Archive: Aug 2014

  1. Sweet Success

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    The first recorded evidence of chocolate as a food product goes back to Pre-Columbian Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the God of wisdom, and the seeds had so much value they were used as a form of currency. Originally prepared only as a drink, chocolate was served as a bitter, frothy liquid, mixed with spices, wine or corn puree.

    When Tim Gearhart started Gearharts Fine Chocolates in 2001, artisan chocolate was a rarity in the United States. He brought a global vision of fine chocolate making, gleaned from years of experience in professional kitchens, to his Charlottesville shop.

     

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    The Lodge at Old Trail welcomed Tim Gearhart, of Gearharts Chocolates, last week as a part of our Third Thursday lecture series.  He discussed the ins and outs of his career and his chocolate making process, where Tim and his team blend the world’s finest chocolate with local sweet cream and pure butter.  They use top-quality fruits, nuts, herbs, teas, spices, and liquors to complete each piece as it is finished by hand.

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    Tim brought in some of his beautiful creations for attendees to sample.  Chocolates have changed quite a bit since that bitter liquid!

    To taste what Tim has to offer, visit Gearharts Chocolates shops:  the flagship shop at Main Street Market, 416 West Main Street #C in Charlottesville or the new shop in Richmond at The Avenues at Libbie and Grove, 306 B Libbie Avenue.

    Also, don’t forget to join us for our next Third Thursday event on September 18th at 6pm where four local Chefs compete for bragging rights and to take home the trophy in the Third Annual Crozet Culinary Competition for Charity.  This year we are raising money to benefit the Claudius Crozet Park!

     

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    Pictured here (left to right): David Hilliard (Owner), Judy Bowes (Executive Director), and Tim Gearhart.

     

  2. Giving Back

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    Lodge staff, residents and family members volunteered for a Car Wash and Bake Sale event which took place on Saturday August 2, 2014 to benefit the Central and Western Chapter of The Alzheimer’s Association.

    We raised $615 which will be combined with the proceeds from other fund raising efforts this year.  The Lodge fund raising is in full swing leading up to the Alzheimer’s Walks in Waynesboro on September 13th and in Charlottesville on October 18th.

    To learn more about how you can contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association of Central and Western Virginia, contact Patricia McArtor at 434.823.9100.

  3. Lodge Weather Station

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    Most visitors never get to see what is behind The Lodge at Old Trail.  Our
    186,000 sq. ft. building manages to obstruct the view of what surprises lie beyond the building itself.

    There are walking trails, The Lodge’s very own bee hive, a beautiful pond and… a weather station installed by Lodge resident, Jim Clark.

    The weather station, installed almost a year ago, wirelessly sends data to the weather monitor in Mr. Clark’s apartment every 2.5 seconds. The monitor transmits this data to his computer which stores the data and sends the complete data package to Weather Underground every 2.5 seconds via the Internet. Almost instantaneously, Weather Underground broadcasts this data worldwide via the internet.

    This same weather data is also transmitted to the National Weather Service. This Service uses the data for both forecasting and research purposes.

    So if you want to know what the weather is like at The Lodge any minute of any day, go to:  http://www.wunderground.com/swf/Rapid_Fire.swf?units=english&station=KVACROZE5

     

     

434-823-9100