We arrived at the cabin around 9pm (it's about a 5 hour drive from Virginia Beach) and it was pretty chilly upon arrival since we had to get the wood stove going to heat things up. So needless to say, that's why we hung out at the kitchen table close to the stove for a while when we first arrived. Then we watched a movie and relaxed away the rest of the evening. This was also Adam's first visit to Chateau Barker (the new cabin's name).
This is the pretty view I awoke to Friday morning, a beautiful fall day and blue blue skies. 
Then we set out for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of fall foliage. We definitely found some gorgeous views like this one. I love the contours of the mountains.
Next on the agenda was a stop at Chateau Morisette, one of the best vineyards in Virginia. We have loved their wine for years now since Cola introduced us all to Our Dog Blue more than ten years ago. The vineyard is extremely dog friendly, so Chloe was able to walk all around grounds with us and there are water bowls set out for the dogs too. She even went on the tour with us. These oak barrels cost 5 to 7 hundred dollars a barrel and they only get three to four years use out of them, which is three to four batches of wine because they age in the barrels for seven to ten months depending on the wine. I asked if the red coloring is the wine seeping through during the aging process, but it's just stains from wine being spilled on the barrels.
I think I have decided that out of all the Virginia vineyards I've visited and that's quite a few, Chateau Morisette is now my absolute favorite. There wasn't a single wine in the tasting that I did not like, which is pretty rare. My only qualm was that they make Hokie Wine, which I don't feel right drinking and I think they should make some for the Hoos too to be fair!
This is the bottle my mom bought, Angel Chardonnay, because we all know she loved angels and the wine was tasty too and of course we bought a bottle of my favorite Our Dog Blue. An interesting fact about that wine is it was sold under a different name in a plain bottle and when the company changed the name to Our Dog Blue and made the bottle blue sales went up 600%! Just shows how much people like their pets! So the vineyard started naming all their wines after their family dogs like their red wine, The Black Dog.
Dinner time! Everyone got there just in time for steaks, potatoes, corn and some fresh squash.
After dinner, Adam got the fire going out front and we all sat around the fire pit relaxing, telling ghost stories since it was Halloween and roasting smores. The funniest part of the evening was the fact that there seemed to be a hundred cows somewhere off in the distance mooing at the top of their lungs for hours. The sound had actually woken my mom up that morning and had continued throughout the day. We couldn't decide if it was cow mating season and or a forgotten round of milking. This remains a bit of a mystery!
The next morning everyone got ready and we headed to breakfast at the famous Mayberry Mill restaurant. They have the best pancakes! I had a combination plate that included a sweet potato pancake, a cornmeal pancake and a buckwheat pancake. They were all yummy, but Adam and my favorite was the sweet potato pancake, so we ordered an extra one to share.
The afternoon was spent relaxing and making Chicken Chili, a cabin classic. Check out Aprons Required for the promised recipe.
Anna and Will arrived soon after lunch was cooking. They had spent Friday night at Radford to celebrate Halloween College style. They dressed up as Rocky and Bowinkle. Cute!
Finally the Birthday finale had arrived! 50th Birthday Presents and a tasty Italian Dinner made by Chef Cola.
Mom had asked for an Ipod for her Birthday. So Brad got her the newest generation Ipod Nano and we bought a speaker system for the Ipod and Anna and Will got her Ipod covers.
Anna also got mom some cute pink items to go with the Ipod covers, like pink lotion to keep away aging skin and a pedegg to keep skin soft.
2 comments:
Jessica and Adam, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for the most wonderful 50th birthday celebration, it was more than I could have ever imagined. I so loved being at our cabin celebrating this day with the people I love so very much, I will never forget it, the weather was perfect, the food was fabulous, and the wine was plentyful and out of this world. I am so happy that I got to spend some truly quality time with the people I love so much, you, Adam, Anna, Will, Brad, Cola and Denis, I will never forget this very special birthday, it is truly engraved in my mind forever. I love you, Momma
Jessica and Adam, thanks for making Chateau Morrisette part of the big weekend celebration! We tried to make a Woo wine, but the "big dogs" in C'ville declined. BTW, red wine is sometimes painted on the center section of the barrels. That way it will not matter if the wine is spilled during the filling or emptying process.
Bob
(EVP/GM of CM)
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