I Do Stuff…

Paradise Springs Winery

It was Nancy’s birthday the other day and we had a busy day planned to celebrate it.  The party started at a brand new winery in Fairfax, the first in the county in fact.  Paradise Springs Winery had their grand opening the same day as her birthday and what a perfect way to kick off a full day of celebrations.  Nancy and I arrived just after noon with few people there.  Because the place was hard to find and in the middle of no where, I thought the crowds would be pretty small.  Parking was easy and getting a tasting took only a few minutes.  However as the day progressed, more and more people showed up, literally bus loads at times.  By this time reinforcements arrived with food, my Dad and Pat.

We spent hours around this wine barrel we commandeered for the afternoon.  It allowed us a place to put all the food my Dad brought with him.  Fortunately Nancy, Tracy, Rob and myself arrived early enough we were able to get a tasting in before the hordes came.  It was to late for them to get a tasting because of the lines.  They trusted our judgment and got a bottle of Chardonnay and a Norton we all agreed was drinkable.  To be honest none of us were to thrilled with the offerings.  The wine was simply, ok.  Nothing spectacular and certainly nothing that blew our minds.  A pretty decent view more than made up for the mediocre wine.

Alto Plaza Centreville, VA

Late in the afternoon after killing several soldiers we parted ways, Nancy and I continued our adventure in birthday fun and everyone else went home.  We headed back to her apartment with Doug who arrived supper late to the winery for about an hour before dinner at Alto Plaza.  This allowed us to change into appropriate attire for dinner, but more importantly, get some football in.  Doug and I couldn’t see the whole game, but we saw enough to know New Orleans was going to win against the Cardinals.

Around 6 we finally left for the short drive to Alto Plaza where we had reservations.  We arrived right on time, but like usually we where the first to arrive.  When we got to the third floor they had a large table setup for us right next to a large bay window looking towards the mountains.  If the sun was setting it would have been a great view.  Being the first to arrive we decided to belly up to the bar in the lounge for a quick drink and to relax before things got crazy.  By about 7pm everyone else arrived; Jeremy, Nichole and Jeffrey with Rob coming from the winery like we did.  Dinner was fantastic.  The food was great and the service was impeccable.  The only issue we had was when we tried to pay the bill.  I had $225 in gift cards that I wanted to use, this would cut the total bill in half for everyone else.  Unfortunately the waitress said the gift cards where for the old restaurant and they wouldn’t’ accept it.  I was pissed.  Thankfully, she went to bat for us and they used all the gift cards.  If they wanted to get our business again this was what they needed to do.

Lulu Cafe (karaoke) Centreville, VA

After a wonderful meal our group again parted ways with some of our dinner guest headed over to Lulu Cafe for some karaoke.  Here we meet backup with Tracy and Bobby, Matt showed up as well for a loooooong night of singing.  We got there just before 10pm and snagged a private room in the back.  The guy showed us how to use the equipment and it was on after that.  The machine was in constant use till well after 2am when we finally left.  Everyone, including Matt, sang songs for hours.  By about midnight I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.  In fact several times I almost passed out in the back corner which was amazing considering how loud the music was.

Close to 3am is when we finally got Nancy back to her house.  It felt so good to finally go to sleep in a comfortable bed.  The whole day was great and a lot of fun, even if it did go to the wee hours of the morning.  Not only did Nancy say she had a great time, I could also tell because all day Sunday she was hung over and didn’t want to leave the house.  I was grateful to everyone that made it out for all or part of the day, it really made Nancy feel special having so many people show up.  Next years is a milestone year for her, she has kicked around a few ideas on how to celebrate it already.  It certainly a good idea to start planning 12 months in advance for some of these.

Don’t get my wrong, I love my dad and I wish he could live forever.  The other day it was his birthday so we all got together for a little surprise party to celebrate another year this earth.  At 63 he is grateful for each year and he says all the time he is “living on borrowed time” because of some things that happened early in his life.  All I care about is he is still alive and kickin’, he actually things he is in his 40’s with how active he is.  He helped me move into my new townhouse a few weeks ago, travels all the time on vacation, and does a ton of yard work each weekend at his house.

Red Fox Inn - Middleburg, VA

So Pat organized a little dinner at the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg as a nice place to celebrate.  She got a room at the inn and the attached restaurant comes highly recommended.  When I told a few others I was going to the Red Fox everyone agreed that it was a nice place and the food was impeccable.  To top off the nice setting and wonderful food I found out my brother would be there.  I was so excited to catch up with him, the last time I saw him was Christmas and actually only talked to him once since then.

We arrived on the outscirts of town with about 10 minutes to spare before the 7:30 meeting time.  We quickly noticed Middleburg was a ghost town.  Not a single business was open other than “essential services” and the street were empty.  We had all the street parking we could have wanted.  When we walked into the restaurant the hostess quickly sat us at the table, the last to arrive.  With so few people in the restaurant it was easy to know what party we where with.

The house that has the restaurant was originally built in 1728 using field stones from the surrounding area.  When you walk in the decor has not changed much since it was first built.  There are stucco walls with giant exposed wood beams holding the whole place up.  One aspect of such an old building that I quickly noticed was the slow ceiling height.  People back then were much shorter than they are today.  See, milk does a body good is not just a good slogan, but the truth.  There are old paintings hung on the wall and a few stuffed animals around as well.  You could say they are an originator of putting nick nack crap on the walls.  Even with cliche stuff on the wall it is very intimate, and by intimate I mean dark, on the inside.  There are not a ton of windows to let in natural light and very few lights.  Again back when this was built they just didn’t have large bay windows to allow natural light in.

After we sat down we all greeted each other and quickly looked over the menu.  After a drink order was placed it was back to talking.  I sat next to my brother and we started catching up.  It literally had been 7 months since we last saw each other so we had a lot to talk about.  Finally I forced myself to study the menu and decide what I wanted for dinner.  I noticed a brazed duck breast with potatoes, carrots, and some sauce.  It was so good, the proportions were just right and the sauce made the dish.  Very rich and added to the flavor of the duck without over powering it.  Even had a dessert, lavender creme brulee.  I am a sucker for some creme brulee and thought I would give this a try.  Even though the lavender was just a hint, I thought it ruined an otherwise great dessert.  All the food was excellent and I would definitely come back again to have dinner.  Might even stay at the inn considering it is so far away from my house.

Red Horse Tavern - Middleburg, VA

When we finally were finished with dinner it was only 9:30 but the restaurant was completely empty, we had closed the place down.  This small little town closes up at 5 and there is not much to do.  For all of us the evening is just getting started so it was hard to wrap my head around a town that closes down so early.  We were hoping to find a bar for a drink because the restaurant doesn’t have one.  When we asked the hostess if there was any place to get an after dinner drink she told us the Red Horse Tavern was a couple blocks down the street and open till 1am.  I was shocked anyplace in this town was open that late.

After a short walk we took a seat at one of the tables on their large pattio and ordered a round of drinks.  It was a nice evening to sit outside.  Only issue was the live music blasting from inside the bar.  It made things very difficult to talk to anyone.  I wouldn’t have cared so much if the music was good, but of course it was just loud and obnoxious.  Half way through the beer it started to rain so we headed inside to enjoy the last of our drinks.

Once finished we all headed back to our cars and my Dad and Pat headed to their room for the night.  Dad was surprised by everyone showing up and had a wonderful evening.  I think Stephen coming for dinner was definately the highlight for him.  It is not often that my brother comes to family events so we all enjoyed it while we could.

Not sure what we will do for his 64th birthday next year.  But it certainly will involve the family and doing something fun, can’t wait.