The Obies: The Getaway

We were lucky enough to get away for a day and a half this week.

Thank you Anne, Lloyd and KK for watching the kids

and allowing this getaway to happen.

Luckily Laura allowed me to be vague about what was going on this week and we took off without her knowing where we were going or what we were doing.

Our first stop was in Sumerduck, Virginia at the

Rogers Ford Farm Winery

We were hungry and ready to get out of the car by this time and the gentleman that poured the wine was a delight. He had this picture of his 7 grandkids on the wall and the first 5 already have wines named after them. Chloe, Jacob Christopher and Julia are the only 3 I recall right know, but each had pictures of his grandkids on the label. Neat story and it made it impossible not to like him and the winery immediately.

We had a bite to eat and a glass of wine on the porch overlooking the vineyards,
and then we were off to another unknown destination.

This time we arrived at the
Molon Lave Vineyards

This was a beautiful building with great serving bars and impressive stone walls. As at the first one we were the only ones there and now that we had eaten, we were much happier, so some silliness ensued.

The 4 wines we got to taste were okay but nothing to write home about and we moved on to the 3rd of the 4 destinations
Mediterannean Cellars

This was not actually intended to be number 3, but it was open and was recommended at Molon Lave, so instead of heading to Unicorn Winery as I had planned, we ended up here.

Mrs. Papadopoulos served us and she and her husband were the owners.

The wines were good and the view was even better.

But we were ready to move on to our final destination.

Luckily the new GPS took us through some private drive over a hill and through someones yard. No one was around except this beautiful horse, so Laura got out and fed him some grass and pet him for a few minutes.

And then we were off to our final destination...

...but I know this is when I lose most of my readers, getting too wordy and all,

so even though the kids were no where near us at this time I've decided to throw a teaser picture in here or there to keep you interested.

So we ended up at the

Inn at Little Washington.

Luckily Michaela and Tareq Salahi of the Real Housewives of D.C. had been there recently and Laura had seen it so she knew about the Inn.

Actually she had heard of the Inn other ways too and was very excited to be there.

I had been cleaning out our bureau and found the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book.
The Inn at Little Washington was listed in the book and had been rated one of the top ten restaurants in the world. We like watching our Top Chef shows but never eat that way, so I decided this would be a treat for us, and it was.

The Inn and its surrounding decor and buildings were amazing.

The restaurant backs up to this patio below and there are a number of koi swimming around.

Across the street we found a path with a 30 minute sunset walk with amazing foliage.

Unfortunately with this being a surprise, I hadn't gotten Laura the appropriate footwear for this part of the voyage, but the parts we could see were picturesque.

When we got into the Inn, they immediately showed us around and took us to the Monkey Lounge for the drink of the day which was champagne with a brandy soaked pear.

The wine room was also quite impressive.

And as we looked around the rooms

Laura met Faira the cow.

The dessert menu has an option for cheese of the day

and anyone that makes this choice gets a visit from Faira during dinner.

The lounges and sitting areas are very opulent and comfortable.

And the smell of the constantly burning wood fireplaces is wonderful.
I sense that I may be loosing some of you again, so...

The plan for each room in the Inn is hung on the walls

and this is the plan for our room.

The room was very nice but nothing compared with the service.

I'm not used to being served and am even somewhat uncomfortable with this

but they are masters at making you feel at home and taken care of.

The real reason to go to the Inn is the food.

Patrick O'Connell has been referred to as the Pope of American cuisine

and he and his partner started the Inn in 1978. They have since split but he continues to run the Inn and it remains an exceptional place to stay and eat.

This was our table in the dining room for our dinner.

Patrick feels dining here is a type of entertainment

so he begins the dinner with popcorn topped with freshly shaved black truffles.

Then on to four choices of amuse bouche.

The fourth was our favorite,

"The World's Smallest Loaded Baked Potato"

Then on to a white bean soup that was phenomenal(although I admit I was skeptical)

Lauras favorite part of the meal was her first course,

Chilled maine lobster with citrus and tomatoes.

She also liked her Macaroni and Cheese with Virginia ham.

I did not get pictures of my meal, but I have never eaten anything better than my main course.

Tuna pretending to be filet mignon topped with foie gras.

Sounds complicated and confusing, but I don't care what you call it.

I call it yum.

Laura was pretty full by this time but managed some room for the pecan ice cream cookie topped with caramel.

All of the desserts looked good to me and luckily they had a sampler platter called the Seven Deadly Sins. Very very good, but I was still thinking about the filet, or was it tuna?

This was a lot of food and neither of us needed much for breakfast

but we managed to sidle up to the table in the morning.

Luckily the fare was light with a flight of 4 juices(carrot, orange, pineapple and and apple cider), make your own parfait with blueberries and raspberries, and breads with homemade jam.

It was time to leave the Inn and we were both more than satisfied,

but I sense I'm losing some of you again so...

On our way home to the Burg we stopped at one more winery.

Horton Winery was beautiful and the wines were good but the server must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Neither of us enjoyed it until luckily she got called away and a friendly guy took over and showed a passion for what he was doing.