Here is the reveal!

First Photo

Nanzatico Plantation

Nanzatico Plantation is located in King George County along the Rappahannock River. The Nanzatico Plantation’s home was built by Charles Carter in 1769. Thomas Turner III would purchase this 2400 acre plantation and would raise his family there. At the death of Thomas Turner III, his three sons would divide his property of Smith Mount, Walsingham and Nanzatico. Richard Turner would inherit the Walsingham Plantation. George Turner would inherit the Nanzatico Plantation. Thomas Turner IV would inherit the Oaken Brow Plantation, which was originally part of the Nanzatico Plantation.

George Turner would marry Caroline Matilda Pratt, who was the daughter of John Birkett and Alice Fitzhugh Dixon Pratt of the Camden Plantation, across the Rappahannock River from Nanzatico Plantation. Their youngest son was Carolinus Turner. In 1839, Carolinus purchased Belle Grove Plantation. Carolinus Turner would take this modest Federal style home and convert it into the Greek Revival style home we have today.

When I rolled up on this plantation, I got really lucky. The caretaker arrived and allowed me to walk the property. It was amazing! Here are some pictures from my visit at Nanzatico!

This tree blew me away! It is the same tree we cut down in front of Belle Grove just a month or so. The only differences is this one is still alive! And it is older than ours! This one, according to the caretaker is 250 years old!!

It is as wide as my car!!

This is Federal style that Belle Grove started out with before Carolinus Turner made his changes.

This is the plantation office just to the right of the circle in front of the main house.

This is where the planters and overseers would have conducted their plantation business. As far as I know, Belle Grove’s office was in the Mansion.

It was amazing to see the same door hardware!

Another view of the tree. Can you believe how big it is??

This is the view off the back of the house. Well… I should say the front of the house because the front door would have been facing the river. Belle Grove is also set up this way.

This is the “front door” facing the river.

One thing I noticed was the details. They have allot of the same as Belle Grove. Of course since the Turners owned all the plantations on this size of King George at one time, it would make sense.

This was another thing that blew me away! It is their Summer Kitchen! Like Belle Grove, it has two sides, one kitchen and one enslaved quarters. This is what ours will hopefully one day look like! Minus the screen doors and porch light.

The Summer Kitchen has a wonderful garden to the side of it where they would have grown vegetables and herbs for the kitchen. We won’t be able to do this with ours because the sides of the kitchen are beside something else. But maybe we can do it off the Icehouse to the side.

The caretaker did take me inside the kitchen. I don’t think it is as old as ours, but wow!

Some of  the ceiling timbers were hand cut with a broad ax.

And let Belle Grove’s Summer Kitchen, it has a large tree truck as the mantle.

Look at the top right. You can see where they dove tailed the joints!

This is the spring house. It is where they would have gone to draw water.

I don’t know where ours would have been yet.

Here is another mind blowing thing… an old slave quarters! They have two of them!

This was part of the barn. I just love the raised garden boxes!

Just to the left as you enter the circle is the Smoke House.

I love the detail at the top. Maybe we can add that to ours once we restore it!

This is the circle as you come in. It isn’t as big as our bowling green, but it is just beautiful. 

I thanked the caretaker for letting me view the plantation. He pointed me to my next stop!

Second Photo

Oaken Brow Plantation

Oaken Brow Plantation was built in 1830 by Charles Taylor. Thomas Turner III owned Oaken Brow as part of his plantation holdings. At his death, he owned Woodlawn, Nanzatico, Oaken Brow and Walsingham. Thomas Turner IV would inherit Oaken Brow Plantation. In 1925, the original home burned and was restored in 1935 by Dr. Low. Today, there is a wonderful couple that owns it. The gentleman is from Maryland and his wife is from South Carolina. She was at home when I came “calling”. She has been following us and was excited to meet me. I was excited to be invited in. We had a wonderful conversation and she allowed me to take pictures outside the home. She amazed me when she let me know before leaving that she would be glad to show Oaken Brow to any of our guests. I would just need to call ahead. I have a feeling there is going to be allot of request.

They are working on the paint for the outside of the house right now.

This Old English Boxwoods are 10 feet tall!!

This is the view from their back yard. Here they are not on the river so their back yard is really their back yard.

But just beyond the trees is the Rappahannock River.

On to my next stop!

Third Photo

Ingelside Plantation

One of our favorite vineyards in the area is Ingelside. I stopped by to take with them about Belle Grove opening soon and got a wonderful Pinot Grigio to bring home to Brett! 

Be on the lookout for a special package we will be offering for this winery!

http://www.inglesidevineyards.com/

From Ingelside’s website:

“Built in 1834, it first served as a boys’ school known as Washington Academy. During the Civil War it was used as a garrison and later a courthouse. Since 1890, the Flemer family has owned and operated this grand estate encompassing more than 3,000 acres and for the first fifty years it functioned as a dairy farm.

However, in 1940 Carl Flemer Jr. had bigger plans and throughout the years the estate evolved into Ingleside Plantation Nursery and then Ingleside Vineyards after stumbling upon the fact that our location and conditions are prime for growing high quality wine grapes.

Opening in 1980, under the direction of Doug Flemer, Ingleside Vineyards is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wineries and produces over 18 varieties of wine from estate-grown grapes. For over thirty years, our hand-crafted wines have won numerous awards and top honors in state, national and international wine competitions, such as the London International Wine & Spirit Competition, the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition. Our winemaker, Bill Swain, has brought Ingleside wines to a new level with his passion, skill and thoughtful approach to the craft of winemaking.

Ingleside was the first winery in Virginia to produce a methode champenoise sparkling wine. We were also the first winery in Virginia to bottle a varietal Petit Verdot, now one of our flagship wines and recent winner of “Best Petit Verdot” at the 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition.”

