Anniversary on the Bay

Mimi recently visited and gave Tracy and me a chance to get away and celebrate our sixth anniversary. We wanted to be within a couple of hours drive, but wanted to explore somewhere new. After a bit of research Tracy found a great place in the Northern Neck region of Virginia. The area is surrounded by the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay so there was plenty of good seafood and quaint towns.

We found a great place to stay in Irvington. It is a quaint inn with cottages around a fountain courtyard out back. They served two incredible breakfasts the mornings we were there. It was a great setting to relax.





We strolled around the town with no set agenda. First time we've had time for that in quite awhile. We stopped at a coffee shop and figured out plans for the weekend.



Saturday morning there was an impressive farmers market/craft fair in Irvington. That's our inn in the background. Our timing was great--this was the first market of the season. It turned out to be a great event with lots of fresh produce and plants and interesting crafts.



After the Market we ventured up to the next town, Kilmarnook, which had a quaint downtown. We strolled through the shops and found a great toy for Carter at a local toy shop. From there we headed up the road to a small fishing town along the bay. The owners of our inn had recommended a certain restaraunt for good, fresh, down-home seafood. It was just what we were looking for. We placed our orders inside the simple cinderblock building, strolled out to the adirondack chairs, and enjoyed our fried seafood lunches while looking out acorss the bay. Talk about fresh...as we ate a boat pulled up behind the restaurant and unloaded crates and crates of fresh crabs.





After lunch we made our way to a couple of natural and recreation areas along the Bay (thank you Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation). At each we parked the car, walked through a natural area, and then the woods opened up to the broad Chesapeake.





On our way back home on Sunday we had a liesurely drive through the countryside. We stopped off at Stratford Hall, the long-ago home of the Lee family (birthplace of Robert E. Lee, although he was only there until age 4). Given our history with Monticello, it was hard not to compare, but it was interesting to hear about the family, the plantation, and the history, and to enjoy the beautiful setting.

After that we found lunch and fresh strawberries at a strawberry farm on the way home.



It was a great weekend getaway. Thank you Mimi.