While U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Jon Bolton famously said, “We could lop the top four floor off the UN building, and no one would ever notice”. The UN has abandoned it’s ideal, it’s intent. Additionally, America spends Billions of dollars playing mein host to the U.N., in maintenance expenses and in unrealized real estate revenue.
I believe simple geography plays a major part in it’s fall from it’s nobel cause. That it is located in Manhattan only exacerbates the issues. There is a huge “delegation” of U.N. bureaucrats in Manhattan, living lives unimaginable to their countrymen. What few know is, there is an equal contingent back in each member nation. I’m not sure of the schedule, and it may vary, but the employees are supposed to spend X amount of time in Manhattan, then rotate out with their contemporaries back home. However, this never happens. The splendor that is NYC–the restaurants, standard of living, entertainment, perks, etc, they basically defect, while retaining their diplomatic status. My proposition solves many core functional issues with the UN, worldwide. I call it, “The Cloud Plan”. I propose it be converted to an Olympics-style “Moveable Feast”. Member Nations vie for and “win” hosting the UN for a period–be it four, eight, ten, however many, years, by dint of being the POOREST Member Nation–the nation with the Lowest GDP. The UN relocates to Haiti, Somalia, Burkina Faso, wherever and, like the Olympics, BUILDS the infrastructure needed to function. The UN can be “headquartered” anywhere on the Planet. Yes, there would be great expense. But that would be LESS than maintaining the bloat and inefficiency, hosting ungrateful, resentful “diplomats” in Manhattan. The shedding of Dead Weight would be Epic. What would be left are the CORE UN workers, those truly dedicated to improving the world, rather than their waistlines at Manhattan eateries. Would the UN screech in outrage? Yes. And the more bureaucratic and corrupt and crooked, the louder they would scream. Here’s a plan that :
Frees US from the indignity of hosting hostility,
Frees up PRIME Manhattan Real Estate,
Forces the UN to focus on what it’s SUPPOSED to be about,
Sheds the dead and corrupt weight from the UN,
Actually BENEFITS the poorest member nations, by bringing infrastructure and commerce to their country.
It’s been a Banner Month, in a time that is typically busy
to begin with!
We had one Charming little home in Goldvein go directly from
“Coming Soon!”, to “Under Contract!”.
The home closed without a hitch, and a new family is Set to Bloom
here! Featuring over five acres, its OWN
POND, and completely renovated with Three bedrooms and Two baths, great open
floorplan Country Kitchen and vaulted ceilings in the Living/Dining room, this
home was Sure to be snatched up!
Simultaneously, our “Fixer-Upper” with Huge potential had
Enormous interest and activity. Also
right in the Goldvein area (Equidistant to both Fredericksburg And Warrenton!) It
went under contract after escalating over ten thousand dollars! Our client will soon be free to travel the
world, unencumbered by a home too large.
We have added FOUR great listings this last week—One a
spectacular Chalet on either ten or twenty acres, just six miles south of Front
Royal. This home is perched atop a
knoll, nestled in a valley of Skyline Drive, with 360-degree views of the Blue
Ridge. The estate will make an excellent
2nd (or 3rd…) home for someone who wants to escape the
City, or for the local Executive or Entrepreneur with discriminating
tastes.
No expense was spared on materials or craftsmanship during
the extensive renovations and modernizations of our next listing, featuring
Three Master Suites, one on the lower level, with its Own Gourmet Kitchen and
walk-out access! This home is on over
seven extensively land- and hardscaped acres, with a Grand Pergola, Koi pond,
small barn/shed, and kennels. It is
entirely board fenced, augmented with approximately 2 ½ acres fenced with
plastic coated 6’ chain link (dogs cannot jump this fence!). This home is just Three miles from I66, right
off Crest Hill Rd, in Marshall.
Our little gem is a fine three bedroom, 1 ½ bath Brick rambler
on five acres with spring-fed, fish filled POND, on Belvoir Road, convenient
to…. Well… EVERYWHERE! Located halfway
between Marshall and The Plains, and minutes from I66, commutes are a breeze,
and access to Leesburg, Gainesville, Marshall, Warrenton, Front Royal,
Middleburg, and on and on, is simple and direct. This home features a Brand New Roof, Fireplace,
attached garage, and is Turn-Key Ready to move in!