Fourth Photo

(Yes those are cows standing in the water)

Popes Creek

Birthplace of George Washington

http://www.nps.gov/gewa/index.htm

From their website:

“George Washington Birthplace National Monument preserves the heart of the Washingtons’ lands in America. John Washington, the immigrant, arrived in Westmoreland County in 1657, and settled near Bridges Creek. Generations of Washingtons lived on these lands and established a legacy of public service, leadership, and love of the land. The rich legacy of the Washingtons would culminate with George Washington’s achievements as the “Father of Our Country.”

Fifth Photo

(This one didn’t go out via Twitter or Instgram – It’s also the hardest to figure out)

Oak Crest Vineyard and Winery

Another one of our favorite vineyards in the area is Oak Crest. They have a wine called “Hot Jazz” you have to try!

Be on the lookout for a special package we will be offering for this winery!

http://www.oakcrestwinery.com/

From their website:

“A long time effort by the Conrad Brandts family culminated in the opening of Oak Crest Winery in 2002. The winery’s creation involved a combination of genetics, scientific bent, fortunate opportunities, and the urge to create good wine and share it with others. Conrad’s home wine-making dates back to the 1950s. The Brandts family’s wine grape growing in Virginia dates to the early 1960s.”

The current winery was constructed in 1999.

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Our last day of vacation was at the plantation and visits to the local vineyards in the area. Our first stop was to Ingleside Vineyards and their Harvest Fest. We had been invited by Chris Flemer, one of the family members who founded Ingleside.

Here is a little history from their website:

“Built in 1834, it first served as a boys’ school known as Washington Academy. During the Civil War it was used as a garrison and later a courthouse. Since 1890, the Flemer family has owned and operated this grand estate encompassing more than 3,000 acres and for the first fifty years it functioned as a dairy farm.

However, in 1940 Carl Flemer Jr. had bigger plans and throughout the years the estate evolved into Ingleside Plantation Nursery and then Ingleside Vineyards after stumbling upon the fact that our location and conditions are prime for growing high quality wine grapes.

Opening in 1980, under the direction of Doug Flemer, Ingleside Vineyards is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wineries and produces over 18 varieties of wine from estate-grown grapes. For over thirty years, our hand-crafted wines have won numerous awards and top honors in state, national and international wine competitions, such as the London International Wine & Spirit Competition, the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition. Our winemaker, Bill Swain, has brought Ingleside wines to a new level with his passion, skill and thoughtful approach to the craft of winemaking.

Ingleside was the first winery in Virginia to produce a methode champenoise sparkling wine. We were also the first winery in Virginia to bottle a varietal Petit Verdot, now one of our flagship wines and recent winner of “Best Petit Verdot” at the 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition.”

When we arrived we were greeted by several members of the staff. As we talked to Chris and told him about our wonderful plantation, those staff members looked on and spoke of their need to come and stay with us. We even had one ask if she could come live in exchange for free house cleaning or anything else we might need.

Chris talked to us about ways we could work together through tasting and coming to be a part of events we may have. We were excited to hear that we will be working together. We love Ingleside Wines and can’t wait to share their wonderful vino with everyone.

After we talked, we had a chance to walk around the festival. We met some really wonderful vendors and got a chance to find some of the local items that you may be able to experience at Belle Grove in the days to come.

If asked which wine we would suggest, we have to say the Virginia Gold. It is one of the Reserve Labels. The Winemakers notes:  “This elegant, ruby colored Bordeaux blend exhibits aromas of cherry, raspberry, and vanilla with a smooth concentration of flavors that linger on the palate.”

It has won the following awards:

Awards:

GOLD – Town Point Wine Competition 2011

SILVER – San Francisco International Wine Competition 2012

SILVER – Virginia Wine Lover Wine Classic 2012

BRONZE – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2011

BRONZE – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Once we left Ingleside, we headed to our next vineyard, Oak Crest Vineyard and Winery. We had an appointment to meet Conrad and Dorothy Brandt, owners of Oak Crest. We have been to Oak Crest before and were excited to return.

Here is a little history from their website:

“A Long time effort by the Conrad Brandts family culminated in the opening of Oak Crest Winery in 2002. The winery’s creation involved a combination of genetics, scientific bent, fortunate opportunities, and the urge to create good wine and share it with others.

Conrad’s home wine-making dates back to the 1950’s and the family’s wine grape growing in Virginia dates to the early 1960’s. Participation in the King George Chapter of the American Wine Society has provided breadth and depth to the Brandts’ wine knowledge and appreciation.

They developed preferences for Bordeaux style red wines and Rhine style white wines. When they purchased their current house site in 1971, the Brandts’ recognized the grape growing potential of the adjoining 14 acre tract. In 1986 they acquired that tract and began planting the sandy 8 acre plateau-like field with grafted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapevines procured from Gabriele Rausse. Gabriele invested his time teaching the Brandts’ how to bench graft and today many of the vines in their vineyard are the results of bench and field grafting. The old-world vitis vinifera vines are grafted onto American rootstock. Anticipated customer needs dictated planting the limited acreage to half red and half white grapes.  Jacques Recht, famous as a Virginia winemaker, advised that the red Bordeaux varities would do well in the Northern Neck area but was pessimistic about producing good wine from locally grown Reisling grapes.  Reisling, Emerald Reisling and Sauvignon Blanc were grown experimentally, but did not prove to be satisfactory.

