Flashback

Thanks to Dan's comment on my previous post, I dug out some old photos I took of downtown Fredericksburg, circa 1981. Here's a shot of the back of the store Dan mentioned, Lowery & Cox. I guess guns really do go with everything.



The old Victoria Theater on Caroline, now the back entrance of the Fredericksburg Baptist Church.



Shelton's Shoe Repair. You don't see that many shoe repair places around these days, now that shoes are considered disposable.



Some things don't change that much, after all. Crismond's Shoes is still at its original spot on Caroline Street. Parker's Barber Shop is where Basil's is now (or was, since Basil's recently closed down). Two doors to the right is the old Colonial Theater, now "The Galleria." According to the poster, they were showing Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams. I don't know what the occasion was, but bluegrass on a flatbed truck on Caroline Street, courtesy of Picker's Supply, has to be a good thing.

Getaway

To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’Auberge Provencale, an inn outside of Winchester that we visited more than a few years ago. Our plan was to stop at a couple of wineries on the way there on Sunday (the best part about retirement is the flexible scheduling), and visit Winchester on Monday, which we remembered had a charming and historic downtown, not unlike Fredericksburg, but with a pedestrian mall that made strolling all the more pleasant.



We chose to stop at two wineries in Delaplane, Barrel Oak and Three Fox. The beautiful countryside surrounding the wineries is barren this time of year, and still covered with dirty snow from our pre-Christmas snowstorm. But we enjoyed the wine tastings, and came home with a couple of bottles, plus 4 new souvenir wine glasses to help replenish our dwindling supply (I’ve lost quite a few to a simple knock against the kitchen faucet).


Barrel Oak Winery has only been open a year, but has a lovely rustic beamed tasting room, with comfy seating where you can enjoy a bottle of wine and a light meal.

But really, visiting wineries is just a way to kill time until check-in. L’Auberge Provencale is at the top of my list of favorite Virginia inns, and we loved every minute of our stay. On a dead-of-winter Sunday night, we were the only overnight guests, so were lucky to get an upgrade to one of the most expensive suites. But the real highlight of the inn is the amazing French restaurant, where we splurged (and it was a big splurge) on an incredible multi-course prix fixe meal, featuring an amuse bouche, first course, second course, intermezzo, third course and dessert. Definitely one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten, with each course an artful layering of components. Plus more shaved truffles in one meal than I’ve eaten in my entire life. Then in the morning, you wake up to another multi-course meal, enough food to last till dinnertime. We don’t take this kind of trip often, but it’s something we look forward to for months. And it’s a lovely way to cap off the craziness of the holiday season, with this one little getaway just for us.


Taking photos at dinner is a tad intrusive, so I only brought my camera to breakfast, where my husband and I were alone in the sunny dining room, and where these luscious baked pears were just the first course of our morning meal.


I'm a sucker for poofy linens.


We had a sitting room with an array of reading materials. Am I the only one who thinks "Garden & Gun" is an odd combination of hobbies?

On Monday, we left the inn and headed into Winchester for our downtown stroll. Where we discovered things were pretty quiet, mainly because 1. it’s the dead of winter (did I mention that already?), 2. Monday is the day many small shops are closed, and 3. downtown Winchester is experiencing an economic downturn (like everywhere else), with many empty storefronts. The town definitely shows better in warm weather. The 83rd Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, scheduled for April 23-May 2, might be the perfect time for another day trip.


Winchester's empty pedestrian mall on a cold Monday.


We were much too full from breakfast to enjoy a Snow White burger, but this is tops on my list for our next visit.


Winchester has many lovely old homes, like this architectural wonder.


An early military office of George Washington's is preserved as a museum in Winchester. Closed for the season. Of course.

And finally, I have to end with a couple of public restroom shots. I have a penchant for a well-designed public restroom, and am particularly fond of the new trend towards artful basins: the shallow ones, the square ones, the oddly angled ones (check out the women's room at the new Firebirds Grill at the Spotsy mall). Here's the faucet at Barrel Oak Winery, designed to look like an old fashioned pump:



And while the all-automatic, hands-off public restroom is becoming more common, this was the first time I've seen this hands-off door handle, seen in the first floor restroom of Winchester's City Hall:

December Wrap-Up

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decorations this year have to go to "A Place in Time" (photos above and below) which is so jam-packed with Christmas decor that it's almost impossible to actually shop.



Our best musical discovery of the season was the Stafford Regional Handbell Society. We caught their performance at the Spotsy Mall (do I ever have to call it the Towne Center?), and these young ringers were a treat to hear. I've joined the budding handchime choir at my church, so I can appreciate the work that goes into their concert. Next year, we'll try to catch their performance at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in North Stafford and avoid the noise and lousy acoustics of the mall.