We are proud to present a true Hidden Gem on ten
mostly-wooded acres in the Highly desirable Orlean area of Northern
Fauquier. This four-bedroom, three and a
half-bath home has true craftsman features—a two-story loft with three bedrooms
and two baths upstairs(!) overlooks a dining and living room featuring a stone
fireplace. There is a Country Kitchen
adjacent to the living room, and a Master Bedroom with Jacuzzi and Rain Shower
on the Ground floor! A huge oversized
detached two-car garage and mostly unfinished basement round out this fine
custom builder-built home.
We are also featuring our existing listing, also in the
wonderful, beautiful and convenient
Orlean Area. This great five
bedroom, three bath home is perfectly situated on over 10 ½ mostly wooded
acres, that drop off in a gentle slope to over 800’ frontage on Carters
run. This home features fresh paint and
brand new flooring throughout. An
unfinished walk out basement and two-car garage with bonus room above make this
a Great family home! This owner is
Motivated, has just drastically lowered the price, and is offering a negotiable
remodeling allowance!
Debbie and I would welcome the opportunity to help you with
your Real Estate needs. We are All about
the Northern Piedmont! Don’t hesitate to
shoot us a line. We can advise, assist,
and come up with the Best Solutions for you!
I remember well, the then Belvoir Restaurant (now El Agave) making statewide news for refusing to allow blacks to be seated or served. One of the legends is, Jim Vance of Channel 4, NBC DC came out to interview the owner. During the interview, a light rain began to fall. Vance made a motion to continue the interview inside, out of the rain. The owner told him (a fine, eloquent, well educated, conservative, upstanding, brilliant Man among Men), “you ain’t comin’ in”. The story went (mercifully briefly) national.
I remember when the Fish and Game officer entered Freestate to enforce some such hunting law, and never came out. (still searching for the linking article for this one–what do you guys remember?)
Yes. Our county, our
state, and our country have had dark times in our past. Even in my past (and I’m “ONLY” 52!!). Segregation, racism, Jim Crowe, lynchings,
the Klan, and on and on, are a sad part of our collective history. A history NONE
of us are not proud of. Nonetheless,
during those times of discord, there was always a faction that fought that
status quo. That stood up and refused to
accept each and every one of those policies (as well as internment, blue laws,
not allowing women to vote or own property, and many, many others).
By honoring the people who lived in those times, we celebrate not the periods of darkness, but the PROGRESS we, as a culture, have made. We are all able to use statues, monuments, plaques, road and building names as pinpoints in history. A pinpoint we can use as a yardstick to measure our progress. And how much more needs improvement. How are we to know what it was Like, be proud of how far we’ve Come, and judge how far we have YET to go,if we dismiss and erase and eliminate any reference to our past?? Destroying and vandalizing and demanding the removal of statues is nothing short of re-writing history. It is Crucial that we embrace our history–WARTS and All. As George Santayana wisely said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. To covet truth is a very distinguished passion.“
Available for purchase, we have a Five Bedroom, Three Bath Family home on over ten acres in the Orlean area. Convenient to Warrenton, Marshall, Front Royal, and D.C.
Excellent home for a Busy, Active established or growing family! Featuring a full unfinished basement, wood stove, Great deck, mud room and bonus room. There is a paved driveway leading to a two car garage.
The Property has a gentle slope and long frontage on Carters Run. One third of the lot is grass and two thirds are wooded. Private, Quiet, and Scenic.
Success in Real Estate comes when we can meet our client’s needs. Clients come in all types and styles and, more importantly, with myriad baggage. Some clients are celebrating attaining their own goals at long last, career advancements, or triumphs of wise investments. But just as often, they come to BE clients in the first place due to strife, divorce, escaping bad relationships, hard times, or even as a consequence of death.