On a winery surveying trip through California, the Brandts’ got a lead on Symphony and followed through with a visit to Harold Olmo at U.C. Davis. After a meeting on campus, a visit to his winery and lunch at his house the Brandts’ were convinced to try Symphony. Symphony is a cross of Muscat of Alexandria and a rose of Grenache and produces wine similar to Riesling. Immediately after the vineyard site was acquired, sketches and calculations were initiated for a winery design. Average vineyard yield, grape-to-wine-to-bottle process flow, bulk wine aging, bottled wine aging, energy consumption, waste disposal, aesthetics, and target market were a few of the factors that influenced the final design. The design has proven to be very energy efficient and elegantly functional.

All of the family’s talent and time resources were challenged when construction of the winery began in the spring of 1999. At harvest that fall, Oak Crest had licenses to produce commercial wine in the basement fermentation room while the roof was still under construction.

An informal “name the winery” contest was conducted among the local American Wine Society members and family friends. “Oak Crest” was selected because of its depth of meaning, the oak trees that grow on the edge of the crest surrounding the vineyard, Oak’s use in wine making, and the presence of an oak tree on the family’s German crest.  The acorn, a bit of Dorothy’s artistic license, was added to brand the tree as an oak tree. Our goal is to become ‘The Best Little-Ole Winery in Virginia’.”

Our meeting was wonderful. We learned that both Conrad and Dorothy were transplants from Ohio just like Brett. We also talked about the area and learned a lot. We talked about having them come to the plantation for tasting and to be involved in events we will have in the future. We are excited to have their wines to offer our guest. This wine using the Symphony grapes is a wonderful surprise and is one of our favorites.

If asked which wine we would suggest, we have to say the Hot Jazz. This wine is made with Symphony grapes and less than 1% Jalapeno peppers. It is a smooth and spicy blend that is a unique and surprising pleasant wine. It isn’t too hot even with the Jalapeno in it. This wine is award winning!

Brett and I are very excited to have both of these Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail Vineyards working with us. We are proud to have their wines as part of our wine stock and will enjoying sharing the great taste of Virginia Wines with our guest.

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Just 7 more hours of work and Brett and I will officially on vacation!

YES!

So what do we have plan for our week off?

Friday, Saturday and Sunday – The Plantation!

Monday – Meeting with Stratford Hall, Home of Robert E. Lee and his Family / Possible a Meeting with a Local Winery

Tuesday – Back to the house to regroup

Wednesday – Off to Richmond! We are going to the Historic Society of Virginia to view some of the Families Pictures and Portraits. Then we are going to tour Virginia House in Richmond. This is a historic home and gardens. We are going to see it with our dear friend Terri.

Thursday – We are going to the Virginia Executive Mansion! We have wanted to see it for a long time! Then it is off to Charlottesville to see our favorite lawyer, Brian. We could never have gotten through the contract without him! Then dinner out for our 26th Wedding Anniversary. Last year for our 25th we went to Louisiana and New Orleans to see 11 Southern Plantation! We are going to end the evening at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Orange, Virginia.

Friday – We are off to meet with the wonderful people at James Madison Museum in Orange, Virginia. Afterward we will be going to a meeting at Montpelier, James Madison home and where we fell in love with the history of James and Dolley Madison. After our meeting we are heading back to the Plantation!

Saturday – We have another meeting with one of our other Wineries.

Sunday – Back home to Chesapeake.

It is going to be a very exciting week! We can’t wait to share our adventure and the tons of pictures I know I will be taking! We are going to try to get online throughout the week! So check back for updates!

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page! We will be updating our status throughout our travels! If you haven’t “Liked” us on Facebook, please do! If you have, please consider sharing us with your friend!

We look forward to sharing! Thank you for all your support!

Wow what a great couple days! After signing our contract, Saturday we headed up to Washington D.C. to see Mount Vernon. We had a couple of goals in visiting the home of George Washington. First we had heard that the gardens were grand. We hoped to gather some ideas for layouts and plants that will help us plan our gardens at Belle Grove. Second, being a Virginia Plantation home that was built in 1735, we could also get some ideas for the furniture and designs of the interior of a colonial home. We also wanted to visit so we could recommend it as a place to go while our guests are visiting our plantation.

I had been to Mount Vernon twice before, but this was Brett’s first visit. It has been years since I had gone and a few things had changed since my last visit. One thing I remembered was how tricky it can be finding it. All I can say is I don’t know what I did before GPS! Thankfully when we arrived, we were able to find a parking space pretty close to the entry.

When we walked into the Orientation Center, we were first greeted by life size statues of General Washington, Martha and their grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly)at age 6 and George Washington Parke Custis (called “Wash” or “Tub”) at age 4. The first thing we did was measure Brett against General Washington’s 6’2” frame. One thing we did notice was how much shorter Martha was. She was only 5’5”.

From there we headed to the front entry gate. This has to be the best place to first view Mount Vernon. As we walked in and started around towards the Upper Garden, we found a sign that talked about the grassy area in the circle at the front of the house. This area is called the “Bowling Green”. By definition, a bowling green is a finely-laid, closely-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls. Now I don’t know if they played lawn bowls, but I love the name they use for it. We have a similar area in front of Belle Grove. All this time, I have been just calling it the grassy area in the circle. Now I think we are going to follow suit and call it our bowling green. Who knows, maybe we can learn how to play lawn bowling and have some fun at the plantation!

As we rounded the circle, we came upon some very large trees. Each of these trees were marked with the time that they were planted. I couldn’t believe it! Some of these trees were planted during the same time period when Belle Grove was built! What wonderful pieces of living history to see and touch! If only these trees could talk, what story they would have!

The Upper Garden was our first stop. This garden had a dual purpose. It was both beautiful and productive. It features three large planting areas with wide paths. The beds are edged with short boxwoods. Just inside this edging was a ten foot wide border of fruit trees, shrubs, roses, annual and perennial flowers. The center section was where vegetables were grown and would supplement the production of the Lower Garden. The most formal section of the Upper Garden is a set of boxwood parterres, which incorporate the French fleur-de-lis as a major design element.

