Ryan and I spent the long weekend in the woods of Pennsylvania on a belated 30th birthday adventure for Ryan’s best friend. I spent much of the weekend feeling oh-so-thankful that Ryan not only has such an awesome best friend, but also that his best friend married such an awesome wife who is a total blast to hang out with. The four of us are a ridiculously awesome combination, and we don’t take it for granted. Please note: our friends are not shown below out of respect for their privacy. Hard to imagine, but some people don’t actually want to be plastered all over the internet. :)

Enough sap, though – here’s a recap of our weekend, in photos.

It was harder than expected to find a cozy little cabin that was somewhat rustic.  This one in the Laurel Highlands of PA was  a pretty good fit.

Fireplace? Check. Comfy and cozy with a good kitchen? Check.

Odd cabin decor? Check.  I really wanted to rearrange the living room furniture to set the fireplace as a focal point, but I resisted the urge.

Revisiting the awesomeness of Fallingwater (and also Kentuck Knob) with our friends who had never seen either Frank Lloyd Wright home before. . .

Feeling and hearing the leaves crunch under our feet on a deserted mountain trail at sunset . . .

Dancing with joy at the thought of having Brussels sprouts for dinner . . . at least I think that’s what I was doing.  Although C and I had several moments of dancing shenanigans throughout the weekend. . .

Flaming marshmallows atop twigs can be used in lieu of birthday candles on a cake . . . just try not to burn your fingers while lighting them.

Saving the world from four medical epidemics at once proved to be difficult, but after several tries we succeeded at winning Pandemic, the board game:

Scrambling to a nice high point on rocks above the Youghiogeny River . . .

Which provides the perfect vantage point from which to observe the whitewater kayakers . . . including a woman and her DOG!

And, right before leaving on Monday, arranging half of the cabin bookshelf by color order, and styling the shelves a smidge . . . then giving up, thinking “the owner’s going to think we’re wack jobs.”

on a slightly more serious note, we were shocked at how hard it was to find a suitably rustic cabin.  So many of the propoerties that come up in searches today are anything but rustic, with 8 or 10 bedrooms and hot tubs and gourmet kitchens and TVs IN EVERY ROOM and WI-FI access so you can “keep working away from home”.  WTF?

Whatever happened to just getting away from it all? Fortunately we were able to do just that. And it reminded me we need to do it more often.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit unproductive, weekend.  Well, unproductive as far as house projects go – very productive in hurricane preparedness.

At the very last minute I coerced my handmade business friend Rachel into visiting my favorite vineyard, Linden. The winery and vineyards are at the eastern base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and it was just a perfectly gorgeous, if slightly gray, day. On the way out we remarked that it might be our last chance to enjoy the fall foliage before Hurricane Sandy ripped the leaves off the trees, and we were right.

The wind’s blowing so hard now that the leaves are sure to be gone by tomorrow.

At Linden, we did the regular tasting as well as the in-depth cellar tasting (which is amazing).  I’ve written about my respect for the owner and the awesomeness of the cellar tastings here, here and here – so I won’t repeat myself.   With a fellow blogger by my side instead of Ryan, there was no one to censor me from taking a hundred photos. :)  Please sit back and enjoy the virtual visit.

 

They’ve turned what could be a cold and unwelcoming cellar into a beautiful and enchanting space.

Again, this photo doesn’t do it justice.  I accidentally used flash.  It’s more lit by candlelight in real life.

In the cellar they have vases filled with the three different types of soil from the three different vineyards. So cool to see the major differences and hear how the different rock formations affect the water content and minerality (I think?) for the grapes.

Outside the fields and hills were breathtaking.  All the grape vines were ablaze in different colors.

Some turned a deep burgundy hue like below, and others were glowing a golden yellow.

I believe the harvest is done, but a few small grape clusters remained on the vines here and there.  We may or may not have sampled them.

 

Rachel taught me that you can indeed march around the vineyard, taking photos with wine in hand . . .

. . . as long as you hold your wine between your thighs like this:

Sunday I headed west again, this time for a mouth-watering and local-food brunch at The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, one of the first farm-to-table restaurants in the US.

The view from there was stunning as well.  Hills, trees, and the Potomac River.

The owner and chef had both agreed on a menu that was slightly laced with hurricane humor – a small detail that I loved.  You can’t take yourselves too seriously in this world.

The lights are flickering here, and I keep hitting “save” on this post – so I won’t ramble on about the deliciousness of the food.  My words can’t do it justice anyway.

World’s Best Bloody Mary.  Period.  Top left: Chesapeake Bay Crab Fritters.  Not pictured: Seared Scallops over toasted quinoa, green beans for my entree.   The three of us shared the Chestnut Souffle with mocha ice cream, toasted nuts, and cognac anglaise – and oh my word, it was magical.

When I returned home we continued our hurricane prep (and I tweeted. . . a  lot . . . ), and then all day today (Monday) I teleworked.  Word is that Sandy just made landfall, so I’m going to hurry up and hit “publish” before we lose power.  If you’re in the path of the storm, stay safe!