What a month!

First of all, WHAT A MONTH this has been!

Clearly, we were too busy to get everything done we needed to do...and blogging was (sadly) not on the top of the to-do list!  You can see by the COUNTDOWN clock - we have decided to go ahead with the full 60 day extension...yes, it's kind of disappointing we won't be announcing a winner on Christmas - but from the feedback we received, it seemed better to just take the full time we needed, so we don't get hopes up again - and then need to extend another month. So, this is it! :)

We are well on the way to receiving enough entries to award the inn, and that may well be below the 5,800 we originally had hoped for - but the point is for us to be able to move on to a new project, and leave the inn in the hands of someone who will love her as much as we have.

We opened up reservations for New Year's Eve, and through Valentine's Day, and we will take a month during late February/March for transitioning to new owners. With reading well underway, we anticipate announcing a winner February 15th!

With contests like this one, the single deciding factor for success, is spreading the word! Please share our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, and I am sure we will be welcoming new owners in 2016.

Enjoy these holidays - So far, December in Virginia has been warm and lovely! We are finally finishing our tree here at High Meadows this week, and will be enjoying Christmas one last time in this great old house!

The Story of How We Came To Do This Contest Thing.

This is by far, the most common question! Just today,

The swing stays...Ariel, our puppy, does not.

guests enjoying the swing out front(yes,even in this heat!) asked us WHY are you leaving such a beautiful place? It's also the most common question asked by reporters - and to be fair, it's a long and tedious answer, so no one is going to be able to report it just right, 1) because I tell the story differently every time, and 2) because it isn't that interesting. But it's a good question,and people are asking - so I thought I'd lay it out all right here. Then, no matter what story you read that might only have room for one part of the explanation - you will know the whole story, because I am telling it now.This will be TMI for many people - but it's what happened. If you just want the rules, go to www.highmeadows.com. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago...

...about 8 and a half years ago actually, we set out to own High Meadows. The property was for lease - and that was good, because we couldn't have afforded to purchase it for the 1.6 million dollar asking price. For those keeping track - this was 2007. Real estate values, anyone? Yes - very, very high. So - the inn had been closed for a while, and it was winter, and the place needed a lot of love. We loved it! We leased it for a while from the people who had loved the inn enough to renovate it the first time, then extended the lease another little while...all hoping we would someday be able to purchase the inn outright. Spring of 2010 rolled around, and a very supportive family member who knew this was our dream - made purchasing the property possible!  Yay! Part of the owner-financing required us, in 5 years, to make a balloon payment on the property. Not a bad idea we thought, as the business was growing and we had plans! Yay!

Well, those 5 years sped past quickly. We had been working on a 'regular' business loan through our bank that would take care of the balloon payment, and enable us to build cabins, revitalize the vineyard, and maybe even add an event barn for weddings. By fall of 2014 I was in planning mode, clearing brush readying the land for cabins, and we had even hired an amazing assistant innkeeper, excited about adding 5 new rooms by spring of 2015!Yay!

But things didn't go as I had hoped...and we were not able to get that bank loan (BOO!HISS!), so in February of this year, we began to think of other options. I heard about the Center Lovell Inn contest in Maine - that became a possibility in the back of my mind, but really a 'last resort'. We set up a GoFundMe. And I reached out to good friends asking for help. This is where I get emotional, thinking of ALL THE AMAZING friends I have! I am not kidding...we had people telling us how much this place meant to them, how much we meant to them, and contributions of LITERALLY everything from one dollar and up came our way. There is no way to explain how inspired I was, and how excited I was to keep moving on with my plans. I also had the very good fortune of meeting an amazing man, a friend of a friend if you will, who after many conversations, and questions, and meetings - all of which made me really think about my business inside and out, and love it even more - was going to become my partner! And this guy, well, suffice it to say - HE IS AWESOME. If I could have written down the qualities I'd want in a business partner, he would have every single one. I was excited to learn from him - and most special of all, he understands the quirky, enchanted craziness we have going on here, and he likes it. So awesome! Double Yay!