From here we made our way across the bowling green to the right side of the house. Here we walked to the river view of the manor home. Mount Vernon sits on a high bluff that overlooks the Potomac River and across the river to Maryland. The porch extends the full length of the manor house and offers a large area to sit and enjoy the cool breezes that come up from the river.

We then made our way back to the side of the house where we viewed several of the dependencies. One of the first ones Brett wanted to see was the Smokehouse. He commented that it was just a little bigger than the one at Belle Grove. We also peeked into the Wash House and Coach House. What a beautiful carriage General Washington had! The one that was shown wasn’t owned by Washington, but was an example of what he had.

From here, we started down a steep hill towards the Tomb of the Washington. Also by this point, we had started getting a little hot. The day was very hot (around upper 80s to lower 90s) and quite humid. As we walked down, I started thinking about what a walk back up this was going to be. When we arrived at the tomb, there really weren’t too many people there. It was very quiet and peaceful. The two sarcophagus were simple white marble and the lid of General Washington’s decorated with an eagle and shield. General Washington had been buried earlier in another tomb until this tomb could be built according to his will.

After the long hike back up the hill from the tomb, we headed over to the Lower Garden. The Lower Garden or Kitchen garden is where many varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs were grown. The high brick walls were used to create a warm environment that extended the planting season and would have kept the wildlife out of the garden. The garden was placed on a slope so it had to be terraced to create two flat planting areas and would have a southern exposure.

After walking the Lower Garden, we were pretty hot and headed back over to the start of the manor house line. We were about 30 minutes before our tour time, but were allowed to go ahead and enter the line for the manor. As we made our way up, we came upon a sign that talked about the exterior walls of Mount Vernon.

The mansion is made of wood, but was treated to look like stone. Long pine boards were grooved and beveled to create the appearance of masonry. Then the boards were varnished and painted. Before they dried a fine sand was thrown on the wet paint. This rustication technique was used on the mansion in 1757-1769, just a few years after Mount Vernon became his home.

As we made our way through the line, we were given a chance to see the Servant’s Hall just to the left of the mansion. From there, we walked along the covered arched walkways towards the house. It is from this walkway you can see the outside of the palladian window of the formal entertainment room.

When I last visited Mount Vernon, several years ago, the tour was done in groups and was only in the main level of the mansion. Today, the tour was more of the line that you walk through from the entertainment room, to the river view porch, back into the main hall where you see two bedrooms, a small parlor and dining room. Then its upstairs to three bedrooms, on with a portrait of Marquis De Lafayette. Lafayette visited Mount Vernon on his visits to America. From here, we made our way through another bedroom, which at first I thought might be the Washington’s room since it was the only bedroom that we had been allowed to enter and walk through. But just on the other side was another bedroom, which had been part of an extension General Washington had added to Mount Vernon. Then it was back downstairs and into the private study of General Washington. After about 20 minutes, the tour was over.

Brett and I have been to several of the Founding Father’s homes. Of the three that we have seen, Monticello, Montpelier and Mount Vernon, only Mount Vernon had left me feeling like there was so much more information and history that was not mentioned during the tour. The mansion had tour guides staged at different points along the walking tour. They all seemed to have about three or four statements that they made over and over. When I wanted to stop and ask a question, the tour guide seemed a little baffled by my question (the question was in the entertainment room and I asked if the plaster accents were colonial or were they added sometime later in the Victorian period?) I was told they were colonial and he walked away before I could really get any more questions out. Also because there was a long line of people behind me, I didn’t feel like I could stop and ask too many questions, even though I really wanted to. I did find out that the mansion is 9200 square feet. Belle Grove is just 1200 shy at 8000 square feet.

After the tour, we were hot and a bit drained, so we headed back over to the Museum and Education Center. Here we could have gotten more information I am sure than what we got inside the mansion. But at this point we were to tired to make it through. It will have to wait until another day.

All in all it was a really good visit. The gardens gave us more ideas and we now have a name of our grassy area. When we have guest come to Belle Grove, when we recommend Mount Vernon, we will offer the following advise:

• Plan an early and all day event. With the traffic you can run into on Highway 95, your travel time from Belle Grove to Mount Vernon could be from one to two hours depending on the traffic.
• Plan your visit ahead of time. Know what you want to see and where you want walk.
• Wear comfortable tennis shoe. The hills are not kind to flip flops.
• Try to plan your trip in cool weather. The heat and humid were very hard on us and Mount Vernon doesn’t offer many places to get out of the heat.

We decided to stay the night in Fredericksburg at the Schooler House Inn. We arrived just long enough to drop our belongings off and head over to an Italian Restaurant Brett wanted to try. This restaurant called “Ristorante Renato” is located on William Street in Fredericksburg. It is a cozy semi formal restaurant in an older building. We arrived in blue jeans and the other guests were casual or blue jeans as well.The decor was just a little dated and the waitstaff were all in tux shirts and bow ties, but the food was really good.

We started out with an Antipasti Misto for two with prosciutto, salami, mushrooms, mozzarella, olives, anchovies, shrimp, and marinated vegetables. Then we had a house salad followed by our entrees. Brett ordered his favorite Italian dish, basic spaghetti with meat balls and mushrooms added. I ordered Agnolotti (or Ravioli). The raviolis were white pillows filled with baked spinach in a cream cheese sauce. When I got my dish at first I was a little disappointed that it was only four small raviolis, but after eating them, I see why. They are so filling! And the taste was out of this world! I have never had a ravioli that simply dissolved in your mouth! I would eat that every night if you asked me! At the end of the entree we decided no dessert for us tonight. Both dishes filled us and satisfied our taste buds.

