I’m probably the only person that doesn’t make the drive from Charlottesville to Richmond, without making a stop.  On my monthly visit to Trader Joes, this trip I only made it to Exit 152, about 20 minutes from Charlottesville, I decided to stop.  The exit was #152 and is called Haydensville, there was a Liberty Gas Station and a BP.  I had never been off on this exit before but right away noticed flags and a traffic jam of cars pulling into a drive in!

I think it’s even faster to get to the Goochland Drive-in than it is to get to the Fork Union one, from Charlottesville.  I couldn’t believe the amount of tailgaters there were and it was only 7:30.  The whole field was basically parked full with cars.  There is always a double feature, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and it premieres at around 8:55pm.  Their website is updated each week with the movie that will be playing.

What do you think about The Hook’s gossipy, only slightly news related, articles?  I couldn’t believe it when I picked up a copy of The Hook this morning and read “Where’s Baldi? Bel Rio closes, owner vanishes.” (it’s on page 40)  I know Charlottesville is small, and it’s hard to find interesting things to write about, but this article is so speculative about what happened with Bel Rio and with Jim Baldi.  I felt guilty and uncomfortable even reading it because it feels like such a private matter.

I think the most ironic part about the whole article is that Bel Rio has a half page advertisement on the preceding page in The Hook! That’s just not right!  You know Bel Rio paid for that advertisement and it just conveniently wound up next to this terrible story smearing Baldi’s name.

I wonder how much McNair researched this story.  McNair’s story even speculates that Baldi disappeared with a 25 year old woman, and sites myspace as one of his sources for confirming details about her.  Yikes!

You can read the full Baldi story here.

I don’t really get feisty about politics, but I do really like the new Perriello commercial.  It’s personable, and honest, and really well done.  I like how at the end he’s all dirty, very creative.  I think this makes a bigger impact than the commercials where they bash their opponent, but that’s just my opinion.  What do you think about it?

Strawberry picking is over at Chiles, now it’s time for peaches!  2 wagons can be found around the shop to make it easier, and more fun to get your kids out picking peaches.  I made the most delicious pie on Saturday with peaches that I picked last Thursday at Chiles.  They aren’t ready to eat when you pick them, but they were just right after a couple days of sitting out on the counter.  The peach milkshake alone, is worth the drive out there!

Follow Chiles on twitter to find out what’s in season to be picked!

Photo Credit

There are 2 more Starry Nights events this summer.  Once a month during the summer, the vineyard hosts a night of music out in the vineyard.  Tickets start at $15 per person and go up to $50 for seats on the deck and ticket for dinner.  The $15 dollar ticket gets you admission and a veritas wineglass.  There isn’t a bad seat, you can bring blankets and lawn chairs and it’s a great time to hang out with friends.  The next event is August 14th.  Little Freddie King will be preforming.  Book early if you’d like to eat dinner or sit on the deck, or you can get your general admission ticket anytime, although the night of the event the line is pretty crazy (the picture above is the line from Saturday night.)  Purchase tickets here.

The Downtown Hotdog Company is officially open for business!! And they have so many options!  Along with all their creative new toppings for your hot dog, they even give you choices with the bun, try the whole wheat!

It’s in the York Place building on the downtown mall.

The celebrity bartender tonight at Siips will be Congressmen Tom Perriello!  He will be pouring drinks from 5:30 until 7:30 and 10% of the proceeds will benefit The Sexual Assault Resource Agency and The Shelter for Help in Emergency.  Even though it’s silly, I’m kind of excited about him being the bartender, I think it’s a great way to raise awareness for the 2 charities and it’s a fun way for Perriello to interact with some of the Charlottesville community.  I hope a crowd shows up for him, and to show their support for these organizations that do so much for Charlottesville.

Photo Credit

Over the past several months there seems to have been an increase in the number of panhandlers on the downtown mall.  Do you think it’s a problem?  I’ve definitely noticed an increase, but the City Code (Roanoake’s code because I could not find the Charlottesville City Code online-ours is very similar) about panhandling is very specific about what is legal.  We received the following letter today from Maurice Jones the Acting City Manager to address the issue and the back of the letter listed the most up to date City Code:

July 1st, 2010

Dear Charlottesville Downtown Business Owner:

Over the past several months, concerns and questions have been voiced to City staff and City Council regarding panhandling on the Downtown Mall.  As with most cities, Charlottesville has included in its City code local laws that govern this activity.  During a meeting with several business owners recently it became apparent that we need to do a better job of communicating what is currently in the code.

Located on the back of this letter is the code as it stands today.  We continue to research all legal options to assertively address lingering concerns while being mindful of the constitutional rights of those on the Mall.  We will be approaching Council in the very near future with a request to amend the code once again to deal with the increase of aggressive panhandlers and disturbances.

We invite you to lend us your ideas and comments and encourage you to call the non-emergency number for the police department 977-3041.  We also encourage you to call Officer Dwayne Jones on the day shift at 531-7786 or Officer Russell Handy at 760-4361 or Officers Will Coles 760-4353 or Gabrielle Mosley 760-4081 on the night shift if you feel anyone is not behaving within the parameters set forth in the city code provided in this correspondence.

I feel like I might be out of the loop since I didn’t realize the amazingness surrounding Take it Away.  Tucked away over on Elliewood, the sandwich shop gets overwhelmingly crowded around lunchtime.  The chaos made me nervous that my order would be all messed up or end up taking forever, but in the packed out restaurant they simply yell your name when your order is up.  It was also stressful to me that I had to wait until they yelled my name, to pay for my food, but what a great idea on their part.  In the meantime you have time to browse for the chips and drink (including a nice wine selection) of your choice.

I’ll admit, my sandwich was pretty amazing.  Isn’t it funny, that yes, I could probably make this myself at home (including the mayonnaise tasting sauce), but it just tastes so much better when someone else makes it for you!  It was fast too, I was in and out in 10 minutes, and that was ordering my food there.  I would include it in the same category as Bodo’s, except Bodo’s is slightly more convenient for me to run in and out.  Remember your parking stub because Take it Away does validate parking!

Last night I tried out Total Performance for the first time.  It’s kind of a hike since I’m used to walking to ACAC, but it’s been getting a lot of buzz recently and I wanted to check it out.  It’s across the street from Walmart on 29.  Mike Hickory leads some strength and conditioning, speed and agility classes daily at 5, 6, and 7 pm.  He takes you through a circuit of exercises to get your heart rate up and focus on different muscle groups to get you a great all around workout in a little less than an hour.

There were probably 16 people in the class last night, so it’s small enough that you can still get one on one attention with the trainer.  Total Performance also focuses a great deal of attention on athlete training, specifically baseball players.  If you’re only interested in the classes and not a gym membership, the first trial session is free, after that classes are $10 per class, or $60 for 10 classes if you pay up front.  It’s worth checking out.  The gym is also equipped with all the other gym necessities like cardio equipment and weights.