Finally Spring!

It’s Spring! And after months of staying indoors, or close by..mom and I decided to head out, soak up some sun and go on a lunch adventure!

Today, we headed west to the quaint town of Franklin. We veered off the main road, following the ‘back roads’  hoping to spy something unusual. Pollen is just beginning to cover car tops and roadways, but if you look past it, you can enjoy the springtime scenes. 

The countryside is just beginning to bud out with tiny new leaves and flower buds. Some early blooming trees and shrubs were in bloom. Oh and the Carolina Jasmine lined parts of our journey too. We wanted a picture of it, and mom would yell “there is some’ and of course it was over a ditch or on a curve where I couldn’t pull over! But I finally found a patch and jumped out of the car, took a photo, and snapped a branch of it for my mom.

  

Once in Franklin, we found ‘Serve’, a darling restaurant pub and sat down for lunch. We had a great meal, and will definitely return! I ordered the 1st & Main Cheeseburger, and mom selected the Blonde Farmer Flat Bread. Both were wonderful!

 Mom could not finish hers, and we wrapped that up for her to take home. Yes, I finished my burger!

  

On our drive home, we stopped at ‘Farmer Franks’ on Highway 58. Mom wanted fresh tomatoes, I wanted hanging baskets, and we BOTH knew there was ice-cream inside! 

We found ourselves meandering thru the displays of antique dishes and nick-nacks. Some of which I recognized from my youth so they were not THAT old!!  I am pretty sure the hanging ham was older than me! 

 

After we finished our shopping, a young man scooped up two Butter Pecan ice-cream cones and handed them to us. We quickly headed to the register but with masks on, we had to watch the drips make their way down the cone with no way to ‘lick it’ to stop! We were laughing, and tried to get the clerk to HURRY! He saw our dilemma and quickly rang us up. We hurried to the car, threw our plants and bags in, ripped off our masks and saved our ice cream cones!

  

Laughter is always on the menu when we head out, good food too. 

And if we are lucky…. an ice cream cone or two!

Part Two of Coffee House and Wine!

...Part Two...

Coffee House and Chatham Vineyard Adventure continues!

After lunch at the beautiful Cape Charles Coffee House, we headed north a few miles to Chatham Vineyards.  This would be moms first 'official wine tasting' today! Lucky for us, my daughter Britt happened to be working at the Vineyard that day!

  

As we turned in, mom and I could see the rows and rows of grape vines with the tiny new grapes peeking beneath the vines. We pulled over to take some photos. 

Chatham includes more than 250 acres, twenty of which are designated solely to grape vines. Each acre yields over 1,700 vines. They are beautiful! 

  

Chatham Vineyards parking lot was filling up! It was obvious others had the same idea today as we did! Once inside, Britt greeted us with a big smile and whisked us away to give us a private tour of the facility. She told us about the wine making process, about the history of the Vineyard and Church Creek Wines.  

   

  

Chatham Farm has been a working farm for four centuries! The historical brick home which sits near the vineyard was built in 1818 and is named for William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. The Winery opened in 2005 and produces wonderful wines! 

Now, on to the Wine Tasting! We enjoyed our tasting which included a half dozen different varieties made there at the Vineyard. I loved the Chardonnay Steel, mom loved the Cabernet Franc, and the Late Harvest Dessert Wine! As we sipped away, we talked about what we would ‘pair’ best with our sampled wine. All agreed chocolate would go well with any of them!

 

Mom does videos for her Instagram acct, and I suggested she do one from there. She was so cute filming while on the porch, cool breeze blowing and barrels of wine in the back! (Check her out at accidentally_aging)

Before we left, she bought a dessert wine (which I heard someone suggest it is good poured over ice cream!) As we drove away, I realized we forgot to get a photo of the three of us together! YES I turned that car around and headed back!  Moments like this do not come often; there was NO WAY we were leaving without a picture of the three of us!

Once home, mom thanked me, and as she exited the car I heard her say. “Ohhhh! My wine! And my ½ sandwich! I know what I am having for dinner tonight!"

I drove off smiling- 

So very thankful for my mom, and that we were able to share our fun day with my daughter Britt too. Truly am blessed!

  

Cape Charles Coffee House plus Wine at Chatham Vineyards

Today’s adventure calls for wine! 

Well, a road trip… lunch…. AND THEN... wine!

(This blog is a two-part entree! Make sure to continue on to read how our day ended!)

The sun was shining and it was such a pretty day. Wayyy to pretty to stay inside! Today I grabbed up mom and headed to Cape Charles, to a Coffee Shop, and to Chatham Vineyards!

We've ventured to Virginia's Eastern Shore before, and we always have a great time. Today however, we were heading to the quaint town of Cape Charles to check out the Cape Charles Coffee House. The Coffee House building was a bank built in 1910. Later is was a haberdashery ( I love that word!) then, it was renovated into this Coffee House. 

We were greeted by a wonderful smell of fresh brewed coffee and were offered a seat at a quaint table with fresh flowers. The ambiance of this shop transports you back to days gone by. Walls ornate with rich wood panels, moldings, and wainscoting. The center ceiling is open and exposes the second story tin ceilings and beautiful fixtures.

      

The Coffee House features breakfast, lunch and signature coffees. It was lunchtime when we arrived and we thought we'd order quickly. However, as we looked over the menu, we realized there are so many wonderful options in which to choose! Picking quickly was not an option! 

 I selected the turkey club with avocado; mom selected the chicken salad with cranberries. Both meals were delicious and  mom couldn't finish hers. Yes, I finished mine! 

Coffee House Photo

Their coffee station looked (and smelled) amazing. My eye kept wandering to the pastries on display nearby. After ordering lunch, I wandered over to take a few photos and a delightful lady asked if I needed any help. We chatted for a few moments then she introduced herself as the owner. Her love for the restaurant, the town and this historic building is evident. 

We spent the next ‘several minutes’ sharing pastry photos we had taken on our phones of other places (Bakers do this all the time! There is just something so beautiful about handmade breads and pastries!)  

Coffee House Photo

My dream has always been to open a Bakery and I'd love an old historic building with tin ceilings and charm! I am excited that Roberta found her passion and renovated this amazing building into this Coffee House! One day, maybe…we can be neighbors 😊

We left happy and full, and continued on north, to Chatham Vineyard 

🍷 Wine awaits!

........💓 Our adventure continues on next blog entree!.....