And this month, we discovered a few new things on our strolls through town. Colonial Cupcakes finally opened, with its staff dressed in full colonial costume (bet the teenagers behind the counter love that uniform). We brought home a couple of samples, the key lime and the red velvet.





The Bella Italia market next to Castiglia’s opened in time for Christmas, a thrilling development for an Italian American like me. For our Christmas buffet, we stocked up on wonderful cheeses and sausage, plus a giant, but light panettone covered in confectioner’s sugar that we referred to as “Sugar Mountain.” (For the culinary purist, it was technically a pandoro, a similar bread also traditionally served at Christmas, but without the dried fruit.) They also have take-out specialities including homemade pasta, lots of deli meats, and Italian grocery items. I highly recommend a visit.



But for me, the most exciting change is that Virginia’s new restaurant anti-smoking law went into effect, where smoking sections now have to be completely separate areas, with their own ventilation system. A few of Fredericksburg’s oldest restaurants, like the Battlefield Restaurant across from the Park Service Visitor Center and the Rec Center on William St., went completely smoke free (a recent walk past the Rec Center found a cluster of smokers right in front of the entrance, huddled over the standing ashtray). I was so excited about returning to the main room at Sammy T’s, but the staff there was adamant that the restaurant was going to keep its arrangement of smoking in the big front room, no smoking in the little separate back room. I kept calling to see if they had changed their minds, but kept getting the same answer. So I was surprised and delighted that in mid-December, I finally saw this sign:



Better late than never.

(UPDATE: After seeing Emily's comment that as of late Dec. the arrangement at Sammy T's hadn't actually changed, I just called and was told that the management changed their minds, and the front room will continue to be the smoking room. I'm so disappointed. Not that they will care, but there are plenty of other non-smoking dining rooms in Fredericksburg to enjoy, so I won't be going back.)

The other noteworthy December news in town was the big snow. So many photos have been posted of the foot-plus accumulation that I don’t need to add much to the mix. I’ll just leave you with this photo from my front yard, where the snow reached 14 inches, a record December snowfall for this area.



Tonight, I'll kick up my heels at a New Year's Eve party and think about the freezing First Nighters downtown as we all wish 2009 a fond farewell. I'm looking forward to 2010...hope it's a good year for all of us.

Straight Razor Shave

My grown son has recently become fascinated by the idea of straight razor shaving. He has researched the tools, watched how-to videos, and begun saving for a high quality straight razor kit. The only thing missing is that he had never actually had a straight razor shave. To me, the idea of investing in pricey straight razor equipment without ever having had the shave was a bit like buying golf clubs without ever having been golfing. So while he was home for Thanksgiving vacation, I decided to treat him to a straight razor shave in a traditional barber shop.

Now Fredericksburg is a historic town with many old timey barber shops. But when I started to call around, I had a hard time finding someone who offered the service. I kept getting the same answer...no one does that anymore. Not even the guy who’s been in business for 65 years. And searching the internet didn’t yield anything promising, until I came across an old forum in which someone mentioned a straight razor shave at a place near the mall. A little more searching turned up a gem of a place, “Village Square Barber & Hair” in the Village Square shopping center across from Costco.



So this afternoon, I accompanied my son to check it out. I could really see the appeal of this place. Men were getting classic haircuts, and everyone was treated to a soothing neck massage by the pretty young women who staffed the place. While there were a couple of women in the waiting area, and one holding a squirmy toddler for his first haircut, all the customers were men. Men’s magazines in the waiting area, and football on the wall-mounted TVs. My son got the full treatment he was looking for: hot steamy towel to soften the beard, an expert shave, a massage of after-shave, and a dusting of powder. All for $11. It was (literally) the closest shave of his life, and when he was done, his skin felt like it did before he hit puberty. While I’m sure there will be a straight razor in his future, at least now he understands the deft, experienced hand it takes to do it right. So this will give him something to shoot for while he’s hacking up his face.

And the point of this blog post is simply that when someone googles “Where can I get a straight razor shave in Fredericksburg?,” the answer will be here waiting for them.

River Hike

The fall weather has been perfect for some hiking, and in recent weeks, we’ve explored a couple of paths along the Rapphannock River. If you start from the small parking area across from the canoe rental place at the bottom of the Fall Hill Ave. hill, there is a wide trail that leads along the river heading west. My kind of hiking—easy. Plus lots of scenic views of the river. You pass the site of the now-demolished Embrey Dam and eventually wind your way under the I-95 river crossing to...voila!...the site of the old quarry swimming hole. I used to hear stories from the locals about swimming here, but never knew precisely where it was. Tales (exaggerated?) of teenage exploits that included jumping off the quarry’s high cliff walls into the small lake were legendary. To get to the quarry swimming hole, you pass a lot of “no trespassing” signs, but my understanding is that as long as you are just quietly walking the trail, you’ll be okay. Swimming at the quarry (oldtimers’ stories notwithstanding) can be dangerous (a UMW student drowned a few years ago), and is strictly verboten.