Then, life happened. Or in this case, death. My eldest sibling, my brother that I looked up to and adored for as far back as my memories will go, died of a traumatic brain injury. The injury was sustained a while ago - it had happened suddenly, crazily, an overhead door at his workplace hit him on the head, and an hour later, he was forever different. So it's not that this was unexpected exactly, it's just that his death finally happened. I have lost grandparents, but you sort of grow up knowing that will happen. For me, this was different.

It's a classic time when you lose someone you love, to take stock of your life. We've all seen the movies. That's how it was for me...in a matter of a day, maybe two, my path forward became crystal clear, as my mother and I talked. She was ready to move 'home' - to Florida. For real. Soon. My children, both teenagers now (they were 4 and 7 when we moved here!), have different needs than when I wanted High Meadows so I could work from home, and be there for all the things young children need. Now, they want to be able to take trips, or be loud, or spread out with friends - be teenagers - and I want that for them. Having this as a home and a job rolled into one suddenly was simply not the necessity it once was. My full-steam ahead approach came to a halt so fast...and I said no to the amazing offer of a partnership with one of the most inspirational men I have ever known. (This is the ONE little part of my story that I still wonder if I will regret!)

With the whole-hearted support of the previous owners, family, friends and colleagues - I decided to run the essay contest. You hear the cliche 'a weight was lifted off my shoulders' often...but that's the closest thing to how light I feel after making this decision! I know it's exactly the right decision at exactly the right time! The inn is busy and growing, but there is room for someone to make it their own.There are still a few showers that could use updating. (that's a future blog...The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). The vines need replanting - or perhaps someone else will want something else! We have some fall repairs to make around the inn as we do every year, but I'm not repainting everything as I had planned - because in a few months, someone else will have the joy of choosing colors that speak to them.

So that's The Story of How We Came To Do This Contest Thing. Incidentally, though those are all the reasons why I made the decision, there are nearly as many reasons why this is truly the perfect way to pass on this particular inn...I know there will be people who don't like, or simply don't get the idea. They aren't the ones who would love it up here anyway. The people who will want High Meadows are creative, think-outside-the-box optimists and dreamers. People I know I will be friends with, and who will love High Meadows as much as we do, wrinkles, worn thresholds and all.

My favorite old threshold in the English basement, in the kitchen. It's part of the 1832 portion of the inn.

Win the Inn!

So here we go! Our local Charlottesville paper the Daily Progress sent an awesome reporter, Bryan "Mac" McKenzie out to talk to us last week about the Essay Contest. We are starting with our local friends getting the word out, knowing it will spread as others hear about our awesome inn. If you didn't get to see the paper, here's a link to the article on the front page - nice photo of my mother with her sassy new haircut, too! (by the way, the dahlia on the table is from the garden...we have gotten a few survivors even with all this rain!)

I will be posting later this week some answers to the most frequently asked questions, some guidelines for where to find information (everything is in the Official Rules) people are looking for, etc. Pretty much, everything you'll need to know to enter or to follow the contest will be on our blog, some fun stuff on our Facebook page...but mostly in the Official Rules. Updates will be sent via email to anyone who has entered, for anything an entrant might need to know.

And we'll be getting press - which is nice! Just remember, if you are planning on entering, make sure you always refer back to the Official Rules...ever play that childhood game of 'operator'? Where one person whispers something in another person's ear, and then it goes around the room, and by the time it gets back to the first person, it's a totally different statement? Yeah, that can happen. The rules won't change, they will always be found here on our website, and so will any other pertinent, accurate information. Facebook will be fun to interact, but since comments can be made by ANYONE, the best place to have your questions answered is here on our blog and website. We're keeping this anonymous, so don't jeapordize your entry by not reading the rules.

