Andy Guest State Park/PaveMint/Glen Manor

For our walk this week, Ann chose Andy Guest State Park in Bentonville for the ability to take a swim in the river mid-hike. She certainly didn't plan on an almost 3-mile traverse of open ground in the blazing 97-degree heat, nor could she predict that my hip would go south on this particular walk. In the picture below, you can see the open ground to the left of the river for the entire frame of the photo: yeah, we walked that in the blazing mid-day sun, me with a gimpy hip. Bad plan. Suffice it to say that although it was a beautiful walk, there were parts of it that we hated.

Our day started about 8:30am as we entered the park off of US340 and proceeded to the Visitor's Center a couple of miles into the park to use the restrooms. Once parked there, we looked at the map and saw that the hike we planned to take started just slightly more than a mile upriver but that there was a connecting trail from the Visitor's Center to where we wanted to be. Given that our hike was only about 8.5 miles, we decided to just hoof it the extra mile for a total of about 10.7 miles on the day.

This view of the park was taken on the Overlook Trail perhaps a hundred yards north and 30 feet below the actual wood-deck overlook for which the trail is named. This view is actually prettier because it is framed by the surrounding trees. The trees have been cleared around the overlook but otherwise the view is pretty much the same. The Massanutten Mountains to the west are in the background.

South Fork Shenandoah River, Andy Guest State Park

Looking Down on Brown-Eyed Susans

Backlit Moth Mullein

Although I have been expecting to see Hoary Mountain Mint during our hikes this spring and summer, I haven't seen any until this hike. I found a huge patch of it and another of what looked to be escaped Spearmint.

Hoary Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum incanum

These American Bellflowers were so beautiful but there was no way really to photograph them in the very dim light of the forest understory. Just to get this, I opened my lens as far as possible and backed off to the minimum focal length. Unfortunately, with this setting, there is no depth of field and getting a decent view of a gorgeous flower was nearly impossible.

Pretty American Bellflower, Campanula americana

I've been keeping an eye out for all the lobelias, but this Pale-Spike Lobelia is the first lobelia that I have seen in bloom this year.

Pale-Spike Lobelia, Lobelia spicata

There are miles and miles and miles of trails at Andy Guest State Park, more formally known as Shenandoah River State Park, some winding along the cliffs and bluffs fronting the river, some in the floodplain along the river, and some running in and out of the glens and creek ravines of the surrounding woods. We worked our way south along the river through the woods for about three and a half miles and then worked our way back along the riverbank. We stopped for lunch at an observation point, a slight tree-covered promontory in the line of bluffs a few hundred yards off the river, on the northern end of the Redtail Ridge trail.

The network of trails is well-marked on the ground, but at times, relating what we were seeing on the ground with our map and with the written description of the hike was confusing. Still, with the river as an unmistakable landmark, it was easy enough to get where we knew we had to go, despite the slight confusion.

River and Floodplain from Redtail Ridge Trail

Enjoying Lunch at the Observation Point

I got a brisket in last week and so I corned it and used it in making our lunch for the trip. As Ann said, "This would be really good with a beer."

Corned Beef and Slaw Wraps

While we were stopped for lunch, Ann spied this prickly pear just down the dry slope from us. We missed the gorgeous yellow blooms (ours at home bloomed 4-6 weeks ago), but the fruits are starting to whiten. Later on this fall, the fruits, the tunas, will go red and will be good eating for something or someone.

Eastern Prickly Pear, Opuntia humifusa, Fruits Starting to Ripen

Beat up Spicebush Swallowtail with Spoon-Like Tail

Down along the river, the long walk in the sun commenced. Although it was a great opportunity to see wildflowers and critters, we kept moving as fast as we could, given my crappy hip, to get out of the sun. At times, Ann would be thirty or forty yards ahead of me in the span of time that it took me to go ten yards.