As we made our way back to Schooler House Bed and Breakfast, we made a quick trip to the river to see the paddle boat that is docked downtown. It is small river boat the offers a meal and trip down the Rappahannock River. We are going to have to schedule a trip on this soon! I don’t know how far down river it goes, but it would be so cool to furnish a dock for it to come to Belle Grove!

We headed back up Caroline Street and made one more stop for the night at the Virginia Wine Experience store. Here you can find Virginia Wines from 80 vineyards represented of the over 200 vineyards of Virginia. One of our favorites is Ingleside and I knew that they carried one of our favorite wines, “Sweet Virginia Rose”. This red is a sweeter dessert wine that is a pleasure to enjoy. With bottle in hand, we arrived at Schooler House.

We got ready for the night and settled in for a glass of our “Sweet Virginia Rose”. As Brett caught up on his college football scores, I grabbed one of the many books that Andi, the innkeeper offers guest to enjoy. I picked up a book on “Ghost of Fredericksburg and the surrounding area” . I was kind of hoping to see Belle Grove or one of the other plantation in the book. But the closest it got was a story about John Wilkes Booth. An hour or so later, Brett and I snuggled down in our warm and very comfortable bed and quickly fell asleep.

To be continued…

Just imagine pulling up to our two hundred and twenty-one year old plantation home to spend two beautiful nights in one of our Master Suites overlooking the plantation and the river. Each of the Master Suites will be filled with period style furnishing matching the period that the family for whom the room is named lived at Belle Grove Plantation.  After you arrive, join us at 5pm sharp for a Wine and Cheese reception with local Virginia wines and hors d’oeuvres.

Sample a traditional Mint Julep while taking in the view of the Rappahannock River from the riverfront portico.  Afterwards, take a stroll around the property with Brett and Michelle and learn about the history of Belle Grove Plantation from its beginnings in 1670 to the birth of James Madison to the Civil War and John Wilkes Booth. Afterward return to your room with a turndown service and a night cap of Port Wine and a special Belle Grove snack.

You and your companion will wake to a gourmet three-course breakfast served in the formal dining room or you can choose to have a private breakfast on the balcony overlooking the river. You can spend your day relaxing and reading in our library, or go exploring the local history of George Washington, Robert E. Lee or the Civil War Battlefields of Fredericksburg. You may also chose to enjoy tasting the delights of Ingleside Winery or a quiet gourmet dinner at River Haven Restaurant overlooking the Rappahannock River.

Return for the Wine and Cheese Reception and then a quiet evening watching the sunset over the river from the Riverfront balcony.

What could be better than this? How about all of this for free?

Here is your chance!

Today we will be launching a fund-raising campaign in an effort to save the three outbuildings you may have read about in the previous post. We truly believe these buildings are worth the time and effort to save because they hold the past of this plantation. Built around the late 1700s, they could reveal life for the plantation families and slaves that lived here from 1791 to the present. With their restoration and preservation, we will be able to preserve and present that history to future generations to come.

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

Please visit our campaign site at

http://www.indiegogo.com/bellegroveplantation

and read over our information for the campaign. Once you have made your donation, claim one of the “perks” we have set up. You can only claim one. Once we receive your information, we will register you for the drawing. We will send you via email the ticket numbers for your records. Please make sure you include your email address and phone number so we can call you if you win! We do not share any information and do not add you to any email list.

The drawing will take place on August 25, 2012. We are hoping to be able to open Belle Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast in September, 2012.

Our goal is to raise $30,000 with this campaign with an ultimate goal of raising a total of $200,000 with future fund raising campaigns. This will help us restore and preserve these valuable pieces of history. We will also be using the funds to make some improvements to the grounds.

How you can help us?

You can help us by sharing the word to others. Please consider sharing this post with your readers on your blog and on Facebook.

We have to have at less two contribution within the first two days of the campaign in order to be added to Indiegogo’s browser.

Another way to help us is to visit the campaign site as many times as you can and by commenting on the campaign. By doing so, we will accumulate “points” with Indiegogo. If we receive enough “points” they will feature us on their home page. As all of you are aware, by being featured on the home page, we will get much needed exposure for our campaign. This will help us greatly!

We really appreciate your donations!

Remember all donations great and small will make a difference! We will record the names, city, state (and country) of those who donate to our campaign. The name of each contributor will go on a list that will become part of the New History of Belle Grove Plantation. Once we have finished the restoration, three copies of this part of the new history will be made. One copy will be retained at Belle Grove, the second will go to the King George County Historic Society and the third copy will go to the Virginia Historic Society to be archived as part of the permanent history of Belle Grove Plantation for future generations.

Become part of the history of Belle Grove Plantation that includes the birthplace of James Madison and the trail that John Wilkes Booth and his Union pursuers traveled!

Thank you for your support and generosity.

(NOTE! We will be adding a video of Belle Grove Plantation soon to the Indiegogo site)

Brett and I are so overwhelmed with the interest in Belle Grove Plantation! The warm comments and words of encouragement have meant a lot to us as we work towards opening this beautiful and historically important home. We appreciate each of you and appreciate you joining us on this journey!

Thank you just doesn’t seem enough at times.

There were several questions that we received through your comments so we thought we would answer some of them here so everyone would know.

Question One:

Is the plantation open now?

Answer:

No, it is not open to the public yet. In fact we don’t even live there yet. We travel up on the weekends when we need to do anything or just to visit it. There is a caretaker there, but they do not allow the public to come and see. So we ask that you please wait before you try to come and find it. As soon as we are able, we will allow our friends to come and see it. Please stay tuned…

Question Two:

When are you going to open?

Answer:

We are hoping to open in September, 2012. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. So that is a soft date at best right now. We will know more once we are able to get started on site and see what needs to be done and how long it will take. We are working on what we can now so hopefully it will cut the time down. Believe us, we can’t wait to open!

