virginia Archives

The Tides Inn – Irvington, VA

November 23, 2016 by Kristin

Growing up near the Florida coast, being near the water is something that both calms and energizes me in the best possible way. And as I get older, busier, and more distracted, the craving for time by the water has increased exponentially. My stay at the Tides Inn in Irvington, VA, more than satisfied this craving! This trip was the perfect combination of taking time to breathe in fresh, salty air and being on-the-go.

Irvington was the loveliest small town destination trip. And although I wouldn’t have changed one thing about my itinerary, I’ve created a condensed version for the DC weekend visitor since this is a trip is a MUST for anyone living within driving distance!

Friday – Afternoon arrival

3pm – Check-in at the Tides Inn

4pm – Happy Hour on the Tides Inn patio

6pm – Dinner at Merroir

7:30pm – S’mores at the Tides Inn

The BBQ oysters at Merroir were out of this world good!

Saturday

8am – Room Service Breakfast at the Tides Inn

10am – Tides Inn seasonal activity {sailing lessons, oyster harvesting, crab catching}

Noon – Tides Inn picnic lunch and drive to Good Luck Cellars

4pm – Tides Inn seasonal activity {we were in town for Taste By The Bay}

7pm – Dinner at Hope & Glory

I loved that the Tides Inn breakfast menu incorporated fried oysters! Fried oysters make for a much lighter breakfast than fried chicken so you have room in your belly for biscuits and gravy.

We were able to go out on the Bay with a waterman and see how they catch wild oysters.

The best part of this adventure, other than being on the water, was eating oysters fresh out of the water!

The second best part was seeing this happy puppy stroll back and forth on the fishing boat.

The Tides Inn will pack up a picture-perfect picnic lunch. Ours included hummus, cheese, crackers, and brownies, but the Inn will also customize the basket to suit your adventure!

Hope & Glory is an adorable B&B that has a quaint, minimal seat restaurant that serves a multi-coursed pre-fixe menu. Our dinner included cheesy baked oysters, a pear salad, lump crab cakes, and ice cream dessert.

Sunday

8am – More Breakfast in Bed at Tides Inn

10am – Bike to the Steamboat Era Museum

11am – Bike to Dog & Oyster Vineyard

1pm – Order Angry Oysters at Tides Inn

2pm – Head back home!

The smoked salmon bagel caught my attention for breakfast, but there were a handful of options I would have ordered. The breakfast parfait and Chesapeake eggs benedict {with crab cakes} looked super delicious!

The Steamboat Era Museum was a fun and visual way to learn about the history of Irvington. There is a guided tour complete with light up maps, visual timelines, and replicas of scenes from the steamboat era.

It had been a while since I had ridden on a bike, but the roads in Irvington are super flat with nice bike lanes and sidewalks that made for a comfortable ride. Bonus – these adorable bikes are free while you’re staying at the Tides Inn!

The Dog & Oyster Vineyard is such an inviting spot. The owners are super friendly and wonderful storytellers. And the vineyard is filled with rescue dogs that protect the vineyard from critters and appreciate a good belly rub from visitors.

It’s been a few days since I returned to Austin and I’m still rambling about how much I loved vacationing on the Virginia Oyster Trail. As I mentioned earlier, if you’re within driving distance I couldn’t recommend this weekend adventure an ounce more. And as far as flying goes, it’s also worth the trip as the Tides Inn‘s all-inclusive activities balances out airfare quite nicely.

Disclosure: Although the Tides Inn kindly hosted me, the opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.

Intention

October 12, 2011 by Kristin

There are roughly three scatter brained thoughts I have going on about dinner tonight. I’ll start with simple first. I had a feeling as I drove by Jackson 20 that it was a place I’d like to eat even though it had a “Pig-A-Palooza” sign out front. Just a feeling.

Partial thought: When I turned to Google to scope out the best restaurants in Old Town Alexandria, Jackson 20 was near the top. Convenient.

Relevant thought: I immediately went to their website to look at the menu and saw mac and cheese, ribs, yada yada, Pig-A-Palooza stuff, then… Vegetable? Tempeh? I assumed they were smothered in cheese, as most restaurant vegetarian dishes are, and then stumbled upon this:

In order to accommodate every appetite, we are more than happy to offer vegan and vegetarian dishes in addition to our daily menus.

Which brings me to another point: intentional vegetarian. I read something about intentionally vegetarian dishes at restaurants some time ago, most likely Tal Ronnen related. It was at that point I could put my finger on why I loved certain dishes so much (Restaurant BT, whaaaaat!). I have a huge appreciation for dishes that are vegetarian on purpose and not make-shift, dairy covered, thrown together side dish veggies. Besides, I’d have to order them without cheese and then they’d be make-shift squared. A bummer.

So all that scattered-ness brings me to the Roasted Vegetable Napoleon. Wow. It had simple layers filled with flavorful bulgur wheat and complimentary pureed sauces. It filled the fancy void that foodie vegetarians have, the void that was most likely responsible for me returning to the pescatarian world. It was a version of something I wish could be on every menu at restaurants that are reservation and eyeliner worthy. It was… exactly what I wanted.

Day Done Right

October 11, 2011 by Kristin

I baked apple buckwheat muffins last night in preparation for an early morning flight. I’m really beginning to get the hang of this airport life. Whether that’s good or bad has yet to be determined, but such is life.

As I sat in the early morning, sun-blazed terminal, I was re-reminded how much I love Tampa’s airport. If it hasn’t won awards for best XYZ airport, it should. The best.

By the time I landed at DCA and metro’d to Alexandria, it was lunch time. A co-worker and I headed to Whole Foods for some highly addictive salad bar. Garlicky kale, boiled egg, dill white beans, beets, and broccoli – I wish every lunch could be this green.

I checked into a hotel in Alexandria (rather than my usual Arlington spot), put on some sneaks, and headed to…. Trader Joe’s!

As many times as Ariel’s taken me to TJ’s in LA, you’d think I’d be less surprised at how low the prices are. Not the case. Sandwich, veggie, dessert, and tomorrow’s breakfast, all for $14? It’s both confusing and amazing.

P.S. Gone Bananas! are so darn good.

How often are you able to shop at Trader Joe’s?

Yum Yum Stumped

October 6, 2011 by Kristin

Warning! It’s about to get gluttonous. Like ‘placed an order for one and the restaurant delivered plasticware for two’ gluttonous. Oops!

The Thai/American version of Yum Yum Can I Get A Scoop? Heck yeah!

And I mustn’t forget the Yum Tofu, staple of my DC work trips.

And some foggy soup. I ordered the mushroom dumpling soup, but ended up with shrimp dumplings. Not nearly as good, but satisfied my broth craving fo sho. (Side note: As I hyperlinked the restaurant below, I read that the shrimp dumpling had chicken. Bummer. Kind of grossed out.)

I wish I could wrap my head around how Urban Thai is able to make their tofu so crispy yet so full of citrus vinegar goodness. I’m sure it has something to do with a deep fryer that refuse to own, but still! Perhaps if I broil the tofu almost to tofu crouton status and soak it in an amazing dressing that I have yet to create I’d be one step closer.

Any ideas?