The Latest News

The Fall foliage season goes on for several weeks here in the valley (and up in the mountains). It’s not as brilliant as it can be at times farther north, where there are a lot more maple trees – which often produce the amazing reds. We do like the more muted but...

That’s what River Dell is. The bed in our suite has a story. It’s made of cherry lumber harvested from a friend’s farm in upstate New York; it was assembled there and finished in Virginia. The king-sized mattress is by Tuft & Needle – look up the website, they...

This poignant song from the half-century old musical Fiddler on the Roof remains a favorite at weddings. River Dell can provide a delightful setting for a wedding celebration, whatever style and music you might like! We do have lovely sunrises over the Shenandoah...

We experienced our first rainbow at River Dell just this month! It got me thinking about – weddings! When something is described as at “the end of the rainbow,” what is meant is that something is almost impossible to obtain or achieve. The promise of the pot of gold...

“Just a little green, like the color when the spring is born,” wrote Joni Mitchell nearly fifty years ago. With ample rain, we’ve gone from that, to the full blown verdant countryside of May here by the river. Days are longer, the sun is warm, and the Shenandoah...

I love weddings! One of the perks during my career as a pastor and university chaplain has been officiating weddings – for friends, family, former students and now the children of friends. I have done weddings in Oregon, California, Florida and New York, and have...

We decorated unusually early this year. The tree was up November 30, and decorated along with the rest of the house within the next week. This is easily a record for our last four decades of holiday celebrations! My family tradition growing up was late: we went to bed...

              This is our third Fall season here in the Shenandoah Valley. The first two were drier than normal, which made for less than spectacular foliage. This year was the opposite, setting rainfall records from late spring...

This was our view of the Strasburg Express vs. Charlottesville TomSox game on July 9th. It’s the Valley Baseball League – “Gateway to the Majors.” Yes, some current major leaguers have gone through this league of college players – notably Daniel Murphy, formerly of...