Question Three:

Are you planning on doing weddings?

Answer:

Yes! We have already started working on collecting vendors to assist us in becoming the venue of choice for weddings! And what a great place to start your life together!

Question Four:

What is there to do in this area?

Answer:

Where do we begin? We have many attractions in the area from

• Wine Tasting
• River Tours of the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers
• Great Places to eat
• Historic Sites within minutes in King George and Westmoreland Counties, plus Historic Fredericksburg is just 20 minutes away! Washington D.C. and Baltimore are both about 75 to 90 minutes away!
• Country Club Golf Course within 5 minutes of the Plantation
• River Tubing and Kayaking in Fredericksburg
• Fishing Tours
• And much more!

Question Five:

Are you going to have any public festivals?

Answer:

Yes! We are looking to have several throughout the year. We are planning the following in the coming year:

• Wine and Arts Weekend
• Wine and Antiques Weekend
• Happy Birthday Dinner with James and Dolley Madison
• Founders Day Weekend
• Titanic Tea
• Paranormal Weekends
• Thanksgiving Dinner
• Christmas Time at Belle Grove Plantation
• Christmas Tea
• Wine and Hot Air Balloon Festival
• Civil War Weekend

Question Six:

How many rooms are available?

Answer:

There are four rooms in the main house, two Master Suites upstairs and two Junior Suites downstairs. Each of the rooms is named for the families that came before as a way to honor them and their contributions to the rich history of Belle Grove Plantation. Each of the rooms will be furnished with antiques and reproductions that fit the time period when each family lived at Belle Grove Plantation. These are the names of the rooms and the period that they will be furnished in:

• The Madison Master Suite – 1751 to 1836 – Upstairs
• The Turner Master Suite – 1839 to 1893 – Upstairs
• The Conway Suite – 1670 to 1790 – Downstairs
• The Hipkins-Bernard Suite – 1790 to 1839 – Downstairs

We have plans in the future to add cottages in the style of a plantation cabin. These too will be named after families with period pieces too!

Question Seven:

Are you pet friendly?

Answer:

This one was a hard one for us. As you know we love our dog, Hurley. Unfortunately, we will not be able to open the house to pets. However, once we get our cottages built, we will have pet friendly cottages available. We love animals and we look forward to meeting more furry friends in the future.

Question Eight:

Will you allow children?

Answer:

In the Main House, we will allow children ten and older that are adult supervised and well mannered. Once we open the cottages, we will allow children under ten in the cottages.

Question Nine:

Will there be historic tours?

Answer:

Yes, we are planning public tours of Belle Grove Plantation once we open.

Question Ten:

Will you have a restaurant there at Belle Grove Plantation?

Answer:

No, we will offer a full gourmet breakfast each morning to overnight guests. We will also have Wine and Cheese, with Mint Juleps every evening at 5 sharp for overnight guests. On Sunday, we will open Belle Grove up to the public for Sunday Brunch by reservation only. Overnight guests will have the option to skip breakfast on Sunday and eat Sunday Brunch instead.

For meals outside of these, we can recommend several wonderful places to go both close to us and in outlying areas.

These are just a few questions and I am sure there are going to be even more as time goes by. Please feel free to ask them! We welcome them. You can also email us at virginiaplantation@gmail.com  if you would like to ask them privately.

Please keep a close eye on future posts! We have a very special surprise that will be posted soon! If you are thinking about coming to see us, this post will help you get here!

Please make sure you “Like” us on Facebook and “Share” the Belle Grove page!

Thank you for all the fun we have had getting to know you! We can’t wait to meet each of you in person and share this beautiful and historic home with you!

Another great day at the plantation! We headed up on Saturday, this time with my sister Catherine, who is here from Alabama. Hurley, our plantation dog, decided to stay home with our son for a day of swimming. Catherine’s husband, Andrew is a video producer. He is working on an introduction video of the plantation for us. Catherine was helping us on Saturday with the reshoots.

When we arrived, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Not too hot and perfect for filming. While she looked around and figured what she wanted to shoot and the time we needed to do it, I hung back around the front portico of the house, exploring the ground around the base of the house. Since we have been working on this project, I have made it a point to keep my eyes open for artifacts that might be just lying around. We have a caretaker that lives there now and he has told us that artifacts show up all the time. He has found items such as bottles and Indian arrowheads and tools. In the short time I have been there, I have found a broken perfume bottle from Germany that dated to 1860, two blue and white plate shards and lots of coal. This Saturday was no exception.

The house was restored from 1997 to 2003. During the restoration, they pulled out several old nails and just discarded them. I found a pile of them around the horse hitching post in the front and along the base of the house.

I also found two more plate shards, this time green and white. As I was walking between the outbuildings and the old barn site, I found three more white dish shards. And of course more coal. What is so amazing is that it is just sitting on the surface of the ground. No digging involved. I have to admit I love finding the plate shards. It’s like having a connection to those that came before. Maybe one day we can find a whole piece! Wouldn’t that be grand!

Once we got the video we needed for that time of day, we headed out to allow the sun to set. The sun sets on the Riverside of the house and baths the house in a golden warm glow. We wanted to capture that on the video. So we spent our time visiting some of the local attractions. One of our stops was back at Ingleside Winery. There we did a wonderful tasting! We even got lucky. They had opened one of the Virginia Gold bottles and allowed us to taste it as well. This one is not on the tasting list. It was one of the best wines from Ingleside that we have had and it has the awards to prove it. After the tastings, we received a free private tour of the winery with one of the funniest tour guides we have ever met. It has long been a dream of Catherine’s to have a vineyard and winery so this was up her alley. Who knows maybe one day she and Andrew can move up and run a vineyard on our plantation!