I’ve worked with brokers in the past who always, enthusiastically rallied the seller or buyer or renter into a group, for the celebratoryPhoto at Closing. Yay! Aren’t we all Happy! Our goals have been Met! I’ve seen far too many forced smiles and downcast sideways glances in those group photos gracing the walls of Brokerages and worse, websites and social media.
I’ve only seen two clients respectfully (and sheepishly) decline/refuse the group photo. Who knows if they are selling to get away from a stalker? Or if the LAST thing they want their good-for-nothing cousin to find out is they Sold the “Family Farm”? They may be dreading his arrival, expecting or demanding HIS “share”, or hat in hand seeking assistance from his newly well-off relatives. Or, perhaps they HAD to sell, due to job loss or bankruptcy or even nasty neighbors. Then, there are the rental clients, former homeowners, ashamed that they are relegated to the world of second-class Tenants.
Debbie and I are always proud of our successes. Finding the right investment property or home, or apartment, or selling any of the above, is our goal. But that can only be achieved by acquiring the Trust of our Clients. Trust we hold paramount, and in equal value with Confidence. We may announce, “Yay! We found another client the Perfect Horse Farm (or car lot, or young couple’s first apartment rental, or office complex, or 14,000 square foot second home)!!” But you’ll never see our client’s images, or identifiable photos of their homes or businesses, either bought, leased, or sold.
Because the main commodity we market is US, and your ability to have faith and confidence in our discretion. Trust is paramount in a Real Estate transaction.
Understandably, home ownership is daunting to many people. For MOST people, writing a rent check is like hitting the Snooze button on homelessness. Fear of equity stability, repairs, flooding or whatnot often keep people tithing to the Landlord. However, what very few people realize is, even if they Rent, they are Actually Buying (just, not for themselves—for their LANDLORD!). It is extremely rare to find a monthly rent that is Lower than the landlords mortgage. Why else would one own rental property?
Our current market is interestingly unique. There is precious little inventory available, making competition for rentals fierce. Often, it’s harder to Rent a home, than it is to Buy a home. Think of it this way: When one sells a home, unless there are very unusual extenuating circumstances, the seller cares very little about who buys the home. The deal is consummated, and the parties part company. However, in a rental situation (especially when inventory is so tight), the landlord exercises greater and greater discretion as to who they will accept. The rental contract is more like getting married, AND divorced, simultaneously! The terms of occupancy must be spelled out, as do the terms of terminating the relationship.
What many renters Don’t realize is, a LOT more of them qualify to Purchase. There are new programs from VHDA (Virginia Housing Development Authority) and USDA (yes, That USDA!) that promote home ownership in rural parts of Virginia. Also, there are VA and FHA loans that afford up to 103% of the purchase price, as well as buyers subsidies, that make no-money-down and moving-expense-free buying a reality.
Debbie and I are offering VHDA-sponsored Homebuyer Classes beginning the end of April. These classes feature six areas of home buying that often mystify and intimidate the first time buyer. We will have professionals speak on the topics of
· Personal Finance: how to most efficiently budget, spend, and save,
· Credit and Credit Reporting: how to understand, contest, and improve your credit scores,
· Working with a Lender: Fair Housing, and escrow and PITI (Principle, Interest, Tax, and Insurance)
· The Role of the Real Estate Agent: Buyer/Broker Agreements, Negotiating and Marketing
· Home Inspections: “Life as a Homeowner”, How to find a qualified Inspector, Home Maintenance, and
· Loan Closing: Preparing for the Closing Table, Closing Disclosures, and FORCLOSURE Prevention!
Because participants and graduates of this class realize a 33% reduction in over-ninety-day delinquencies, and FIFTY percent fewer foreclosures, as well as increased resale values due to greater knowledge on home care, some loans require participation in this class for loan approval. Regardless, all banks look very favorably toward applicants that have taken this free class. Watch this Space for information on scheduling!
Lastly, if you have considered SELLING your home, or know anyone who IS considering selling, Debbie and I would be Most Beholden if you would reach out to us! Allow us to put our brokerage’s 100+ cumulative years’ experience to work for you, utilizing the most modern and innovative marketing techniques in the industry!