One last comment on who can enter - obviously not our family, but you'll notice we did not exclude friends. That is such a vague word sometimes, and we have met so many people through the years passing through the doors of the B&B, who we would consider friends, yet who are not connected in such a way that they should be excluded from the contest...so that's the reasoning there. And it's also the reason that it's so important that those of us selecting finalists and ultimately the winner, read essays anonymously. The integrity of the contest is the most important thing to all of us!

So - what's your dream? Might it include this happy house on a hill? Someone out there is perfect for High Meadows, and it is perfect for them...do they even know it yet? Spread the word, if you know of someone who should enter! We have loved being here - and I can't wait to meet the next owner of High Meadows.

Essay Contest

I thought I'd write about several other contests happening around the state and country...there are quite a few, and I do have some favorites! Here's the list, in no particular order:

Blue Hill Inn, Maine

Street view of The Blue Hill Inn

www.winthebluehillinn.com

I love this place! Owner Sarah has taken time to get an online contest done right...the official rules are clear and she obviously has the right intention. Good Luck to her and the team at The Blue Hill Inn! The next owner of this property will be lucky indeed. The current owner also had the very good fortune of a front row seat to the most talked about contest lately, The Center Lovell Inn - which was featured on everything from the NBC Nightly News, to the Today Show. Clearly she has learned from their small mistakes. This is an inn ready to move into the future while embracing it's past. Just lovely! $150 and 200 words.

Rock Spring Farm

www.rockspringfarm.org

View of the main house at Rock Spring Farm

Imagine life on a tranquil 35 acre farm on the Rappahannock River in Virginia...now imagine that life could be yours! This essay contest giveaway property is my favorite of all those that are not necessarily income-generating properties, though even here - there is a rental cottage. About an hour from Williamsburg, this farm is rural - but isn't that ideal for horses, or goat, or llama or alpacas? A farm sancuary? I imagine the possibilities here are pretty broad, especially if you can work from home, or make your living with the animals. This also has the perk of the house being built in this century! $200 and 1,000 words gives you ample room to woo the judges.

The Claiborne House B&B http://winclaibornehouse.blogspot.com

Another inn located in beautiful Virginia, this one down in the Southwest corner, near the birthplace of country music. This B&B has already seen one family raised here, it's time for a new one! Five rooms is the perfect size to manage for one person or a couple, living and working from home. It's a great life, and it can be yours for 200 words and $150.

Finally,  our own 

High Meadows Vineyard Inn

www.highmeadows.com

Thanks to Meredith Sledge for this pretty spring photo! 

We have just over 13 acres in the cute Town of Scottsville, plenty of room to make this the farm of your dreams, with meadows and old pastures, a pond, a stream, and pretty woods. The vineyard is not currently in production, but the infrastructure is all here and ready for whatever you want to do. Our inn gets rave reviews, and has been an award winning restaurant as well...will you continue that tradition? We are rural enough for privacy and country life, but less than 20 minutes away is Monticello, a World Heritage Site and Charlottesville, consistently ranked as one of the most desirable small cities in the US to visit or to live in. The property is close to Dave Matthews' Blenheim vineyards & winery, First Colony winery, Thistle Gate, and over 30 others. Breweries, cideries, great restaurants, and great swimming holes are all within a half hour, or a half mile! Washington DC is 3 hours north, and accounts for the vast majority of our visitors, and is an easy getaway when we are craving the Smithsonian. We truly have the best of everything here, and we are so happy to be giving a chance to someone else to make their dreams come true. Our contest details will be announced August 17th, just one week away - it will be $150 to enter, and you've got 300 words to tell your story. Stay tuned and help us spread the word!

Michie Tavern ca. 1784

Life in the 18^th Century was vastly different than our world today—different clothing, strange colloquialisms, and, if you can believe it, no Twitter or Facebook. But two things remain in similarity and those are the need for lodging and the offering of rich, hot Southern food. If you’re looking for a taste of history, then Michie Tavern ca. 1784 is at your service.

