Explore! Relax in Tappahannock

By the first bite of breakfast, a still-warm poppy-seed scone with homemade pear-and-raspberry jam enhanced by a touch of cardamom, I was hooked.

Then came a delectable mini vegetable frittata and fresh fruit. All served on mix-and-match fine china and silverware in a formal dining room.

Tappahannock’s Essex Inn is an elegant bed and breakfast that serves as a perfect jumping-off point to Virginia’s Northern Neck along the Rappahannock River.

The center of the action is Tappahannock, a cozy town of 2,400 that is revving up for its annual RivahFest on June 18. Activities will center on Prince Street, where visitors will find an arts and crafts area, a boat show, a local take on TV’s “American Idol,” lots and lots of food, a beer and wine garden, and more.

Long before The Essex Inn or RivahFest came to be, the area was visited in 1608 by Capt. John Smith, who a year earlier had helped found the English settlement at Jamestown.

Smith was driven back to his ship by Native Americans, but he did give names to the river he had traveled and the village he had tried to stop by. He called the waterway “Rappahannock,” an Indian word meaning “the rise and fall of water.’’

The village became Tappahannock, or “town on the rise and fall of water.’’

Perhaps Smith didn’t know the Indian word for “place from which I was forced to flee.’’

In any case, he’d find a tourist-friendly community if he stopped by today.

The Essex Inn started life about 1850 as the Roane-Wright-Trible house and has been authentically restored to its past glory.

The main building has four guest rooms, as well as a couple of rooms for sitting and reading. In one, a big, old dictionary is opened to the word “peacelike.”

That’s appropriate, because managers Bob and Janice McGee have created a place that is relaxing from arrival to departure.

I stayed in the main house’s Green Room, with its four-poster bed, a zillion pillows and a fireplace. I passed away time reading in a rocking chair on the porch, which was idyllic.

Only steps away were the inn’s gorgeous gardens and the Quarters, a building with four guest suites.

The Butler’s Pantry offers wine, beer and other drinks, plus baked goods and popcorn.

The McGees have added special touches, such as binoculars resting in a windowsill that let you get a better look at the birds hanging around.

Guests also can enjoy bath salts for a luxurious soaking in a deep tub or grab flashlights that are scattered throughout, perhaps to make one’s way to the pantry for a midnight snack.

I could have easily spent the whole weekend at the inn, but I did venture out.

Visitors can take a historical walking tour of the town’s 13 buildings, including the inn, that remain from the 1600s to 1800s.

They’ll see Beale Memorial Baptist Church, a Greek Revival building that at one time was a courthouse.

A number of the structures on the tour – including the Customs House from the early 1800s; Scots Arms Tavern, circa 1680; and the Henley House, circa 1718 – are private residences and not open to the public.

Others – such as the Old Debtor’s Prison, circa 1769, and the McCall-Brockenbrough House from the 1700s – are home to businesses.

If you’d like to drink up your surroundings, the Northern Neck has nine wineries that offer tours and tastings, with three more to open before September.

I visited a smaller one, Belle Mount Vineyards, just across the water from Tappahannock in Warsaw.

The beautifully manicured vines weren’t ready to give up this season’s grapes, but owner Ray Petrie showed me how wine was made.

I had to try some for myself, and I sampled a half-dozen kinds.

Many residents I spoke with were come- heres, not natives, and their love for the area was apparent. The place they’ve chosen to live is quiet but offers a slew of activities, including museums, shops, cruises and a wildlife refuge.

The Essex County Museum provides a look back at the region’s history. A friendly docent named Van told me a little about the exhibits, and I promised to tell no one that he was a Yankee.

The antique shops looked inviting, but most were closed, perhaps for Mother’s Day. Many also aren’t open on Mondays.

The Tangier Rappahannock Cruises can take you by boat up the river to the Ingleside Winery aboard the mahogany Capt. Thomas.

If you like feathered friends, visit the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge to see ospreys, bald eagles and about 200 other species of birds on its 7,700 acres.

For more history, the Northern Neck is the birthplace of three presidents, George Washington, James Madison and James Monroe.

While shopping, I stopped at a place called Crying Shame. I bought a glass cutting board, a scarf and a fancy bottle stopper. It read: “Drinks well with others.’’

That’s true, especially on the Northern Neck.

Bernadette Kinlaw, (757) 446-2654, bernadette.kinlaw@pilotonline.com