Our economy is booming, which is a mixed blessing for home owners. First off, it’s SPRING, and houses are going to sell Very quickly this time of year. The second advantage is, due to the inventory scarcity, it is currently very much a Sellers’ market. If you have considered Upsizing or Downsizing, now may be the best time, because home values are up, but Third, the Fed has not YET adjusted the interest rates. Houses sell FAST in this market, and at this time of year. Acting soon may both realize current highs in the resale prices, while also capitalizing on currently historically low interest rates. Consider: A $400,000 mortgage, at current 4.27%, equals both a monthly payment of $1,972, and a total repayment of $710,080 over the life of the loan. Were the fed to raise the interest rate one point, that same $400,000 mortgage would go up to $2,214 a month, with a total repayment of $796,958!
Debbie and I would Love to work with clients to find the right Rental unit, offer they our VHDA-sponsored Home Buying Course, assist them with finding your Dream home to Purchase, or find a Buyer for their current home! We are local to the Virginia Piedmont, Very Motivated, and have the horsepower to back it up!
What makes living in Fauquier County special? Why here, rather than Prince William, Loudoun, Stafford, perhaps Warren, Clark or even Culpeper (all fine counties, in their own regard)? It’s a special blend of rural Piedmont, combined with culture and proximity. What our county offers, and what we desire or require as a society, is a fine balance of development vs. conservation.
Way back in prehistory, around about the early 1980’s, a Local Hero by the name of Till Hazel owned a bit of land on which he wanted to exercise his rights to develop. It’s what he did. Some say it’s in his blood. This land was in the bucolic backwater of Gainesville. At the time, the only thing there was an old floundering iron foundry and a handful of gas stations. His parcel was adjacent to property that backed up to the Manassas Battlefield. The time was right, the stars aligned, awareness came along and BANG! Protesting his audacity became Hip. Chic! One was in the “In” crowd if they hosted benefit balls and protest lines. Editorials flew like moths on an August night. Socialites rallied to the defense of the Proud Memory of the United States Civil War (ironic, now, innit?). Enough bad press was created to motivate the United States Government to step in and perform the theretofore unprecedented (and, as exercised, completely unconstitutional) act of seizing his land through Imminent Domain. I put it to YOU; How many of you have enjoyed the lovingly preserved piece of battlefield known as Stuart’s Hill? How many of you even know where it is, or that it exists?
Yeah!, Victory! Today, the Eternal Protection of our Heritage is damn near palpable, as one drives through Atlas Walk, to the Target, the Best Buy, the Lowes Hardware, to any one of the thirty or more Fine Dining establishments, perhaps to the Multiplex. Or, maybe one zooms past all the aforementioned Progress and Development, over the eight lanes of Flyover, en-rout to the OTHER Multiplex, and Duluth Trading, perhaps to dine at Pizzeria Uno and a Golden Corral (Yum!), at Parkland Center, a shopping center actually CARVED from the Real Battlefield. Aren’t we all so glad we railed and fought and defended the Honor and Memory of our Heritage??
Let’s revisit an incident a few years later. Same area. Same argument. This time, Disney sniffs around the prospect of bringing grand, first-class commercial development. Hundreds of construction jobs, hundreds of perpetual jobs. Good, secure, retirement-fund sort of jobs. And people went ballistic. “How DARE Disney even Propose to build an amusement park (An AMUSEMENT Park!!??) near our Hallowed Grounds of the Battlefields!! How DARE they even suggest such a thing?! They must be STOPPED!! We must protect our Battlefields!! Just last month, Fauquier County buried one of it’s Favorite Sons, a Philanthropist and Conservationist who’s crowning achievement was the promotion of the Piedmont Environmental Council. He was instrumental in the protection and conservation of the precious Heritage lands Disney was coveting.
