We just got back from a wine tasting at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg followed by dinner at Hunter's Head Tavern in Upperville, and I should be going to bed to get enough sleep before an early run tomorrow, but we had such a great time and, because I'
m new to this blogging thing and excited about sharing everything, I have to blog about it RIGHT NOW! We went out with our friends and neighbors Kim and Mike, who had a free (even better!) tasting at Chrysalis Vineyards. Actually, it wasn't just a tasting, it was a "tour." So we got the whole history of the vineyard, the grapes, our wine-pourer/hospitality manager Humberto from Cuba...a bit much for me, especially early on, when I was thinking, "just pour the wine! I'm paying the babysitter while you're talking!" By the 5th taste, I didn't mind so much. ;) By the 7th, I couldn't tell the difference between the wines. After the tasting he showed us the grapes growing on the vine (which looked beautiful, although probably more so because I'd had a lot of wine...for me!) and then, the piece de resistance, the wine-making facility, which smelled fantastic!
We sat down after our tasting and shared a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers, since it was only 4:30 and our dinner reservation wasn't until 6:00. Dinner was at Hunter's Head Tavern, a pub that I've known about for years but had never - for one reason or another - visited until now. It's a traditional English pub where the menu is on a chalkboard and you order at the bar. The menu was quite extensive, although not as large as the better English pubs. The tavern uses local, organic food from Ayrshire Farm I ordered Bangers and Mash, Stuart got Beef and Guinness Stew, and Kim and Mike both had Pork Chops. The food was amazing! Unfortunately I had no room for dessert, but Kim and Mike split a Sticky Toffee pudding...yum. If you haven't tried Hunters Head, you must go! Not only is the food fabulous, it's very reasonably priced! I will definitely be back.
Today is Halloween and boy are we excited! To stave off the craziness of waiting until trick or treating time, we took the boys to Claude Moore Rec Center, where Daniel climbed the "spooky" rock wall (you had to be at least 6, so Joshua couldn't do it). The rock wall was decked out for Halloween, with cobwebs, spiders, and skeletons. Bags
of candy hung from some of the holds. Daniel had a bag attached to his climbing harness, and as he reached a bag of candy, he could take out candy and put it in his bag. He found it hard to reach around and get the candy in the bag, so he decided to just drop it on the floor! He climbed up to the top easily, and had two more climbs on progressively harder sections. He declared the wall "easy" so is ready for a new challenge. I think we'll have to take him to Sportrock, an indoor climbing facility, for a real challenge!