Site of the old Embrey Dam, with marker naming this section of the river the "John W. Warner Rapids" (because politicians can't get enough recognition).


Nice wide path for easy hiking.


I-95 bridge.


Another quarry view.

Midwest Road Trip

Downtown Lawrence, KS

In August, my son moved to Lawrence, Kansas for grad school at KU. We gave him a few months to settle in, and then thought the fall would be the perfect time for a visit. So in early October, we headed out for a 9 day road trip halfway across the country. Other than a few trips to California and Chicago (all by air), I’ve never been off the east coast. In fact, I’ll admit that I’ve been very east coast-centric all my life, never giving the Midwest much thought. Well, we had a wonderful trip, and now I’ve become completely enamored of America's heartland. The landscape is picturesque, the roads and cities are uncongested, the pace is slower, the towns are charming, the people are friendly...what’s not to like?

Heading west on I-64 is nothing like heading north on I-95, a trip I’ve taken way too many times. Midwestern friends thought I might find the drive west boring. Not even close. You drive the northeast corridor a few times, take a few trips through New Jersey, try to navigate in and around NYC, and then let’s talk about boring. The drive west was scenic and serene, from the mountain views in West Virginia, to the green rolling hills of Kentucky and southern Indiana, across the bucolic farmlands of southern Illinois and Missouri into Kansas, and there were stretches of road where we hardly saw other cars. Ten hours north is grueling; 10 hours west is pleasant.

The "boring" interstate through Kentucky:



People talk about Midwesterners as being particularly friendly. I think I figured out why. They are getting more sleep than we east coasters are. Midway through Indiana, Central time wraps you in its warm embrace, and suddenly, prime time TV starts at 7 pm, and you can watch the Daily Show and Colbert and still get to bed by 11. What a luxury. Come on, east coasters...how can we make that happen here?

I've heard Lawrence called the "blue dot" of red state Kansas, but the overwhelming sense I got there was not of liberal politics, but of the domination of the Jayhawk, that mythical bird once used to describe militant 19th century abolitionists. No matter where you go in Lawrence, you can't escape the KU Jayhawk:



KU has a beautiful campus. Here's some typical architecture:



Pretty fountain in the middle of campus:



We made it to Lawrence in 2 easy days of driving, and spent 2 full days in Kansas, with a day trip to nearby Kansas City. We took our time coming home, with stops in St. Louis, MO and Louisville, KY for some sightseeing. Our goal was to eat barbecue in Kansas City, hear some blues in St. Louis, and drink some bourbon in Louisville. Check, check and check.

In Kansas City, we visited the riverfront (the Missouri River), checked out the city market, and went to the excellent Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and adjacent Jazz Museum. But the highlight was our visit to the iconic Arthur Bryant's, established in 1908, and considered by some to be the most famous barbecue joint in America:



Lots o' meat. And white bread. And greasy fries.



Next stop, St. Louis. The Midwest is land of big rivers. I was excited to get my first glimpse of the Mississippi, although in St. Louis, it’s more industrial than picturesque.



Of course, the arch is the big highlight. Here's a view of the arch, the old courthouse, and a cool fountain:



How many photos of the arch do you need to see? Because I've got plenty more:



We spent some time under the arch at the Museum of Westward Expansion, visited the old courthouse where the Dred Scott case was first heard, and visited the renovated Union Station ( just like D.C.!). Here's the front of the station with the famous Milles Fountain.



St. Louis has lots of parks and fountains. In a city park, we came upon an exhibit of sculptures, including this giant head...



and this water feature:



Our trip to St. Louis included an evening spent at Beale on Broadway, a great music venue where we heard the dynamic Kim Massie, arguably St. Louis's best blues/R&B singer. After two nights in St. Louis, we headed for Louisville on the banks of the Ohio River:



Louisville's riverfront plaza:



One of Louisville's claims to fame is the ornate cast iron architecture of Main Street:



We toured downtown, and stopped in at the Louisville Slugger bat factory and museum:



Before heading home, we drove down to Loretto, KY, to take the tour of the Maker's Mark distillery and complete the BBQ, blues and bourbon trifecta.

We just scratched the surface of the surface of these cities, and are planning to go back each year, taking in more sights, and trying other routes. I leave you with a last look of just one more reason why our Midwest trip was so satisfying: it's the home of White Castle. Reason enough to go.