Well, due to the relentless media black coverage and endless hyperbole, Disney concluded that shoving prosperity and security across the table at an unwelcoming community wasn’t worth the bad publicity worldwide. So they pulled out. Again, “Yay!!” Victory for the “Conservationists”!! Let’s remember that victory, as we sit in yet more bumper to bumper traffic. The entirety of Dominion Valley sits completely, perfectly in the exact same footprint that Disney WAS going to occupy. Aren’t WE proud of our efforts of Battlefield Preservation?! Aren’t WE grand, having kept the commercial specter of Disney at bay? Aren’t we glad we’ve kept that “Sprawl” from the doorstep of our precious Battlefield? I wonder what the Late, Great Mr. Prince thought, as he drove past Dominion Valley. Did he golf there? Was he a member of the Club? Was Dominion Valley REALLY the goal of all that Preservation of our Precious Battlefield?
Our county has, contrary to occasional belief, remained comparatively unscathed from this relentless urban sprawl. This county does not know true, real, unmitigated sprawl of quarter acre lots across the horizon, far as the eye can see. We have no Dale Cities, no Bristows, no Leesburgs, no Purcellvilles, no Centrevilles or Manassas Parks.
There are things that we want for our county. We want Libraries. We want County-wide High Speed Internet. We want spotless cell coverage. Top-notch fire, rescue and police protection. But we are rabidly protective of our rural nature. How to achieve both? How to receive revenue, but avoid the trappings of sprawling development?
Revenue is a tricky thing. It takes money to make money. Consider this: Let’s say we want to encourage industry. We hear that Delphi Corporation wants to build and operate an automotive electronics plant in the Piedmont region. Hypothetically, they are seeking a location for a one billion dollar factory. They’ll employ 1700 people, and the county will realize a revenue stream of up to two hundred million dollars. Sounds great! Lots of employment, lots of revenue. Alas, lots of families, lots of housing, lots of commuters, new schools, a new hospital, a fire house, shopping centers, and playgrounds and fast food and Starbucks and El Taco Bells. Before you know it, the entire region becomes indistinguishable from Dulles Town Center (!). Before you blink, that $200,000,000.00 is consumed and swallowed up in infrastructural support.
A medium to large Data Center can easily represent a Billion Dollar investment. The county Can realize construction jobs, real estate taxes, income taxes, and improvements to the surrounding infrastructure. A Two Hundred Million dollar revenue steam is an easy realization from a billion dollar Data Center installation. The Center will also improve local roads, power infrastructure, cooling water systems. High Speed Internet naturally goes where Data Centers are. Cellular communications infrastructure are automatically improved. No, Data Centers do NOT employ many people in their continuing operation. But that’s actually the point. We receive the billion dollar installation, and two hundred million dollars in revenue, without having to provide the infrastructure that supports one thousand seven hundred families moving into an otherwise virgin area. We may THEN take that revenue, improve our County Wide infrastructures, and we can THEN entertain Certain growth, Certain Select developments. Imagine being able to exercise discretion and discrimination, being able to Elect and Chose which developments we Allow into our proximity!
Yes, they are huge monolithic structures. Some may object to them based entirely on their aesthetics. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but, if the LOOKS of a structure are Truly That much of a deal killer, the buildings could be mandated to look like Dairy Barns. How the building is shaped, what color it is, is really irrelevant to the “ones and zeros” flowing into and out of the structure.
But I beseech you all. Please, PLEASE learn from Recent history. For some reason, it seems our immediate reaction to any Development, Progress, Construction, or Innovation is Knee Jerk resistance. Consider the public’s skepticism towards the innovative approaches to traffic control being proposed along Routs 15, 29, Broadview Avenue, and the Lord Fairfax interchange. If it’s unfamiliar or new, we recoil in horror and doubt. Believe me, if we summarily dismiss the prospect of “Clean” prosperity offered by Data Centers, we WILL suffer the eventual sprawl and congestion and housing and housing and housing and Burger Kings and Traffic and before you can BLINK, Fauquier County will become indistinguishable from Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford.
And that’s not a Piedmont Horse Hunt Country I want to live in. I’m a Realtor. I could make a fortune peddling McMansions all across our county. But at what cost, to what makes life here desirable in the first place?
