, but no one told me not to until later. They do let you take pictures of the place after the show, so I'm probably okay. Here is the picture:

 What's amazing about this palyhouse is that it is a recreation of Shakespeare's original indoor theater.  They also are held to the same conditions the actors themselves would have been subject to during this time period. Meaning, they had roughly 48 hours to rehearse the play. There was also a gentleman with the script on the sidelines in case someone forgot a line... which no one did. One of the male actors was cast as a female role just as it would have been in Shakespeare's time. It was great! They also had something called gallant stools, which are the stools located on the sides of the stage. This is where you could pay to watch the stage up close and personal. The gentleman to the left, closest to the camera fell asleep a couple times during the play--should have picked a different seat. There were roughly 4 to 5 seats empty on stage so they allowed others to upgrade right before the play started. Also, the house lights were kept on during the entire play, just as it was during Shakespeare's time.

The play was amazing! The actors phenomenal. It had a good mix of humor and drama and even creepiness. Jason and I joked about how the actor Glenn Howerton would have made an excellent Flamineo. The actor even looked like him. It was so good. Right before the play began and during intermission, the actors would do a concert in the balcony for everyone. They all were so talented. They could all act, sing, play different instruments (guitar, flute, sax, banjo, etc). It was incredible!

After the play Jason and I returned to the hotel where I promptly passed out. Jason and I had walked so much today that we didn't even need to try to finish our 10,000 steps for our fitbit challenge... we finished those steps right at dinner time. It was a fun day but I was ready for some sleep!