Once we completed the tour, we head out to one of the best cakery and candy stores we have ever been to. It’s called Mary’s Cakery & Candy Kitchen. When you walk into this store, you immediately go into a diabetic coma. The chocolate smell is so thick in the air that I think I gain at least five pounds on the smell alone!

Mary has been making cakes and candy for years. She learned her craft from a 75 year old man who worked in Hersey, Pennsylvania. I have to tell you, her creations would have Willie Wonka asking questions.

She also creates some of the most decadent cakes you have ever tasted.

One of Mary’s biggest weapons is her husband, Jim or as everyone knows him, “Mr. Mary”.  Jim works the store while Mary and her staff create the masterpieces you will find there. Jim makes sure that each and every customer is greeted and has at least two or three samples before they go. In our case, Brett ended up with about ten candy samples and two cupcakes before we left the first time!

By the time we finished at the candy store, we rolled ourselves back out to the car to head back to the plantation, just in time for sunset. We allowed Catherine to do her video work while Brett and I walked the plantation again. Most of the time we spent sitting on the rivers bluff looking out at the river and watched our resident osprey.

We have a mating couple of osprey that we are told return each year from April to September. The only issue is that they have chosen to nest on one of the main chimneys. In doing some research, we have discovered that once they have left the nest for the season, we can put up a new nesting site on a pole stand close to the house, using their last nest to encourage them to move. We will then have to place something on the chimneys to keep them from nesting there next year. From what we understand, these two ospreys had to defend this nest at the beginning of the season from two eagles. I hear it was a great sky battle that would have been a sight to see. But the osprey won the day and was able to nest again for another season. We have named them as well. We affectionately call them “James” and “Dolley”. We hope to have them return for many years to come. We also hope to see the bald eagles in the area from time to time. It is such a grand sight to see!

New Hint!

Hint One:

Captain John Smith sailed up the river that runs by this plantation in 1608 and noted the Indian settlements along the river banks.

Hint Two:

George Washington was a frequent visitor to this plantation.

Hint Three:

It’s not Williamsburg or the area around Williamsburg.

Hint Four:

Two famous Virginians were born on this plantation. Both were very good with words.

Hint Five: 

The town located across the river from this plantation once was under consideration for Nation’s Capital.

Hint Six:

An assassin passed through this plantation on the way to his death.

Hint Seven:

Name the birds.

Advice – Read other’s comments. If someone guesses correctly, I do tell them. We have had one person name the plantation. If you name it, there is a special treat for you!

Did you know that Virginia has 206 wineries and vineyards and 24 Wine Trail Tours?  Did you also know that Virginia is the 5^th largest wine producing state in the United States?  Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Virginia one of the top ten wine travel destinations for 2012. October is considered Virginia’s Prime Wine Month because of the fall foliage, free or low-cost wine festivals, barrel tastings and harvest parties.

One of these wonderful wineries and vineyards is located very close to our plantation. It is called Ingleside Plantation Winery. It is located on a beautiful plantation that was built in 1834 and started as a boys’ school known as Washington Academy. It has also served as a garrison and courthouse during the Civil War. The current family has held this 3000 or more acres since 1890. With this family, the plantation started as a dairy farm. In 1940, the plantation was turned into a nursery and the vineyard was added in 1980.

According to Ingleside Vineyards website

www.inglesidevineyards.com

“Ingleside Vineyards is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest wineries and produces over 18 varieties of wine from estate-grown grapes. For thirty years our hand-crafted wines have won numerous awards and top honors in state, national and international wine competitions, such as the Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition, San Diego International Wine Competition, as well as the London International Wine Spirits Competition.”

“At the time of Ingleside’s incorporation, Ingleside was one of the initial six wineries in the state of Virginia.”

Their philosophy is as follows:

“We are serious about our vineyards and our wines. That being said, we encourage a relaxed environment for our customers to taste our wines and sit a spell in our beautiful European styled courtyard.”

The vineyard has four primary vineyards, The Roxbury Vineyards, The Walnut Hill Vineyards, The Chesapeake Vineyards and The Founder’s Vineyard.

The Roxbury Vineyard

“The Roxbury Vineyards, consisting of 12 acres, is planted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Viognier.  This section takes its name from the 1860”s Victorian mansion built by Dabney Carr Wirt, the youngest son of the former U.S. Attorney General William Wirt. It is now the home of Ingleside proprietor Doug Flemer. Roxbury Vineyards are oriented such that they are well-drained towards the Potomac River.  The grapes from the medium textured soils produce wines that are serious yet approachable.”

The Walnut Hill Vineyards

“The Walnut Hill Vineyards consists of 20 acres of Chardonnay clone 96, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese and Malbec.  Walnut Hill is part of the original land purchased by the Flemer Family in the 1880’s.  It is a magnificent site for growing grapes as it is part of the highest ridge in the entire Northern Neck.  With a commanding view towards the Potomac River, these vineyards are well exposed to breezes off the rivers.  The back portion of the property also drains towards the Rappahannock River.  The heavier soils on Walnut Hill produce wines of intensity, elegance, complexity and finesse.”

The Chesapeake Vineyards

“The Chesapeake Vineyards consist of 18 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Charbono, Graciano, Albarino, Nebiollo, Temprillo and Pinot Meunier plus some additional experimental varieties and a selection of rootstocks used for grafting.  Our Chesapeake Vineyards are located behind the winery in medium textured soils that are fertile ground for experimentation.  It is here that we have and are continuing to discover the best varieties and clones suited to the climate on the Northern Neck, Chesapeake Bay Region.”