So, recently I drove down our bucolic and beautiful Crest Hill Road, for perhaps the five thousandth time. Perhaps it was because it had been so long since I drove it in the middle of winter. Perhaps it was because the VDOT had recently finished their aggressive mowing and trimming of the brush along the road. Regardless, I was struck by the amazing, disgraceful, and disrespectful amount of litter along the road.
Seeing all this litter brought back two very vivid memories of my youth. The first, I was very young, perhaps five or six. Mom and the five or six of us kids (often a revolving cast of characters) were driving home from Woodbridge to where we lived in Harbor View, near Occoquan. My oldest brother nonchalantly tossed his soda can out the window. My mother flipped her lid. She stopped the car, and forced my then-twelve-year-old brother to not only pick up THAT soda can, but to walk in front of the car, with her flashers on, and pick up every piece of garbage he found for a quarter mile. He was humiliated, and an impression was made on us all.
Alas, the impression was deadened in me some years later by the effects of copious amounts of alcohol. Fast forward to the spring of 1984. Spring Break, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! I, along with a bevy of high school friends, drove down in two cars. One fantastic sunny early spring day, I was passenger in one car as we crept and crawled along A1A. I upended my beer (yes, underage, yes, in a vehicle, YES, this was an entirely OTHER time), and casually dropped the can out the door. Not three seconds later, the can smacked me in my head, and Very Large, gruff hands grabbed my shirt collar and lifted me out of the car!! A burly face yelled in my rapidly sobering face, “LISTEN, Yankee!! We BARELY tolerate you maggots down here At ALL!! You litter in MY street again, and I’ll kick your punk ass all the way back to Virginia, where you Belong!! Bravo, to my unknown hero!
So, back in present day, and with a respect for not littering that has lasted to date, I determined to follow up and pursue the group that had ostensibly “Adopted” this section of roadway. It was “Friends of Lake Athlone” (the lake around which we, and perhaps thirty other homes, lived). After further inspection, I discovered the Friends of Lake Athlone had consisted of one elderly couple, who had retired to Florida some two years earlier! I proposed to Debbie that we take that stretch of road over, contacted Warrenton VDOT, and put this ball in motion.
The receptionist/organizer of the local Adopt A Highway program was very encouraging, and promised we could have a new sign installed after our second cleaning and servicing of the road. We loaded up with reflective vests and some twenty orange trash bags, and were promptly met with relentless cold front after frigid air after light snow.
This week, we were blessed with two glorious days, between bouts of sub teen zero temps and rain squalls. We attacked the project, thinking we would perhaps complete half the road (one “Adopts” a two mile stretch). After two days, we completed the first quarter mile of road, and are exhausted and sore everywhere. While the remainder of the road is sprinkled with trash here and there, the first three quarters of a mile are right out of a third world country. We gathered up EIGHT TRASH BAGS of garbage. I learned a few things about human nature, and what I believe are motives for the horrible quantity of garbage right at the headland of Crest Hill.
First, that there is a surprising similarity in the garbage. This would indicate that either the same perpetrator is responsible for the garbage (a hefty achievement, tossing some ten CASES of beer out their window!!), or that we are rather predictable animals.
Second, that the motive is secrecy. Folks are stopping off at either McDonalds, 7-11, or Fosters on their way home, snatching up the guilty pleasure of their choice (hot dog, pizza, beer, burger, canned or fountain sodas, candy), scarfing them down in rabid desperation, then realizing even the trash, if left in their car, would betray them to their significant others or their families (“you’r CHEATING on your Diet?? You’re Diabetic!!”, or “you Promised you would quit drinking, or drinking and driving!!”)
Third, that familiarity breeds contempt. We ignore and become contemptible of what we are around all the time, regardless of how beautiful it is.
Forth, perhaps, is that once litter starts, it simply continues unabated and often accelerated. I’m reminded of the old joke, “They never put up a ‘No Dumping’ sign, until it’s Too Late!!” I’m afraid people just don’t think their wee tiny little contribution to the mess really matters or would even be noticed. Also, I think (and HOPE) that, once cleaned, people will be more reluctant to BEGIN the process. Who wants to be the First to cast that stone?
