Nelson County Rocks

 

      

We had a colorful fall, although a quite dry one.  I planted seeds for a fall vegetable garden at the end of August, and within a month or so was rewarded with plenty of lettuce varieties, arugula, chard, collards, and kale.  Kale and collard quiches became a standard part of our diet for the next two months.

With two local friends, Holly and I spent a weekend in the old railroad town, Clifton Forge, in the Allegheny Highlands, enjoying the C&O railway museum and the German-style Christmas market as well.

    

     

      

  

Back home, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Holly’s son John, sister Constance, sister-in-law Lonni, and Tim and Megan.  And assorted dogs… And we skyped with Felix and his parents in Mobile!

   

      

      

Heading South on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mabry Mill

 

We spent our first night at the Little Switzerland Inn along the Parkway

  

    

  

   

Click here for more pictures of our trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway and on to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then to honky-tonk Gatlinburg in Tennessee

Then on to Mobile Alabama, which impressed us as a very livable and attractive place.  Of course, it was Felix who really stole the show…

    

Click here for more pictures of our wonderful visit in Mobile with Felix, Nic and Alison, including a tour of Spring Hill College, where Nic is now an Assistant Professor of History

We also found time to take a day trip down to Dauphin Island in the Gulf, where we soaked up the sun and both marine and bird life…and found Pirates for lunch!

Click here for more Dauphin Island pictures

On our way home the next day, we stayed overnight in Athens, Georgia, to visit Holly’s longtime friend Inga at the University of Georgia.  A lovely evening.

We drove the rest of the way home the next day–for a total of about 2200 miles altogether.

    

  

  

Cally and Jake’s Wedding Celebration in Maryland

A delightful (and definitely unconventional) forest fantasy wedding celebration in John and Calista’s back yard, which combined beautiful landscaping with multiple tents and canopies and many surprises.  Fairly heavy rain, while inconvenient, contributed to the deep forest feeling and failed to dampen spirits or costumes.  Holly and I stayed for two nights in nearby Rockville.  Note: the somewhat blurry pictures are from my camera, which unfortunately had a bad setting.  More pictures may follow.

Note: Cally and Jake are adding more pictures as they receive them at http://deppen-neely.tumblr.com/

   

 

 

   

Feasting and Sunbathing on Delaware’s Eastern Shore

A lovely visit to Holly’s long-time friends, Robert and Barb.  We feasted on seafood for three days and enjoyed good company and perfect weather at the beach.  Stopped at a street side restaurant in Mananas on the way home.

    

A Visit from my Sister

Eleanor came down by train for a short but fun visit, with a jaunt along the Blue Ridge Parkway and a meals out together at Hamilton’s and Devils Backbone Brewery.  And good wine and conversation.

Here are a few pictures from the one-night stopover of Felix and his parents.   (Click on picture to see larger image.)

 

 

  

  

   

   

A lovely visit in July to my cousin Fred and his wife Kathy in Raleigh and then down at their place along the water in Belhaven.  Oh yes, and Kathy’s seeing-eye dog in the their boat.

 

 

A short but wonderful visit from Holly’s daughter Lyara, who managed to squeeze in time with close family friends Robert and Barb in Delaware; aunt Lonni in Staunton; brother John in West Virginia; aunt Constance in Charlottesville; and a longtime school friend from Crozet; ….plus a great dinner at La Fleurie.

My first grandson, Felix, was born on July 8, 2016, while Holly and I were taking our honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean.  We got to see Felix for the first time at Nic and Alison’s place in New Haven in August, and then once again at Christmas at Tim and Megan’s.  So it was a big deal to host Felix and his parents at our place for two nights this April!  He is, as all his admirers say, adorable, always with a smile on his face. Wonderfully good-natured.  In addition to hanging out at our place, we took a walk around nearby Sherando Lake, ending up afterwards, via the rough remains of the old Howardsville Turnpike, at Blue Mountain Brewery. (It was Devils Backbone Brewery the next day.)

 

   

 

   

Outdoor fun at Wintergreen and Devils Backbone: Bob and Lyara on The Plunge Trail, John and Lyara snow tubing on Christmas Eve.

 

 

  

Lonni, Gloria & Draco & Zeus joined us for Christmas.  The next day we celebrated Holly’s 65th birthday at the Old Mill Room at the Boars Head in Charlottesville.

Then on to Tim and Megan’s home in Maryland, where we were joined by Nic, Alison, and 6-month-old Felix, and for a great Christmas season reunion with members of the Deppen clan! (Felix of course pretty much stole the show.)

   

And then back to our home for an informal and delightful New Year’s celebration with our friends Tom and Kathy and Nicky and Bob.

 

 

 

Above: Preparing for Thanksgiving.  Tim and Megan arrived on Wednesday, and we had a Mediterranean-style fish soup (and a copious amount of wine) that evening.

A walk on Thanksgiving morning; Megan with Lonni’s dogs, Gloria and Draco.

   

Constance, Lonni and John joined us for a mid-afternoon dinner Thanksgiving day. Played the card game “Recipe” in the evening.

The next morning, John and Tim joined me in taking “The Plunge Trail,” at Wintergreen, with great views of the Rockfish Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

 

And that afternoon, a hike along the Blue Ridge Railway Trail, followed by a visit to our friends Kathy and Tom (who shared his amazing collection of player pianos).

On Sunday afternoon, Holly and I checked out Wood Ridge Farm Brewery on the eastern side of Nelson County.  Situated on a functioning farm which produces all the ingredients that go into its beer, the brewery offers “dirt-to-glass beers, with all the ingredients (malts, grains, hops, yeasts, etc.) grown on site.  The brewery and tap room is rustic, with gorgeous views in all directions from the windows, porches, and decks.  I’d never had a “shandy” beer before, but we both particularly liked that one.  A nice relaxed ending to our lovely Thanksgiving weekend.