Road Trip Break

     The old saying goes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, well we certainly don't want to be considered dull do we?  So, I thought I would take you on a short excursion to some of the most picturesque real estate in America.  The area I am referring to is Northern Virginia, or more specifically Loudoun and its adjoining counties.
Topographically speaking, it is made up of rolling hills and low mountain ridges with tranquil wooded areas, and lush meadows that are crisscrossed by streams, runs, creeks, and rivers that meander through on their way to the Chesapeake Bay.  The weather is moderate, unlike New England that turns into a deep freeze for six months of the year or the South which like its world famous chicken has a tendency to fry in the summer.  Having abundant water, moderate climate, fertile land, and bucolic beauty has made it the perfect location to raise, that’s right you guessed it, rich people!
     Yes you can’t throw a rock without hitting a multimillionaire, and when I say rich I mean old money, the kind that demands respect and gets it.  Riding along the well maintained two lane roads that carry you through the countryside (note:  I have discovered that wealthy people don’t put up with bad roads) you encounter one estate after another with a gated entrance and a lane that disappears over a hill where you can just bet sits a residence fit for a king.  All this raises the question what does one do to entertain oneself when oneself is loaded!  The answer should be perfectly obvious, you raise horses, go fox hunting, play polo.  To put it mildly this area of the Mid-Atlantic is horse country, as a matter of fact the town of Middleburg, Virginia has been called the horsiest (and yes
dear reader horsiest is a real word) place in America.
     Middleburg is the un-official capitol of Virginia horse country.  As a matter of fact it is home to the National Sporting Library and Museum which houses a magnificent collection of art and sculpture dedicated to Equine and Canine sporting, a.k.a. foxhunting and cross-country racing.  Until recently the town remained the exclusive stomping grounds for ultra wealthy residents that include or have included Robert Duval, John F. Kennedy, Kate Jackson, Dickie Smothers and Elizabeth Taylor and their super rich kinfolk, who own most of the surrounding countryside.  But alas the irrepresible tourist ferreted out the town and retail merchants soon began to cater to the day visitor.  So much for the neighborhood eh!  Well not really, a strange thing occurred, the original aristocratic gentry decided to accept the visitors, (though I am sure begrudgingly) as a part of the changing times.  So the town now thrives with the influx of middle class wallets just waiting to buy dinner, a souvenir, an antique or a piece of art in on of the many shops.  One event hosted by Middleburg that is to my knowledge unique in nature, is the annual Christmas Parade.  Not that Christmas Parades are unusual, but few of them feature one hundred untethered pure bred fox hounds and fifty mounted riders attired in traditional fox hunting outfits riding through town on Route 50 which they have closed down for the day.
     I suppose by now it looks as though I am jealous of the wealth that lives in Virginia Horse Country, not at all, well okay maybe a little, alright so a lot.  But I am not so blinded by my jealousy that I don’t realize that if these folks did not keep and hold this land it would soon be overrun with thousands of vinyl siding track homes, and the beautiful scenery that I so dearly love to ride my motorcycle through would be gone.  So I say, “way to go filthy rich horse lovers of Northern Virginia, keep up the good work!”