By Guest Blogger Stacey Sheetz Ah, fall. Loudoun’s scenic countryside is slowly turning to shades of gold and crimson. The days grow shorter and darkness begins to cover the land. There’s a chill in the air and blankets of fog settle into the valleys. Bonfires, pumpkins, and the undead begin to dot the landscape (insert demonic laugh here!) No, my friends, this isn’t a...
Weekend highlighted by first-ever reenactment of Ball’s Bluff held on the actual battlefield. On October 22, 2011, one-hundred and fifty years and a day after the original battle took place, Loudoun County will witness a reenactment of one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War: Ball’s Bluff. This 150th anniversary commemoration will include 1,000 reenactors representing both Union and Confederate forces, cannon, and...
“Get Lost in Loudoun,” Visit Loudoun’s adventure web series in Loudoun, launched last week! The first two episodes, “Paintball Battle” and “Throwing Pottery” were posted last Tuesday and this morning. Check them out below. Also, be sure to register to win a “Getaway for 4” to Loudoun at GetLostinLoudoun.com! “Paintball Battle” “Throwing Pottery” with the Washington Redskins’ Chris Cooley Share on...
We here at Visit Loudoun are getting more excited every day about our upcoming web series, “Get Lost in Loudoun.” We’d like to give you a sneak preview here. We hope you’ll plan to watch the 9-episode series when it begins later this month (details to come). Now, Get Lost! Share on...
Fall is arguably the best time of the year to head our way. The weather is bright and sunny with low humidity (which those of us in the DC area know is something we’d give up HOV lanes for). And there’s tons to do outside. Pretty much from Labor Day through Thanksgiving, you’ll find great reasons to be exploring ‘round the county every weekend....
We here at Visit Loudoun recently launched what I think may be the coolest Civil War tourism site around. Of course, I am biased. I work for Visit Loudoun, and was the project leader on it. But log on to CivilWar.VisitLoudoun.org and you’ll quickly understand what I’m talking about. It snows! We’ve animated the four paintings that rotate through on the home page to bring...
This Thursday, July 21 through Sunday, July 31, a new event will premier in the county: Farm-to-Fork Loudoun. This 11-day event is a collaborative effort between the agricultural, culinary, and winery communities of Loudoun. This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill (insert agricultural joke here) restaurant week. Far from it. All participating chefs and restaurant owners have committed to using at least 70 percent locally sourced food. Restaurant patrons may order from...
Visit Loudoun is excited to let you in on a little secret we’ve been working on the past several months. This fall, we’ll premier a new web series, “Get Lost in Loudoun.” This reality-style web series will feature a cast of four people, two women and two men, who will “Get Lost in Loudoun” by escaping their day-to-day lives for some fun and excitement...
Today, my family and I took a short drive up historic Route 15 to the northern part of Loudoun to the tiny village of Lucketts. Our destination: the Old Lucketts Store. This place is huge! Housed in a sage green painted home-turned-retail nirvana, the Old Lucketts Store is a place you’ll want to spend some time. There is room-after-room of antiques, home furnishings, clocks,...
Everyone who knows me knows I love baseball. Heck, I even bought a 1950s baseball uniform (off eBay, of course) and 1950s cleats. I have no idea what I’ll ultimately do with this uniform (besides wear it around the house when my Phillies are on…Yes, my wife thinks I’m crazy). So, that’s why I’m so excited about an event coming up this weekend in...
Memorial Day is a time to remember and reflect on those who gave all they could give: themselves. On this day, Memorial Day, thousands of communities, including Leesburg and Loudoun, hold solemn ceremonies to honor those who passed in the service of their country. It began just after the Civil War, and was originally called Decoration Day. This year marks the 40th anniversary of...
Loudoun has so many great events, almost every weekend year-round. The biggest problem we have, it seems to me, is that we have such great events happening the same day sometimes. But who doesn’t love choices. I wanted to give you some highlights of some signature events coming up over the next few weeks that really showcase why Loudoun is such a rich destination. ...
This week is National Travel & Tourism Week. It’s a week where we celebrate one of my most favorite activities: travel. Now I could tell you that travel and tourism is a $759 billion industry that generates a total of $1.8 trillion in economic output in the United States. And I could tell you that travel and tourism generates $118 billion in tax revenue for...
One of the best, and most scenic, ways to visit Loudoun is to arrive by ferry! Historic White’s Ferry, just northeast of downtown Leesburg, is the last surviving (from around 100 at one point) ferry on the Potomac River north of Washington, DC and the last cable-operated ferry east of the Mississippi. Its a great way to cross the river. A ferry has been...
