#519 Americana JVP

Hello USA!

When our family returns to the US after 3 years in Germany, we must focus the Johnston Visitor Plan (JVP) on all things Americana!

Spudnuts.  Though the original recipe might be traced back to Germany, we now claim these potato-based delicacies as an American tradition and, in particular, as a Charlottesville tradition. Any time is Spudnuts time.

Montpelier.  The home of the 4th US president and award-winning barbecue?  Now that's Americana!  The recently restored home of James and Dolley Madison is just about 30 miles NE of Charlottesville.  And nearby Gordonsville offers hickory smoked goodness at the Barbecue Exchange.

College football.  That's an American tradition for sure.  The UVA Cavaliers took on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.  Having attended the UVA marching band open rehearsal on Friday night, we knew the band would perform Danny Elfman's Batman theme song on Saturday afternoon.  Next week, look out U-Idaho!

Sonic Drive-In.  Didn't Americans invent the drive-in?  Not only is Sonic Drive-In an American tradition, it is a family tradition.  Carhops have been serving up burgers and those unparallelled Sonic drinks since before I was born.  (That's a long time.)  A drive over the mountain to Waynesboro is well worth the trip!

Humpback Rocks Visitor Center and Mountain Farm.  Having the right guide who knows how to bake bread over an open fire and illustrate life on an 1890's mountain farm makes all the difference.  Thanks, Allison!

Swannanoa.  Though this 1912 Italianate villa needs some work to restore it to its former glory, the extraordinary genius of American stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany is still on display as soon as you enter.

Blue Mountain Brewery.  Brewing may not be an American invention, but those folks at Blue Mountain certainly have perfected it.  The mountain view from the front patio is not bad either.

Sunday Night Football.  The Colts vs Steelers game didn't end the way we wanted, but our Pittsburgh friends are happy.

Luray Caverns.  Pluto's chasm, the Stalacpipe organ (the world's largest musical instrument), and Dream Lake are just a few of our highlights inside Luray Caverns.  Plus, pets are welcome!

Moneyball.  Of all the terrific films about America's pastime, I think I like this one starring the Springfield-Missouri native the best.

We're proud to be the first stop on the "Hello USA" tour!

Yours in Americana,
Mary

#517 Plein Air Dining

Sometimes, many wonderful things happen all at once. 

Last weekend - so filled with friends and weddings and gorgeous summer weather and outdoor dining - was one of those times. 

Outdoor dining?  Now, I'm not saying that this was the best part, but we savored every meal from Thursday to Sunday - outside.  We Johnstons don't excel in the kitchen, so mixing out-of-town company with the perfect summer weather yielded Thursday night dinner at Petit Pois, Friday lunch at Basil, Friday dinner under a tent in Orange, Saturday lunch at Eppie's, Saturday dinner outside the UVA observatory, and Sunday brunch at The Nook.

I don't want to be accused of placing the emphasis on the wrong thing here, but really.  Does it get any better than this?  Perhaps we need to modify the Johnston Visitor Plan to focus more on plein air dining, because Charlottesville is really, really good at it.  Much love to Margaret, our friend and weekend dining companion, for joining in the fun.

Yours in enjoying a delightful and delicious weekend,
Mary

#513 Nate Visits Charlottesville

Get ready.  I'm about to show you how cool it was for us to have our nephew Nate hang out for a few days of fun around Charlottesville.

We're off to a strong start, Skyping with the fam in Germany and Idaho and Missouri.

 We outsmarted the July Virginia heat by hanging out underground.

Outside the cave was too hot, so we hiked deep into the longest pre-Civil War tunnel in the United States.

Yea, I'd hiked this tunnel on Halloween before, but this July trip had the super dense scary fog and these scary cars. Don't ask. You had to be there. Scary.

After the tunnel we were chilly, so we fixed that by hiking to Humpback Rocks where we chilled.

Before he flew home, Nate made about 50 new friends at a party.  He's so Rambis.

Yea, too bad that visit ever had to end.

Yours in hangin' with cool,
Kelly

#405 Joyce, Lynn, and Roller Derby

Joyce and Lynn flew in from Kansas City on Saturday morning and that's when the fun began! The Johnston Visitor Plan almost always includes some time on the back deck when the weather is good.

And a tour of the UVA grounds is a must. But in a surprise twist of the JVP, our weekend included a bout between the Charlottesville Derby Dames (in the blue uniforms) and the Northside Stranglers from Richmond.