Michie Tavern is a Virginia Historic Landmark located about half a mile away from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.  (Check out the Monticello Neighborhood Pass if you’re interested in a combination tour of Monticello, Michie Tavern, and Ash-Lawn Highland.) A Scotsman by the name of William Michie established the tavern in 1784, and it became central to the community, providing citizens with food, drink, and lodging. Now, you can immerse yourself in the history of the area with a cuisine selection from the tavern’s “Colonial Midday Fare.” Feast on juicy fried chicken, soft, warm buttermilk biscuits, black-eyed peas and more. Wash it down with a cup of hot mulled cider, or a glass of lager, ale, or wine. 

If you’d like a souvenir of your colonial adventure, browse the various tavern shops—The General Store, the gift shop, the metal smith shop, and the clothier shop. If you can’t make it to Michie Tavern, but you’d still like to purchase a souvenir, check out their online store.

Michie Tavern is only a twenty-minute drive away from High Meadows Vineyard Inn, so book your room, and indulge in a bit of Virginia history.

Current and Upcoming Artwork in Charlottesville, VA

It’s that time of year when the snow has all but melted, the skies are gray, and everything is dull and barren. It can be quite a depressing sight, so what better way is there to brighten your spirits than with the pleasing aesthetics of local artwork?

1. Now through February 22, 2014: Charlottesville Camera Club Exhibit at Green House Coffee. Coffee and art seem to go hand-in-hand, so what better place is there to indulge in some amazing photography than at a local coffee shop? (But, if you’d rather not drive all the way to Crozet for coffee, then check out Baine’s Books and Coffee right here in Scottsville, VA!)

Dark Hedges by Deb Snelson

2. From now through May 18, 2014, you have the pleasure of viewing a series of images by Nici Cumpston, an Indigenous Australian, Barkindji artist, and cultural curator. “having-been-there” is displayed at the Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum and depicts a fascinating portrait of Aboriginal life in Australia before the Europeans settled there.

  

3. From now through February 16, 2014 a series of artwork by Ellen Hathaway entitled “Passages: New Paintings” will be on display at Les Yeux du Monde in Charlottesville. These incredible acrylics on canvas display floral artwork in a stunning array of color that is sure to liven the winter months.

Breaking Apart by Ellen Hathaway

4. From February 7-28, 2014, bozArt Gallery in Charlottesville will display “Sweet Temptations” by local artist Suzanne Nelson. Nelson’s art includes everything from color pencils to oils to fiber arts to clay, and her latest focus has been facial features.

Orange Cow by Suzanne Nelson

Cville Holiday Craftacular: 8th Annual Craft Show

With a name like “Cville Craft Attack,” you know that artisans are at the heart of the group, and indeed this organization is comprised of a number of Charlottesville’s independent designers, artists, and crafters. These men and women are passionate about their creations, and it shows in both the beauty and the quality of their work. As Craft Attack’s Facebook states, “We believe in art, design, creation and craft. We believe in exploration and the celebration of making a life out of the things we dream.”

For the 8^th year in a row, Cville Craft Attack will be presenting their Cville Holiday Craftacular, featuring a huge variety of arts and crafts for your perusal. Looking for a purse for your wife for Christmas? Browse Victoria Horner Creative Handbags at Craftacular. Trying to find a unique gift for that hard-to-buy-for individual? How about a chainmail bracelet by Chad VanPelt? Searching for unique home and kitchen accessories? Blanc Creatives may be your solution. Other featured artisans will include Silver Muse Studio, Two Owls Pottery, Te Adora Knits, Darkhollow Stained Glass, Joie de Vivre Calligraphy, ByCary,  and many more. Overall, you’ll find “More than 25 area artisans whose creative and giftable work includes gorgeous jewelry and glassware, paper goods, handbags, accessories, and toys will be featured.

By now, you’re probably planning your excursion to Craftacular (which is only a short drive away from High Meadows!), so now all you need are the details:

When: December 13, 2013, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

             December 14, 2013, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Where: CitySpace, Charlottesville, VA

Photo by Cville Craft Attack