By Bob Tagert

We thought July was a hot month. August certainly upheld the trend. As I write this, the weekend temps are in the low 80’s so maybe we are returning to a cooler pattern. September is an excellent month for sailing so for our Road Trip we joined our friends on the committee boat for the Wednesday night races in Annapolis. If the mountains are more to your liking, check out our Rappahannock County banner in the Blue Ridge section and the annual Farm Tour at the end of the month. If you are in the mood for some eclectic tacos check our Dining Out column. The Personality Profile is about our good friend and former Alexandrian, Rick “Spring Break” Casey. Rick is a personality larger than life and he sure left an impression in Old Town! In Grapevine this month we can still learn what can go wrong after an excellent growing season. In Exploring Virginia Wines Doug Fabbioli talks about the farm winery contributions to local farm breweries and the intricacies of growing hops. In High Notes, Ron Powers catches us up on Jamie Cullum. In Go Fish, Steve Chaconas shows us how fishermen help St. Judes Hospital by taking Friday off and going fishing for Bass on the Potomac. In Business Profile, meet “The Family Affair” who are helping folks relocate to our wonderful area and getting them the right house. Lori Welch Brown writes about prepping for her class reunion in Open Space and the differences between emotional support and service animals is covered in Points on Pets. And….much more!

It seems like there is more construction going on in Old Town than ever before, particularly as the waterfront continues to be developed and enhanced. The town is still vibrant with more visitors than expected with the closing of the King Street Metro – which, by the way, is supposed to be back up and running this month but we have our doubts. With vacation season winding down you may see fewer busses but the locals are returning.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend – the last official holiday of summer. As fall approaches and is official on September 23^rd, we are looking forward to the season.