Common Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis

Despite the oppressive heat, I confess to taking a minute to watch a group of Red-Headed Woodpeckers hawking bugs from the top of a large Sycamore and the top of another immense Cottonwood tree. Though we think of woodpeckers getting their food by pecking insects out from dead snags (or the ground in the case of Flickers), Red-Heads are unique in that they act like large flycatchers, sallying forth and taking bugs mid-air on the wing. It is very impressive to watch. I wish I could have stayed longer.

Red-Headed Woodpecker, Click to Enlarge

Successful Mission; Enlarge to See Insect in Bill

Skittish Doe; Wild Parsnip in Foreground

About a mile along the river, we came upon an opening down to the river and Ann was off, trying to cool off from the long march in the sun. She was surprised at the current in the north-flowing river. After saddling back up with another mile to go in the sun, we saw a lot more wildflowers from here on out as we veered slightly more inland from the river, but we really didn't stop to admire them as the sun was so fierce.

Cooling Off!

Butter and Eggs

A Sunflower, Jerusalem Artichoke?

Common Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum

Cutleaf Teasel, Dipsacus laciniatus

Tickseed, Coreopsis verticillata

Back at the Visitor's Center, after getting off the trail, we were brutally hot and Ann was at the point of heat exhaustion. We sat in the car with the AC blasting on full for a long time before setting off home. Ann had wanted to stop by Glen Manor on the way back, but after the hike, she just wanted to go home and who could blame her? So you can imagine my surprise when as we were pulling in to Front Royal she asked if we could go to PaveMint for a beer and lunch. Well, all right then!

Ann Liked This Dogfish Head Namaste

Wings

Fish and Chips for Ann

Duck Tacos for Ed

About a half an hour after we arrived at PaveMint, about the end of beer number one, Mike texted me that he was on his way to Glen Manor, asking if we wanted to join. Ann wanted to head home after lunch, so I demurred. Meanwhile, Kelly texted Ann asking if we would come later for a mystery tasting. Methinks Mike and Kelly were working in cahoots. And so after we finished our lunch, we headed off to Glen Manor.

Look Who We Found!

Although the tasting room closes at 5:00, the staff couldn't shoo everyone away until about 5:30 at which point we set up tables on the back patio and Kelly brought out another of her huge ("impromptu") spreads.

Pimento Cheese

Cookies; BLT Dip

Miraculously Recovered!

There were three brown-bagged mystery wines on this occasion. The first had a nose of sulfurous stone fruit and white flowers with medium gold color, good body, and OK acidity. It could have been Chenin or Viognier or a bunch of other things. It turned out to be Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I've tasted all kinds of fruit profiles on SB except this: live and learn. The next wine had a bit of oak to the nose but wasn't very aromatic otherwise. It had plenty of body, light melon fruit, and was lacking acid. It could have been manipulated (oak/malo) Chardonnay. It turned out to be a local Roussanne. The final wine was a very aromatic red that was dull ruby going brick around the edges. The nose reminded me of cool climate Nebbiolo, but the alcohol was very high. The palate reminded me of Nebbiolo too except for the fruit was a bit too briary and extracted. I was stumped. It turned out to be 2012 Cabernet Franc from next door at Chester Gap Cellars.

Mystery Bottle: Local Roussanne

The Home Team

Jeff and His Domain, Skyline Drive in Background

The Huckster, Late Arrival to the Party

For those who know the vineyard, this photo will appear reversed; the new vines being on the north side and not the south. This is actually a picture of the vineyard reflected from the winery window.

Mirror Image of Vineyard

About dusk, the Barn Swallows made a raucous appearance, coming in to roost for the night and we knew it was time to leave. We helped Kelly clean up the mess and then made our way back home, having bitten off a bit too much today. Ann was unconscious by hiker midnight. I was soon to follow.

Barn Swallows Coming in to Roost

Auburn, AL 2014

For our annual holiday this year, having no cash from coming off the worst winter in memory, we had to keep our vacation on the cheap but we didn't want to do another staycation, so we decided to pack up the Jeep and head for Auburn, AL where I went to high school, where my parents, and my brother and sister and their respective families still live.