Hopefully, in due course, we’ll find out that people are reluctant to litter on a Now Clean roadway. At least, discouraged….
Our work on the road continues. It will take Many days to complete our entire two mile stretch. If you see us out on 647, Crest Hill Rd., tap the horn, wave, and know, We are Volunteers—NOT on Work Release! 😀
Way back in 1969, Neil Young released a song and album titled “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”. As the youngest member of a family growing up (at that time, in Woodbridge, then Haymarket, then ultimately Marshall in Northern Fauquier County), I heard that refrain sung, mumbled, grumbled, and shouted dozens of times. There were Precious few attractions, restaurants, venues, and general overall “Things To DO” in Fauquier County then.
Back in the early seventies and eighties, the Northern Virginia Piedmont was, frankly, Nowhere. And that was a major appeal to my parents, and many other parents. Much to the chagrin of so many adolescents, young adults, and teenagers.
Upon returning to Fauquier County as an adult, I realize the region has certainly Grown Up! Contrast those languid, often boring summers and seemingly endless winters hibernating, with the amazing evolution of activities, attractions, events, venues, and entertainment the area offers today!
These days, Virginia Gold Cup, is just ONE brief, passing event held at Great Meadows. They offer events year long, including Polo, the best Fireworks in the tri-county area, and myriad other activities.
Just last week, I had a completely unexpectedly appealing evening at the sprawling and hugely diverse Orlean Market. They had excellent live music, a hopping bar, an excellent and extensive dinner menu, indoor and outdoor seating, a great, authentic old-time Country General Store and Market, and even a Gasoline Pump! Rumor has it the venue is only going to grow and expand, offering rooms and event services!
One can spend DAYS travelling the now famed and world renowned Fauquier County Winery and Vineyard Trail. I understand Pearmund Cellars has been voted the Best Winery in Virginia!
When one pauses to consider the evolution and development of our smaller villages and hamlets, and the attractions they offer, one begins to realize that Northern Fauquier County has indeed “Come into it’s Own”. Warrenton, Deleplane, Orlean, The Plains, and Especially MARSHALL (I’ll dedicate an entire paragraph to Marshall–watch this space, there will be entire Blogs dedicated to Marshall!), are in the midst of a culinary and cultural Renaissance.
The Plains has remained a “one-t-intersection-hamlet”, with only four stop signs, yet offers some amazing new dining and shopping. With the advent of The Front Porch, and Happy Creek Coffee and Tea (and Bicycles!), Griasole, and the Benchmark Standby, The Rail Stop Cafe, The Plains is ever-refreshing and interesting. It is a delightful place to shop, view beautiful architecture, and people-watch from any one of it’s cafes and restaurants.
And as for Marshall! To witness an historic village undergo a true awakening, a Renaissance without the pretense of Gentrification, is a truly remarkable thing. Main Street in Marshall is rapidly becoming a mecca for new, innovative, world class dining. With the imminent burial of all power and utility lines, as well as the renovation of over a dozen historic buildings, Marshall truly will be the one to watch! There are too many fine dining spots, and exciting events and activities to list here in this blog. Marshall is even getting a double decker BUS cafe! I can (and likely will!) devote and entire blog to the next generation of Marshall.
Horses, Racing, Touring, Dining, Dining, and Dining!, Shopping, Live Music!, Festivals, Hiking, Sightseeing, and more History, Heritage, and Culture than one can find in many States, makes Northern Fauquier truly a Bloom worth watching, and Very little like the culturally barren tundra our Fine Mr. Young sang about some fifty years ago.
Sure, it isn’t, and never will be, Metropolis. And that’s why we love it here!
The CLOUD Difference is that we not only are involved in real estate, more importantly its the people, their lives and the lifestyle within their community.
Working together ensures our communities and our lifestyles. Please spend some time to be aware, be informed and take action with in your community. Show up at hearings. Read the paper everyday. Be involved in your community events & groups.
