I can think of no better place to welcome in the cool, clear mornings of fall than on the Outer Banks of North Carolina – one of the world’s great places. My first visit to Nags Head on the Outer Banks left me unimpressed. I was in college at the time and it seemed like a dull place to be. Nothing much happening, just a laid-back cluster of cottages bordering the ocean and the single … [Read more...]

  The annual Sunflower Festival at Liberty Mills Farm in Somerset klicks off this Saturday, August 29. The festival offers the opportunity to pick your own flowers, shop from local vendors, photo ops for the family, outdoor activities for the kids, music, hayrides, a Farmers Market and more. Event tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for the youngsters. Events will be held Saturday and … [Read more...]

  The best burger in Cville? It’s hard to say. We certainly have lots of good choices. One restaurant that stands out, though, is Timberwood Grill near Forest Lakes. Often, when Nancy and I eat out on short notice, we choose Timberwood. They have nice exterior dining on pleasant evenings and in the winter, we like to pull up a stool and sit at the bar. Without exception, the service has … [Read more...]

    I once could not get enough of watching the Olympics. I binge watched. I remember Mark Spitz and Sugar Ray Leonard. There was Mary Lou Retton and The Dream Team. I remember Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith Joyner and Greg Louganis and the pride I felt when they played the National Anthem at another American victory. But I didn’t watch the Olympics this year. Never turned it on … [Read more...]

  The Charlottesville Band (the new name for the Municipal Band) is getting back into the “swing” of things. Steve Layman, Music Director, announced that the band will play a concert in Claudius Crozet Park on Sunday, July 11 at 3:30 pm.  It’s free – free, free, free, free, free. Find out more about the band at Cville Band – Central Virginia's Community Band … [Read more...]

The cicadas are coming. The Brood X, or 17-year cicadas, emerge from their beds in the earth every 17 years. That’s a long nap. There are a number of different types of these locust creatures. Some pop out every 13 years and some more frequently, but these big, fat red-eyed monster-looking cicadas are due this year. Right now, actually. They will be in parts of Virginia, but not all. If they … [Read more...]

  Virginia squirrel season is now in. I kid you not. It’s hot, it’s June, but there is now a summer season for hunting squirrels in Virginia. The ticks must be loving this – all that fresh meat free for the taking. Several years ago, the biologists at DWR decided that since there were no female squirrels carrying babies at this time, June would be a good time to get everybody up and … [Read more...]

Thank heavens we have Hulu and access to Netflix and other channels. There is literally nothing on network TV (except The Good Doctor) and with social distancing the law of the land, there is not much to do except stay in and watch TV. Recently, we watched an episode of The Good Witch on Netflix. It was riveting, not at all like the old “Good Witch” episodes on the Hallmark Channel with all … [Read more...]

Covid be damned, we’re going to Hawaii again this November. Gonna take the same Norwegian Cruise with four island stops. There’s still a lot of Hawaii left to see. In the spirit of Hawaii and with nothing else better to do, I decided to try my hand at making a Blue Hawaiian, one of our favorite “fruity drinks” during past cruises. For starters, there is a difference between a Blue Hawaii and … [Read more...]