There are not many photos here. Unbeknownst to me, the whole week I was coming down with a pretty good cold which I am still feeling two weeks later and that sapped my motivation to do anything. I barely remember the first three days down there. Here are the best 20 of the mere 99 frames I shot during the week: most of what I shot on the iPhone didn't turn out: there must have been grease on the lens. :(

Sandwiches for the Road

Trying to keep the budget to a minimum, the drive time as short as possible, and ensure that we had something decent to eat on the drive, I spent a few minutes on Saturday afternoon between lunch and dinner services putting together these Italian cold cut and pesto sandwiches with baby lettuces from the farmers market.

5:10 AM The Brown Dog is not to be Left Behind

After a busy, busy Saturday night dinner service, we finally got the restaurant closed and I was able to leave about 11pm, to come home and load the car, finish packing, and get showered. All hyped up like that, I was lucky to be able to get to sleep by 1am. Both our alarms went screaming off at 5am, way, way too early for words. But better to get on I-81 early and avoid the truck traffic.

While we were stowing the final things in the car in preparation for leaving, Grace decided that she was going to go with us and hopped right in the car. She wasn't at all happy that I pulled her out.

The temperatures were in the low 40's as we left and when we arrived in Alabama, in the 80's. At home, we had no leaves on the trees, but the trees were leafed out by the time we hit the North Carolina border. And towards Charlotte, it looked like mid-summer. South of Atlanta into Alabama, thunderstorms were starting to build in the afternoon sky. We had a bit of a blow during the night, but nothing compared to what was coming the next night.

After a Day of Travel: Gumbo

After a long, long 11-hour drive that was fortunately uneventful, we arrived in Auburn where we drove on streets to my parents' house that did not even exist last time I was there. It is a very surreal experience knowing exactly where you are but not recognizing anything at all. The first order of business after all that driving was to make cocktails and head out onto the deck and enjoy the wonderful warm temperatures (something that we had yet to experience in Virginia this year).

And what does mom feed her chef son for dinner? Something delicious and comforting: a big bowl of gumbo.

Spiderwort

This Clematis Blossom is as Big as a Dinner Plate

Stunning Bearded Iris

My parents are quite the gardeners and I spent the following morning wandering around the yard that I worked so hard to keep mowed and organized when I was a teenager. It looks very different now: for one, the trees and a lot of the shrubs have 30+ years more growth on them. Coming from Virginia where the spring flowers weren't even open, it was quite striking to see gardens full of flowers in bloom.

She Didn't Share with Anyone!

We established our morning ritual quite soon: plant our asses in chairs out on the deck and don't move. I can't think of anything more appealing on my one week off a year than just sitting and doing nothing. Although we spent the majority of mornings out on the deck, our second morning we did not. After the tornado sirens went off at 3:30 that morning and scared the hell out of us, the cool and rainy conditions kept us inside. Two nights of terrible storms and buckets of rain lashed away at us and the entire East Coast.

Carolina Wren, So-Called Loud Mouthed Yankee, Building Nest

Phoebes are Nesting under the Deck

The deck on the back of my parents' house is new since I was living there. The old deck is now a huge sunroom and the new deck extends out over what used to be back yard. The new deck is situated right up in the trees and with bird feeders all over, the avian traffic is astounding. To have a Brown Thrasher land on a suet feeder not three feet away from me is unprecedented in my life. Two of the more amusing birds were the Carolina Wrens, a pair of which insisted on building a vast nest inside a lantern on the deck right by us, lugging mouthful after mouthful of building supplies all day long, and the Eastern Phoebes which showed off their aerial maneuvers chasing bugs on the wing.



How Can You Tell We're in the South?

