Weekend Update: Southern Traditions

This is the last post about my lovely weekend in Hume, Virginia. See the first post here.

Staying with friends (new friends to me) is a fabulous way to see a new place. I felt so welcome in their newly renovated home, playing with their Yorkie pups (Bob and Jake) and sipping on warm tea. So after brief naps on Saturday afternoon, we were refreshed and ready to go to the neighborhood polo match. My only experience with polo is from movies like "Pretty Women" and "Monte Carlo," so I had no idea what to expect. Well, let me tell you: It was fabulous! 

Antiquing at our hosts' neighbor's store.

It was like one big picnic around a dirt field. Everyone brings a dish to share and you just munch around your spot, hanging out with friends, watching people ride horses and try to make goals. Our hosts brought chicken nuggets to share, which normally would be boring but they stacked them on a silver platter around some locally made barbecue sauce. It was the classiest plate of chicken nuggets I've ever seen! 

The right way to tail gate: on a Thunderbird.

Our hosts also had a friend who was playing in one of the amateur polo matches, which gave us a real person to root for. AND they had one friend who owns a box right up at the field and another friend who owns a spot on the lawn. Having friends makes everything better :) 

Detail of our hosts' house.

For most of the night we sipped on pear martinis around an old Thunderbird, but for a few minutes we sat up close to watch the match. When those balls go flying by your face and the players' horses kick up dirt into your drinks, polo gets real. All in all, it was a lovely evening. The next morning, we were up again to do a little more antiquing before heading back to Maryland. We stopped in Paris and Millwood, Virginia, to see the cutest little antique stores and main streets. (Side note: These main streets may run from two to ten blocks long, but they still count!) 

Our lodging for the weekend. Lovely home.

I think Sunday was the highlight of my trip. The antique store in Millwood, which was in a converted school house, was the cutest thing ever. After some browsing, we headed down to the Locke Store for lunch. The market was stocked with wines and cheeses, had a deli counter and delicious desserts. We piled our lunches onto a metal tray and trekked across Millwood Road to soak up some sun on the picnic tables near the Burwell-Morgan Mill. Curry chicken salad, vegetable tart, and key lime pie. Combined with the rushing water and the flowing weeping willows, this the most wonderful place for a picnic. Heaven.on.earth. This may just be my future!

Millwood picnic grounds next to the mill.

Do yourself a favor and take yourself to the Virginia countryside. It's so peaceful. I know I sound like a hippie, but nothing makes me happier than being outside in nature. A little wine, some great company, a polo match, antiquing, and some picnics? Please, child! Virginia is for LOVERS of nature :)

Love,

Stephanie Marie