Yes, that's right. Roller derby.

Yours in jamming with the Dames,
Mary

#403 Melody returns to Cville

We love it when Indy friends come for a return visit!

Since Melody's visit coincided with UVA's Family Weekend, we invited her to join us for a Semester at Sea presentation and for Kelly's GPS extravaganza. You are a good sport, Melody!

Of course we made time for food. Our first visit to Belmont's Bel Rio restaurant introduced us to good food, good music, and friends from UVA and SAS. Thanks for coming and next time we promise to get you out of the library!

Yours in modifying the Johnston Visitor Plan,
Mary

#402 Sam and Shannon and Bono Vox visit Charlottesville

Although they needed 80 tractor-trailer trucks to carry all their things, Sam, Shannon, and Bono Vox all came together in the Johnston Visitor Plan this weekend in Charlottesville.

During Sam and Shannon's visit, Mary and I were

• entertained by Bono Vox and his three friends under a full moon on a gorgeous fall night at Scott Stadium.

• entertained by some seafaring friends on our back deck without the need of even one tractor-trailer truck.

• entertained by the fabulous actors at the Blackfriars Playhouse, the world's only replica of Shakespeare's indoor theater.

• entertained by a discussion of iPhone augmented reality over some of Mrs. Rowe's pecan pie.

Yours in appreciating excellent entertainment,
Kelly

#393 Linda in the house

The Johnston Visitor Plan always includes a visit to Monticello - graphically described by Maira Kalman in her New York Times article Time Wastes Too Fast. But when our Indy friend Linda came to town last week for Bike Virginia to cycle hundreds of miles and hang out with 2000 other passionate pedal pushers, there was just no time for a visit to Jefferson's little mountain. So we squeezed in a tour of Mr. Jefferson's university, a Friday after five dinner downtown, and we introduced Linda to friends. Yours in pursuing happiness with no time wasted,
Kelly

#367 Bonnie's visit

Right from the start, we knew Bonnie was going to shake up the traditional Johnston Visitor Plan. She arrived carrying a big box of baked goods from our favorite Mexican bakery in Indy. Delicioso!

We kept going with the plan, though, and set off for a tour of Monticello. Right away, Kelly knew something was different. He paused for a moment of sadness at the site of the missing tulip poplar - removed last summer while we were at sea.

To cheer everyone up, we headed straight to the downtown mall for some pizza and shopping. That did the trick.

But even more fun was introducing Bonnie to our neighbors. In the small-world category, Bonnie and our neighbor are connected through their Jacksonville, Florida days. (Rest assured. We didn't offer them any of our Mexican baked goods.)

As we toured UVA on Sunday - perhaps the most beautiful day of the year - we introduced Bonnie to all those out enjoying the day: Andrew and Lauren, Ken, Karin, Rebecca and Melissa, Doug and Barbara. We thank them all for not busting us on our it's-always-70-degrees-in-February lie.

Yours in adapting the JVP,
Mary

#347 Handley Library

What to do when meeting up with your Colorado friends in Winchester? Feed them of course!

And then take them to visit a cool old library. Built of Indiana limestone in 1913, the Handley Library was renovated in 1999 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It looks fabulous.

Highlights include the stained glass dome of the rotunda,

the gorgeous wood-paneled reading rooms,

the 3-story spiral staircases and light fixtures,

and the thick glass floors in the stacks.

Yours in knowing that these are true friends who are enthusiastic about touring a small-town library,
Mary

#343 JVP vs 36 Hours in Charlottesville

Did you see today's NY Times article, 36 Hours in Charlottesville? It looks amazingly similar to the Johnston Visitor Plan. Could the NY Times be mining our blog for material?

Seriously, Charlottesville has a lot to offer and the NY Times does a good job of promoting our new hometown. Maybe even better than we do. If you're convinced now that a trip to Charlottesville is in order, let us know. We'll happily merge 36 Hours in Charlottesville with the Johnston Visitor Plan. Just don't expect us to do those acrobatics on the front lawn of Monticello!

Yours in appreciating our new hometown,
Mary

#339 Visit from Joyce

When Joyce came to town last year, we tried out the newly created Johnston Visitor Plan - Appalachian Trail, Monticello, UVA. When Joyce came to town this time, we threw the Johnston Visitor Plan out the window.

With no particular plans for day 1, we found ourselves touring the emotional exhibits and enjoying the spectacular views at the Newseum in Washington DC.