Pimento Cheese and Ham with Lime Pickles: It's What's for Lunch

I haven't had pimento cheese in years: it just isn't in my culinary vocabulary, not that I don't love it. I had forgotten how ubiquitous it is in the South: I saw it everywhere. And my mother had made a big batch which we used for lunch sandwiches all week. Here you see it with lime pickles, which in the South means cucumbers pickled using pickling lime, not the spicy citrus lime pickles from India.

A Taste of Home: Shad Roe with Surry Sausage, Capers, and Lemon

My mom let me know some weeks before our visit that my dad would very much appreciate some shad roe, a delicacy in Virginia that is just not available in Alabama. Both my parents are native Virginians as am I and for us, the appearance of shad roe at the market each spring is something that we look forward to with great anticipation. I roasted it on a sheet tray in the oven (the best way of handling the delicate roe so that it does not explode) and served it with a sauce of local Virginia Surry Sausage from S. Wallace Edwards, capers, green onions, lemon, and butter. I really enjoyed it: although we serve a lot of roe at the restaurant, I never get to eat it and this was the first I have had in a couple of years. Delicious!

Ann Cajoled Mom into Making Biscuits

About mid-week, Ann conned mom into making biscuits, not that my mother is ever shy about showing off her biscuit skills. You might note that the flour on Ann's chest is from her not listening to my mom to get her hands out of the dough! The two of them had a good time mock scrapping with each other.

Mr. P., Hardly Working as Usual

Acre Restaurant: Roscoe and His Doughnut Holes

Wednesday, we went out to eat at Acre Restaurant in downtown Auburn after watching my niece Rachel's high school team play and win a playoff soccer game. Knowing that it was graduation week in Auburn, we wanted to go out mid-week before all the families started coming to town for the weekend's celebrations. We almost goofed. My sister insisted that we were going to need a reservation so I called from the soccer stadium and although there were no seats available in the dining room, we managed to secure two seats at the Chef's Bar a few minutes after the soccer game was scheduled to end.

When we arrived at Acre, it was like a circus. Three or four valets were scrambling to park the cars and the one that came up to our car asked if we had a reservation (because we weren't getting in otherwise). Apparently the weekend was getting started early.

We ate nearly the entire appetizer menu in our best restaurant meal so far of 2014. Unfortunately, the light was too dim and none of the food pictures were decent enough to use. We ate a terrific shrimp and grits with a deep-fried grits cake, bresaola, lamb chorizo, cotechino meatballs, spicy mussels, and lamb fries. At one point, Chef David Bancroft mentioned to me that they had Rocky Mountain oysters as a special and I heard Ann pipe up behind me, "Oysters! I love oysters! We've got to have some!" And so I let him put the order in for us. Only after the order was back in the kitchen did I tell her what she really ordered!

In total, we spent about a half an hour chatting with David Bancroft. He tries to source his ingredients locally just as I do and we really enjoyed his food. Sitting at the Chef's Bar facing the garde manger station, we also got to chat with the two garde manger cooks all night. It's a great restaurant with a crew that really appreciates where they work and the products that they serve.

Dad's Smorgasbord

A couple of times during the week, my dad put himself in charge of lunch and apparently he has quite the fondness for canned goods. You see here a smorgasbord of canned pickled green beans, marinated artichoke hearts and six different kinds of canned fish including smoked oysters, sprats, kippers in tomato sauce, sardines, and tuna.



Niece Rachel and Sister-in-Law Laura



Hors d'Oeuvres at John and Kathy's

Late in the week, we went to my sister's house for a small bash for her husband John who just graduated with his MPA from Auburn after retiring from the Navy. They live in the middle of town and have chickens running around the back yard!

Steak and Grits

I ended up bringing a flatiron steak from the restaurant and we grilled and ate that with grits one night for dinner, along with a salad made from lettuces from dad's garden. It is amazing that we just set out our lettuces at home and their lettuces in Alabama are about to bolt now.

Play Ball! Auburn vs. Mississippi State

Our final stop before hitting the road back to Virginia was to take in the Saturday Auburn and Mississippi State baseball game, which the visiting team won handily, much to my parents' chagrin.