Last week, we took a little vacation to the Charlottesville, Virginia area. Although I didn’t do any painting at all, I did find lots of inspiration.

We had made our reservations prior to finding out the forecast was calling for rain — lots of it! — the days we were planning to be there, so we figured we’d just find things to do inside if we needed to. We started out in Charlottesville that first day, and the meteorologists definitely got it right. We got a little soggy, but we enjoyed walking around the outside mall and grabbing some lunch at one of the many restaurants there.

It was such a cute area, with lots of little shops and restaurants. I’m sure it’s packed when the weather is nicer and the students are in town. After walking around and getting soaked, we decided to stop in a lovely coffee shop for coffee and a snack before heading out of town to check in for our stay.

We actually stayed a little south of Charlottesville in a lovely town called North Garden, and our accommodations were fabulous! We found a historic bed and breakfast called The Crossroads Inn, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place to spend a couple of days.

The inn was built in 1820 as a tavern, and according to their website, has always been used “as a stop for the weary traveler.” They really know how to take care of their guests too! They offered concierge services in case you wanted reservations for their sister winery or dinner reservations somewhere, and the rooms were stocked with everything we needed. They even provided packets of chicken feed in case we wanted to feed the chickens who live there on the farm. I thought that was such a cute touch!

I just loved the coloring on this chicken/rooster(?). Check out the beautiful pattern on those feathers!

On our second day there, we made it to the aforementioned winery, Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyard. What a beautiful place! The views were gorgeous, the food delicious, and we were treated like royalty.

I was even inspired by our food. One of the dishes we had, a chickpea salad, was so tasty I have to try to recreate it. The kitchen is the one place where I feel I’m truly creative, so hopefully I’ll be sharing the recipe soon.

Now for the view….. Everywhere you look, there’s something beautiful to see. I just love the way the clouds come right down onto the mountains and it was nice to be able to see them lift a little as the system that brought the rain started to move out.

The winery closed at 5:00 pm, so we went back to the inn (conveniently located next door) and walked around the farm a little bit. Everywhere I looked, I found inspiration for my art: the flats of flowers waiting to be planted, the tree that looked like a graceful dancer, the boulders scattered in the field, the giant old oaks….

It was nice to get away from our normal day-to-day, take a break from the news for a few days, and be inspired by the new places we visited, but when we got back home, I was reminded that we can find inspiration anywhere if we just look for it.

Sometimes we get so used to the place we live that we forget to look for those things that make it unique, to find the beauty in everyday things and places, and search out the things that spark our joy and imagination. I wonder if looking at our hometowns with ‘vacation eyes’ could help us see them differently and inspire us in some way…

Where do you find inspiration? Please share!