Rural Virginia is a heartwarming place for many reasons. My favorite, of course, being that it’s one of the few destinations in the world where time essentially stands still. As a fan of history, this facet is especially captivating. The rolling fields, towering trees, and sprawling pastures seem to stretch on for miles. They’re not the dry, boring grasslands of other states like Ohio. Instead, they exude a vibrancy that somehow gives them the appearance of being a living, breathing entity, where all who wandered within those fields still walk there in spirit, trapped in time. I got to experience this firsthand during my visit to the Inn at Mount Vernon Farm.
The idyllic portraits of unspoiled nature that hang in many American homes, images that are reminiscent of the purity of the natural world as far back as Colonial times – that scenery exists in a very real way in rural Virginia.
In fact, towns like Sperryville in the state of Virginia are the definitive image of ‘Americana.’
Many of us romanticize this image of ‘Americana.’ We hold it dear to our hearts for a number of reasons. For one, green grass and happily munching cows are a really tranquil aesthetic. But, beyond that, the picture of pastoral farm lands, weathered barns, and a bubbling brook beneath the shade of the trees is collective in our American psyches.
It’s these types of depictions that conjure up yearnings of a simpler time when neighbors were friendly and helped each other, and when the starlight shone freely without the impediment of Broadway’s signage or neon lights promising “Girls, Girls, Girls.”
Experience Americana at the Inn at Mount Vernon Farm.
The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm has managed to pull together all of those treasured American elements much like a rustic quilt stitched together with love.
I initially didn’t want to share about my stay there, simply because I’m afraid of people finding out about such a gem. In a world of “influencers” bastardizing beautiful places with their duck-lipped selfies and self-centered fashion shows where the destination just becomes a convenient back drop, I wanted to protect this inn.
But, I think my followers travel for the right reasons. And for their sake, I needed to write this piece. The ability of The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm to encapsulate such a specific and much sought after sense of time and place needs to be seen to be believed. It’s a flawless execution of artistry.
Try as I might, I just couldn’t capture photos that really do the natural splendor of the landscape justice. A two-story L-shaped brick house with soft tan accents sits on the middle of a hill surrounded by a moat of perfectly rounded shrubs and flowing mounds of fragrant flowers.
In the distance, mountains of an almost blue hue seem to roll and the tops of them meet the impossibly large and impossibly wide blue sky full of puffy white clouds. Standing beneath the wide open sky amidst the mountains is awe-inspiring. You really realize how small we are as humans. My accomplishments felt, well, dwarfed when compared to the art of mother nature around me.
Our Guest Quarters.
Behind the brick building is a cabin, the place that we would be occupying for the night. It’s the same soft brown of the accents of the brick house, but with a sloping green roof and a wooden porch with very clean furniture — not that molding green furniture that you tend to see in nature hotels.
When you open the front door, you’re immediately transported back in time. There’s an overall theme of hunting evidenced in the decor, but not in a ‘redneck’ way. It’s the type of ‘elegant fox hunting’ that we would see in shows like Downton Abbey — the type of hunting we associate with small villages in England during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
And mixed with that are the leather sofas, dark wood furniture, and roaring fireplace which are undoubtedly rural and southern in design. The den is teeming with classic literature and knick-knacks that are almost reminiscent of Norman Rockwell, had he been into anthropomorphism.
The dining area to the back, complete with two juxtaposed China cabinets, gives a perfect view of the sprawling nature (and wooden hot tub) in the backyard. It’s difficult to peel yourself from gawking out the window at the steep hills and vastness of the grounds.
The Food at the Inn at Mount Vernon Farm.
The inn hosts a wine and cheese social each evening, and considering that we arrived at the tail end of that, it was so nice for our hostess, the incredible Sarah, to deliver us a plate and some wine.
While there isn’t a restaurant proper on the grounds, the inn owns the Headmaster Pub just up the block. You might be wondering, “How good can the food be at a pub?” The answer, evidently, is very good, as in one of the most memorable meals that I’ve ever had, and I’ve traveled the world. I’d pay good money to figure out how they manage to make their grilled chicken (a food normally dry as a bone) so moist and tender. The soft, abundant focaccia with lemon ricotta and homemade bruschetta OOZED of freshness. This wasn’t your chopped-up sad tomatoes, sitting in plastic at Costco. These ones tasted like they’d been picked seconds before I ate them. And the tanginess of the lemon in the creamy ricotta? *Chef’s kiss.*
An Incredible Experience.
At the end of the night, we retired back to our cabin and climbed the creaking wooden steps to the loft. There, a hilarious portrait of George Washington awaited us (as requested, we were doing research for a historical guide book). The spacious bed enveloped me entirely after I completed my nightly wash-up. I drifted off to sleep in what was perhaps the most comfortable hotel bed ever.
That is, until about six in the morning, when I found myself unable to go back to sleep. Nothing in particular awakened me, only this persistent inner nagging that I should keep my eyes open and not go back to sleep. And that was for good reason.
From the ecstasy that was the comfort of my bed, I watched the sky change from pitch black to the most incredible shade of blue. It was one I’d never seen before, a color whose depth that I could almost feel. For a moment, I allowed myself to imagine.
I thought about all of the people hundreds of years ago who might have laid in a cabin like ours. They might have slept in a bed like ours and in a loft like ours. The scene that I was delighting in might have been the same one that those people delighted in seeing in their lifetime.
I had come on this trip to Virginia in search of re-imagining history. Yet, the most pure form of it didn’t come from the reconstructed town of Colonial Williamsburg. Instead, it came from this extraordinary type of sunrise.
Delicious Breakfast.
Later in the morning, we ventured into the inn’s main building for breakfast. Down a set of narrow stairs was a hearty buffet. Potatoes, tea, orange juice, bacon, sausage, yogurt, granola, muffins, and fruit were all ripe for the taking. By both the flavorful taste and beaming smile of an elderly woman in her pink sweater, it was quite obvious that the food had been crafted with care, love, and hard work. We later learned that the woman had spent nearly three decades perfecting her breakfast skills.
Beyond this, and perhaps the most delightful part of breakfast, was again the star of the inn — Sarah. She went to each and every table to learn more about the guests and to share a little about herself. Her presence wasn’t awkward, but rather warm and cozy — much like the snug basement that we were tucked into. Sarah is without a doubt a gem of a human and employee. Her fondness for learning about visitors and putting a smile on their face is unparalleled.
The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm charmed me with its hospitality (thanks again, Sarah), its food, and its the amazing ability to mix an aesthetic of early Americana and countryside England. I would come back to The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm again and again!
Want more amazing places to stay? Check out the most charming hotel in Savannah, Georgia.
0 comment