Fancy Hill

Tonight I'm in Abingdon, Virginia.

You know! Home of the Barter Theater?

No? Well, okay. Well, we were promised this would be the jewel of our work trip. The shops are cute. But the town? I'm not quite getting the buzz.

But, we're staying at the Victoria & Albert Inn (that's my room), and I'm sitting by that selfsame fireplace, only lit, while snow falls outside and my mahogany bed awaits. It's pretty damn wonderful. The website is lacking, but don't let that dissuade you: the Inn is possibly the best B&B I've ever stayed at. Very romantic and cozy.

Too bad David isn't here...

Overall? I liked the town of Lexington better. Maybe I'm just a college-town kind of gal. But, as we were leaving, we took Route 11 south out of town to connect with the interstate, at the advice of our innkeeper there at the Llewellyn Lodge. I would be remiss if I didn't note that our two nights there were lovely, comfortable and I slept like a log. And ate breakfast with cardinals. Birds, not priests. They have a gorgeous song, did you know? The birds, that is. Anyway, as we were headed out Route 11, we passed several horse farms and a number of beautiful homes, the oldest and most gorgeous of which had been slapped with a highway sign that said "Fancy Hill."

And my colleague noted that everything around here falls into two categories, hillbilly or fancy.

I think Val has a point, actually. I like that way of looking at things, that if you've gotten your act together, you get to be "fancy." If not, well, at least you're wholesome and charming. I think I'll adopt this as my approach to life now.

Hell, I even feel fancy!