Did you know you can visit Loudoun via your Nintendo Wii, XBox360 or PlayStation 3? It’s true. Just pick up a copy of the Greg Hastings Paintball 2 video game. It features 12 paintball parks from around the world, and Loudoun’s own Pev’s Paintball Park in Aldie is one of them. Pev’s was recreated virtually for the game, including such details as the mountains in...
Cumberland George Orrison, First Loudoun Soldier Killed in the War This Tuesday, April 12, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, which ignited the American Civil War. Although the war began a century and a half ago, new evidence in the form of letters, diaries, maps, photographs continue to be discovered that further our understanding of this pivotal period...
Have you spotted the chipmunk? He’s the furry one that pops up on the new VisitLoudoun.org. We here at Visit Loudoun think travel should be fun, and if you’re planning a trip to see us, we hope you spend a little time on our website, as we’ve tried to incorporate a little bit of whimsy to the site too. But it’s not all chipmunks...
This video features an interview with Nate Walsh, winemaker at Sunset Hills Vineyard in Loudoun’s Waterford Cluster outside Purcellville. Nate offers some insight into the 2010 wines that are being bottled at Sunset Hills, what to expect in 2011, and why 2010 was a great year for wine in Virginia. I’d like to thank Nate for taking the time to chat with me. He...
On a winter evening in 1977, the men and women attending “Casino Night” at the Middleburg Community Center received a special treat. The wife of Virginia Senator John Warner decided she wanted to deal blackjack. Her name: Elizabeth Taylor. She and her husband lived near Middleburg and were frequently seen around town. She became famous for movies like National Velvet, Cleopatra, and Who’s Afraid...
This photo is of the Appalachian Trail by Loudoun photographer Tom Lussier. I love Tom’s work. There’s so much emotion conveyed in it that it just makes me want to run out and stand in the spot he was when he took it. Spring is just around the corner. There’s so many wonderful things to see and experience outside in Loudoun. A good day...
Loudoun only has one food truck (at the moment… but I’m looking at you, D.C.’s food trucks!) and its a great one. The owners Angel and Pia Miranda are from Chi-town, Second City, Windy City (hence the name, duh!)… Chicago. And when they arrived in Northern Virginia, one of the things they missed most about Chicago was the food: hot dogs, Italian beef, pizza...
Don’t you just love wine with a story? It’s been said that wine is an expression of philosophies – of the winemaker, of the vineyard manager, and of the winery owner, among others. Many hands go into the crafting of great wine. And they have to work together to achieve success. Whitie Hubert, the founder of Tarara Winery, knew this. I took this from...
Sure, this wall, in the chandelier room downstairs at Sunset Hills Vineyard, looks like just another wall. But take a closer look. This 25 foot long (give or take) wall was part of the original foundation when the barn was built in the 1870s, but when owner Mike Canney was overseeing the construction and transformation of this large bank barn into a winery, the Amish...
Can I just start by saying I love baseball? Possibly no one was more excited when they heard that Loudoun was getting its own team than me (yeah, right!). Things have taken some time to get to this point (nearly 10 years by all accounts), but we’re closer than ever. And if Sunday’s inaugural Loudoun Hounds FanFest is any indication, there is a great demand...
On this date, 55 years ago, Elvis Presley recorded “Heartbreak Hotel.” I’m dedicating today’s post in honor of that occasion. It is an image of the Red Fox Inn in historic Middleburg, which certainly wouldn’t be confused with the Heartbreak Hotel, but then again, Virginia is for Lovers! And love sometimes breaks your heart…. But just around the corner of the weekend is Valentine’s...
We’re lucky here in Virginia in that we truly have four seasons. And boy, has mother nature reminded us over the past two years that winter is one of them. And we’ve enjoyed it – building snowmen, taking pics of the new fallen snow, getting exercise by shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling. But that doesn’t mean we don’t long for warmer, better weather. And since...
On April 14, 1908, Nick Carter, a five-foot-eight, 140 pound, 28 year old, right-handed pitcher stepped to the mound to make his major league debut for the Philadelphia Athetics. The game pitted the A’s against the New York Yankees in their immense Hilltop Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City. Unfortunately, the Athletics lost the game. Carter’s career would last just...
The inagural Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon will be held on June 4, 2011 in Loudoun, Virginia: DC’s Wine Country. This video begins at Breaux Vineyards, then continues down scenic byways, around the historic town of Hillsboro, and finishes 13.1 miles later at Doukenie Winery. Sorry about the shakiness in the middle – about 1 mile of the course is on gravel. I recorded this...