The Founder’s Vineyards

The Founder’s Vineyard consists of 8 acres of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier, Albarino, Seyval Blanc and Norton.  Some of these vines are the oldest in the state of Virginia having been planted in the 1970’s by Carl Flemer, Jr. founder of Ingleside Winery.

The following are some of the awards stated on their website that this great Virginia winery has received:

OVERALL WINERY AWARDS:

– Voted “Best Winery in Eastern Virginia” in 2011 and 2012 by the readers of Virginia Wine Lover Magazine.

– Voted “Favorite Virginia Winery in the Chesapeake Bay Region” in 2011 by the readers of Virginia Wine Lover eNewsletter.

WINE AWARDS for 2012 (BY VARIETY):

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Petit Verdot 2007
Silver – San Diego International Wine Competition 2012 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012 

Petit Verdot Reserve 2007
Gold – San Diego International Wine Competition 2012 
Silver – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012 

Sangiovese 2008 
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Sangiovese 2009
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

Virginia Gold 2007
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2011
Bronze – Virginia Governor’s Cup Competition 2012

 Some of their upcoming events are:

September 8 – Jazz in the Courtyard

October 20 – 33^rd Harvest Celebration

November 10 – Fall Barrel Tasting

December 8 & 9 and 15 & 16 – Holiday Open House

New Hint!

Hint One:

Captain John Smith sailed up the river that runs by this plantation in 1608 and noted the Indian settlements along the river banks.

Hint Two:

George Washington was a frequent visitor to this plantation.

Hint Three:

It’s not Williamsburg or the area around Williamsburg.

Hint Four:

Two famous Virginians were born on this plantation. Both were very good with words.

Hint Five: 

The town located across the river from this plantation once was under consideration for Nation’s Capital.

Hint Six:

An assassin passed through this plantation on the way to his death.

Advice – Read other’s comments. If someone guesses correctly, I do tell them. The first hint has been answered correctly.

Today we headed up to the plantation for a day trip with our Plantation Dog, Hurley. As we crossed the bridge and saw the house sitting on the bluff, I felt it hard to catch my breath. We have been working on this for almost one year (July, 2011) and I still get the electric feel when we see it again. I can’t wait to come home for good.

When we arrived, we allowed Hurley to jump out and walk around the front yard while I walked down to let the caretakers know we were there. We then stepped into the front hall. As I stepped in, I realized that the air had not been turned on, so it was a little warm in the house. The second thing I noticed was how Hurley was reacting to the house. Now you have to understand Hurley is a very easy going dog. Nothing really affects him. He just goes with the flow. We have taken him to other places and homes and every time he was just himself, excited to be somewhere new. But this time, it was different. As he came in, he started to appear kind of skittish. His body was lower to the floor and he was walking as if he was afraid the floor would drop out from under him. I don’t think it was the floor, which is hardwood. We have hardwood at our current house and he grew up on them. But as we walked through the house, you could see he just wasn’t sure about it. And he had to look at every space in the house. When we went upstairs, he even nosed his way into a closet where the door was slightly ajar.

We decided to take him outside for water and to walk around outside. He ran as normal, nothing seems out of place. He loved the front circle and yard until he saw the back and the bluff overlooking the river.

After being outside for a short time, we realized that he was getting over heated so we decided to take him up to the balcony for the breeze to try and cool him off. It didn’t work. So we walked back in and he walked to the other side of the upstairs hall and laid down on the landing. My husband and I agreed we need to cut it short to get him out of the heat, so I called for him to come. This is where it gets weird. He got up and started towards me and took a step off the landing. But he stopped half off the landing and just stood there. Now I have seen him do this before at our current house. My daughter who lives with us also has a cat that Hurley grew up with. If he is walking somewhere in the house and she is in the way, he will stop and wait for her to move. That is almost what he did. It was like he was waiting for someone or something to move. So I walked over to him and told him to come on. He moved around me, but walked to the far side of the wall opposite of the staircase and then made his way around to the top to head down. All I can say is weird.

After we got back in the car and got some air on Hurley, we head to a local winery. There are two that are very close to the plantation and they are both really good! (I will post a blog about the winery soon) As we headed over to the winery, we came across (you guessed it) an antique store! I have been to this one before, but I talked my husband into stopping on the way back from the winery. Score again!! This time I found 5 new tea cups and a tea pot set. Once we reveal the plantation, I can tell you the name of this place. But I can tell you it is in a barn that belongs to an 85 year old man who has to be one of the coolest people to talk with. His favorite thing to say is, “Buy something so I don’t have to eat hot dogs tonight.” I love it!

After my last antique purchases of the long weekend (glad it wasn’t a week, I would be broke!) we headed over to a local candy store to see if they were open. This candy store (which I will reveal once we make the announcement) is one to die for! When you walk into this store, you immediately go into a diabetic coma! The aroma of chocolate is so thick here; you almost have to cut it with a knife! The owner has been in business for years. She makes chocolate confections that Willie Wonka would envy! She also makes cakes and pies people come five hours to get. She used to make wedding cakes, but her orders got to be so overwhelming she had to stop. But! We have come to an agreement that she will be making wedding cakes exclusively for our plantation. She won’t make any wedding cakes for anyone else!

However, when we arrived, we were greeted with a closed sign for her store. That’s okay; we will be back on Saturday!

New Hint!

Hint One:

Captain John Smith sailed up the river that runs by this plantation in 1608 and noted the Indian settlements along the river banks.

Hint Two:

George Washington was a frequent visitor to this plantation.

Hint Three:

It’s not Williamsburg or the area around Williamsburg.

Hint Four:

Two famous Virginians were born on this plantation. Both were very good with words.

Hint Five:  NEW!

The town located across the river from this plantation once was under consideration for Nation’s Capital.

Advice – Read other’s comments. If someone guesses correctly, I do tell them. The first hint has been answered correctly.