Virginia Whirlwind

We took a whirlwind one-week trip back to the East Coast, two days of which were spent traveling, leaving just five days to see Ann's mother, go to Ellie's graduation, visit Carter in Morgantown, and to see our friends.

Here are some photos from the trip. There's a lot of beer involved in these photos. Ann's mom is in a nursing home and not doing well, the source of much consternation. It took a lot of beer to get through the days where she did not recognize her own daughter and son-in-law.

One of our Favorite Portland Breweries

We started off by spending the night in a hotel at PDX because of our early morning departure and desire to avoid the heinous rush hour traffic. We stopped by Culmination Brewing, one of our favorite East Portland breweries on the way for a bit of dinner and a couple of beers.

Mad Fox Brewing, Falls Church, VA

After a long and grueling flight and dealing with DC rush hour traffic on the other end, we ended up in a brew pub in Tysons Corner. Not only was it yuppie mating hour at the noisy overcrowded bar, the beer sucked by Portland standards. Ultimately, we found Mad Fox brewing in Falls Church as a place with decent beer, as an escape from the drama of dealing with Ann's mother.

Rosé at Linden Vineyards

After a couple of days of seeing to Ann's mother and her house, we took a drive out west on I-66 to visit with Jim Law at Linden Vineyards. Shari was very kind to bring us a glass of 2018 rosé to enjoy on the deck while we waited for Jim to come in from the vines. He was gracious enough to spend a few minutes chatting, but it was clear that he needed to get back to the vineyard, so we took our leave after soaking in the landscape that we love so much.

It was pretty interesting that while talking with Jim, we met a young guy who works at another local Willamette Valley winery and with whom I had corresponded via email, but had never met in person. It is truly a small world.

I Never Get Tired of This View at Linden

From Linden, we made the short drive north to visit with Jim and Betsy Dolphin at Delaplane Cellars, just months before they would sell the property and retire to Florida. Jim was just starting on blending trials when we arrived. Suffice it to say that he never got to blending trials, especially after Betsy showed up and we started cracking bottles. Jim had previously invited us to go out to dinner with them, but we had to demur because of a very early morning departure for Charlottesville and Ellie's graduation.

Jim Dolphin at Delaplane Cellars

Lemonade from Lemons

2018 was a horrible year in the vineyard with feet of rain playing havoc on the grapes. Many winemakers focused on making rosé as a way to salvage something from a crap year. Jim was showing off his label poking fun at the whole disastrous situation. Betsy also opened a bottle of her special ICOE cuvée. ICOE is fitting for Betsy: In Charge Of Everything. Traffic going back in to McLean was hellish with an accident blocking the Beltway. Miserable.

My Spirit Animal

And sure enough, Saturday morning came very quickly. We left very early in the morning from McLean to make the two and a half hour drive to Charlottesville. Although we left early to beat the traffic and to find a good place to park, when we arrived at the Grounds for graduation, it was teeming and the lines to get in were very long.

Lillie met us and went ahead to save seats for us while we went across the street in search of coffee. Wouldn't you know that there is a Starbucks in the bottom of Newcomb Hall, a vast change from the days when I was there. Though not a fan of Starbucks, I was in need of coffee and Ann in need of a little breakfast.

Waiting for Ellie to March

The morning started out warm, humid, and cloudy, the cloud cover being the only thing that kept the day even moderately comfortable. About 30 minutes before the ceremony the sun popped out and made things truly miserable, especially for the kids in their black gowns. Unlike when Rita Dove kept us entertained with a short and focused speech at Lillie's graduation, Ellie was blessed with one of the worst commencement speeches I have ever heard—long, disjointed, rambling, and largely self-congratulatory. Finally, graduation wrapped up and we all walked a half a mile or more to the theater building where Ellie's diploma ceremony was to be held.

It was a long mile and a half walk for me in the blazing sun to retrieve our car and meet the rest of the gang who Ubered to a local brewpub for lunch.

Parched After Graduation in the Heat

Ann and I stayed with Lillie, Ellie, and her friends after lunch to have a final beer at the bar, before we headed back to Northern Virginia late Saturday. Sunday, we headed out to see Jeff and Kelly White at Glen Manor Vineyards. We spent a beautiful afternoon with them before heading back to McLean.

I Also Never Tire of This View at Glen Manor Vineyards

We got back late and then Monday went to see Ann's mom. We made plans for a late dinner with Ann's cousin Chris. Surprisingly, Mary wanted to go along with us and we were happy to have her with us. She even managed a tiny sip of Ann's beer.

Mary Tasting Ann's Beer

For our last full day, we drove out to Morgantown to see Carter, taking a ten-minute stop at the Farmers Market in Winchester to see Beth, Mark, Jessica and the other vendors. We arrived in Morgantown mid-afternoon and got the grand tour of his grungy frat house. We could tell we were cramping his style, but ultimately he decided to go to the brewpub across the street from our hotel with us. The Iron Horse Tavern has a great local beer selection and pretty decent food as well. I was really happy that the pub featured ales from Stumptown Ales in Davis WV, which I believe is my benchmark brewery for craft beer on the East Coast.

Beer Board, Iron Horse Tavern, MorgantownWV

Back to Northern Virginia with 1200 miles on the odometer completed the final leg of this whirlwind trip to Virginia. The flight from Dulles to PDX was routine. After driving from the airport to the house, it was good to have the trip behind us.