Haymarket Day

So Saturday, September 18, 2010 was Haymarket Day! We decided we needed to check things out. We missed the parade but took time to walk down main street (closed to traffic) and check out all of the booths of vendors and crafts that were out.

We brought the dogs - - -

We saw some Alpacas.

There was a train for the kids

And even some free horse rides for the kids

Wegman's had a little booth where you picked a token out of a basket and got a free corresponding fruit! Christina has a plumb....Cheri had a cucumber.....Jessica got a banana...

There was free face painting.....

And even a little Civil War demonstration -

Overall it a was a pretty good little town day. Plenty of food, lots of people, some free stuff. In the end the dogs and kids were all worn out.

Then, Cheri and Drew got their second wind and decided to drive out to Front Royal, Virginia. Why Front Royal? Well because it's there...and they heard it had some antique stores. They followed the GPS on the way out and came across a little place called the Apple House in Linden, VA.

This is one of those country stores with quilts, gifts, and a little cafe. There were a few Moose heads hanging on a couple of the walls, quilts in one part and a little seating area for the cafe. The cafe was serving up apple donuts that were just incredible. A dozen to go and we were off to see the antiques.

The old downtown was short and lined with nice antique stores and a few other places. One shop specialized in old house restoration pieces. Anything you could want from an old house, doors, windows, knobs, etc. We took their card and will go back once we settle down.

On the way back home they took the road less traveled. Wished for the Jeep instead of a Jaguar. But arrived back onto paved roads without getting stuck or hitting any deer or squirrels.

And while they liked the name of this road....they didn't travel down it....

The British Pantry

Cheri and Drew had lunch the other day at the The British Pantry and Cafe. A little British grocery store and cafe in Aldie, Virginia.

Yes, Drew is a very manly man and likes his greasy burgers, but he also knows when to sacrifice and spoil his wife with lady food.... They both ordered the M’Lady Tea, which included—a round of Tea Sandwiches, scones with Devon Cream and strawberry jam, and a pot of Tea.

They earned a raised eyebrow and perhaps a curled lip for ordering herbal tea instead of black. And then when they actually put milk in that dreaded herbal nonsense, which was yummy if you ask them, the woman (who was from England and had the appropriate accent) said that was practically sacrilegious. She was teasing. Sort of.... Then when she was explaining what creamed tea was to another couple, she said—loud enough for Cheri and Drew to hear—“Some people even put cream in their herbal.” There was no criticizing tone in it until she turned around and smirked at Cheri and Drew. When they laughed and said, “We heard that,” she chuckled, waved her finger, and said she said it for their benefit. Cheri replied with, “If we weren’t supposed to do it then why bring the cream?” The lady said, “Well, because the cream and sugar bowls come as such a cute little set.”

When the Schmidt’s went to England and had herbal tea at the Ritz in London and Little Betty’s in York they were never criticized for doing it, and cream was always served along with the pot of tea, even if it was herbal.

The sandwiches at the British Pantry were tasty and consisted of: egg salad, ham and butter, cucumber with cream cheese, and Irish cheddar with chutney. All pretty good, however, the Schmidt’s will tell you that the best afternoon teas they’ve had so far is a close tie between Little Betty’s in York and My Dear Lizzie’s in Highland, Utah.

Little Betty’s served the best herbal tea with a delicious honey instead of sugar and Dear Lizzie’s has the best scones by far. They both recommend trying the lavender white chocolate with a good slathering of lemon curd at Lizzie’s. Delish!!! A mix like it can be purchased online here, or here. The key is making the mix with cream instead of water.

Here is a recipe for homemade scones made with cream:

Tender and Tasty British Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Whole whipping cream to moisten

Mix dry ingredients. Slowly pour in whipping cream until you have a nice dough consistency. Knead dough a little. Press out into a rectangular shape. Using a pizza cutter cut into long strips then cut those strips into triangles. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in 450 degree oven until fluffy and golden brown. About 10-12 minutes. Note: it does seem like you have to add a lot of heavy cream while making these. You could add some half and half so you don’t have to put so much heavy cream in. But the secret to the nice flavor of these scones is the heavy cream. Add dried fruit, such as cranberries or blueberries, for variety.

Meeting a Plestiodon

So Cheri and Drew ran off to have lunch the other day and saw this little creature by the garage.

This is a Plestiodon. Part of the family of skinks, basically a lizard. There is no Photoshop trick here or anything like that. His tail is really that blue.

Saturday Fun

So today was a quick trip down to DC to visit the Natural History Museum. We drove part way then took the metro the rest of the way in.

Violence on the Metro?

Drew, Megan and Christina waiting for Cheri and Jessica. Is that a poma-dactyl? You know, a Pomeranian and Pterodactyl mixed together?

Afterwards we ran over to Sweetwater Tavern. This is one of Cheri's favorite places to eat and they just have good food. One of the joys is their Ozzie Rolls. A picture from a camera doesn't do justice. Imagine a small scone about the size of a golf ball.

And some lobster bisque soup...

The bruschetta was also very, very tasty.

We were talking with our waitress and we explained that we just recently moved. As a result she bought us desert as a welcoming gift to Virginia. That was pretty nice of her.

After getting home we went on another walk - - and came across some of our fine furry friends again. There are some nice trails that interconnect with the roads and the different neighborhoods. This loop is just about a mile. We stop at the pond to feed the fish and turtles....then it's around and through the woods and then back up to the neighborhoods to get home. Perhaps we'll have to make a little video of this trip.

Udvar Hazy

So the girls humored Drew this past Labor Day and went with him to the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum. Drew was much more impressed then they were. And this was his third or forth time there.

Yet Christina did try the simulator with Drew and she really liked that.

Cheri teased Drew by calling this airplane below the black bird thing. Cheri should know better....this is an SR71 Blackbird!

Some of the girls in the Observation Tower at the museum


Yes.....it's a shuttle....inside...

For lunch we went to Todai...and all you can eat sushi place that is actually pretty incredible. Really good sushi.

In the hunt for good Mexican food we tried Chipotle Mexican Grill this past weekend. We weren't that impressed....but we are ecstatic to find out that a Cafe Rio is scheduled to open in Manassas in December.

Twice now on our way to one place or another we have come across a sickly looking fox. Click on the picture below to go to Flickr and see the picture larger. This was taken on the way to church and with a camera phone....so not that great.....and the fox was just hanging out.

If you have every tried Photosynth go and click here and look at the Photosynths we did at the museum. Here is a small example below.

Townhouse

So we are renting at the moment. It's actually a nice little townhouse that fits us just right. Just down the street from our place is a little fishing pond. The neighborhood surrounds the pond on a few sides and then there is a walking trail around about half the pond. The pond is full of fish and turtles. We've seen rabbits, deer, bats, fish and a few turtles. Some of the turtles are the size of a large pizza pan and just huge! We've been making it a habit to walk down here at least once a day.

Our new area from Schmidt Family on Vimeo.