With no particular plans for day 2, we found ourselves lounging on the deck all day in our pajamas and playing the how-many-countries-can-you-name game.

Yours in revising the JVP,
Mary

#285 Thirty thousand and two

Thirty thousand people congregated in Charlottesville this weekend for the UVa graduation. Sam and Shannon came to Charlottesville this weekend too and our focus was on competitions rather than commencements. ...who holds reference librarian contests? ...where's the Tribond championship? ...is Sam or Kelly better at keeping a kite airborne when the wind dies? ...how many people can fit in a cell phone booth?

After touring Monticello, lunching outside on the downtown mall, and walking the UVa grounds, we declare Sam and Shannon the winners of our inaugural "best graduation weekend visitors" competition.

Yours in enjoying an award-filled weekend,
Kelly

#276 Cherry Blossom Time

Nearly a hundred years ago, Japan gave 3020 cherry trees to the United States. From this act of kindness grew a mighty festival in Washington DC attracting 1 million folks to the National Mall each spring.  On Saturday, Indy friend Melody joined us and 999,997 other blossom fans for a spectacular Cherry Blossom Festival.

The blossoms peaked. The sun shone brightly. And we walked.

The Smithsonian Kite Festival has been a part of the Cherry Blossom Festival for 42 years. I suppose that was time enough to prepare this elaborate dragon kite that reached far into the sky.

Yours in appreciating the gift of trees,
Kelly

#259 A Monticello Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to visit Monticello.

Normal people are busy cooking or eating or watching football on Thanksgiving Day and don't even think of a trip up the little mountain to visit Jefferson's home. But if you sign up for the Johnston Visitor Plan, you're bound to get some creative thinking!

Besides, the cooking, eating, and football watching all come later!

Thanksgiving Day at Monticello meant a low number of visitors, a high number of temperature degrees, and a terrific holiday tour guide. Ah, the beauty of the JVP.

The University of Missouri grad among us (in the center of the photo) was surprised to learn Jefferson's original headstone sits on the MU campus. Jefferson's heirs presented the carved stone monument to the first university founded in the Louisiana Purchase.

Jefferson wanted three accomplishments noted on his tombstone:
1. Author of the Declaration of Independence
2. Author of the Virginia Religious Freedom statute
3. Father of the University of Virginia

Our three Thanksgiving Day accomplishments:
1. A little history lesson
2. A little football
3. A little food

Yours in thankfulness,
Mary

#244 KLP and UNESCO

Our friend Bridget came to visit us this weekend.

She flew from Omaha to Charlottesville - no easy task - to help us with our key lime pie research!

We altered the Johnston Visitor Plan and spent all our time close to home. (The JVP can be tailored to suit all visitor wishes. Come see!)

During our tour of the UVa grounds, I mentioned (bragged) that Monticello and the university are a UNESCO world heritage site. This, of course, leads to the question... how many world heritage sites are there anyway? And it leads to another important question... is anyone working on the list of KLP world culinary sites?

Since I still don't have an iPhone, we later researched these questions at home. Turns out, there are 20 world heritage sites in the US. Oh the places we need to go!

And amazingly enough, I am the only one working on the list of KLP world culinary sites. Oh the research we need to do!

Yours in appreciating those who take 3 flights to study key lime pie and to lengthen our places-to-go list,
Mary

#239 The Johnston Visitor Plan

It’s been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegon - oops, I mean Charlottesville.

But that’s probably just because we’re comparing it with last weekend when Joyce was in town.

Joyce came from Kansas City to spend the Labor Day weekend with us. We took the opportunity to show her around our new home and try out our new Johnston Visitor Plan.

So far, the JVP includes a handful of top-notch local attractions such as a UVa women’s volleyball game, a tour of Monticello, a UVa library and grounds tour, key lime pie at The Nook, a picnic on Skyline Drive, and a hike on the Appalachian Trail...

We all had a lot of fun and the JVP is set to move from beta to full production. To provide input on the JVP at any time, come see us.

Yours in appreciating the guinea pig,
Mary

#231 Key Lime Pie Competition

A special thanks goes out this week to our Colorado friends who traveled to Pennsylvania for a wedding and stopped by to see us in Virginia on their way home! We admire that kind of creative thinking. We do.

And, as if their visit was not enough, they brought key lime pie with them! We, of course, had key lime pie in the refrigerator. I ask you, what could be better than a little key lime pie taste-testing competition?

Competitively yours,
Mary