by Wilt Greenwood
Our early
Summer Rappahannock River Wine Cruise Rally, Hosted by the Schoolars and the
Greenwoods on June 12 through 15, turned out to be a very enjoyable event,
despite the crippling heat wave that passed through Virginia that weekend. Sixteen coaches braved the 100+ degree
temperatures to dry camp at Fairleigh and Cil Schoolar’s business location, the
Top Shop at Bray’s Fork (where Fairleigh’s team manufactures high-end counter
tops for upscale kitchens). Fairleigh
managed to provide limited electricity for many of the coaches, but the heat
forced all but a very few to run their generators at least a portion of the
time. This was not really a problem –
the Schoolars had plenty of space for the exhaust fumes to dissipate – and
everyone managed to keep cool, at least while in the coaches.
We had a
total of 32 ½ people at some point during the rally, although not all were
present all the time (the ½ was the Tilmans’ grandson Thomas, who got more fun
out of the event than anyone). Most
folks arrived Thursday night, and some went into Tappahannock to eat out while
others just hung around the coaches and sweltered. Friday was a free day, to explore
Tappahannock and Essex County or just hang out, and then on Friday evening we
were treated to a Guamanian dinner at the Schoolars’ home, prepared by
Executive Chef Cil, with the assistance of a horde of hapless volunteers who
just did what they were told. Fairleigh
and Ed Tilman handled the meat, cooking a truly enormous amount of barbecued
ribs and chicken over Fairleigh’s charcoal grill. Everything was excellent, as usual, and many
recipes were copied down by the wives in the group.
After
sleeping off the food for a while Saturday, we all gathered at Hoskins Creek around
9:00 to board the Captain Thomas. We took up about half the boat for our
trip up the Rappahannock to Ingleside Vineyards for a winery tour, wine
tasting, and lunch. The fact that we
were running into the prevailing breeze kept us all cool enough to enjoy the
boat ride, and we saw some nesting eagles on our way up the river. The meal was a very nice luncheon buffet, the
tour was informative, and the wines were really good – Virginia is becoming
quite a well-respected wine producer.
The only drawback was that the trip back, running with the wind instead
of against it, was not quite as comfortable as the ride up!
After the
boat ride, we all returned to the coaches for a short break and happy hour
before traveling into town for dinner at Lowery’s, a Tappahannock tradition for
several decades. Back to the coaches for
Saturday night, and then a Quite-A-Bit-More-Than-A Continental Breakfast on
Sunday morning to fortify us for our respective trips back home. All in all, a great rally and a pleasant
weekend.
Click here to view rally photos.
Click here to view rally photos.
