Travelsmartplanet

Some men are driven by a need for fame. Some men seek glory. Buz has always sought out the perfect barbecue. Not that par-boiled, mass-produced, liquid-smoke injected kind, either. Nothing but real barbecue will do.

It took a NYC guy to literally work his way thru kitchens in BBQ havens in Texas, Kansas City, Memphis and Lexington KY, and then merge all that expertise with Ned’s 150- year old family recipe to perfect the art of the pit and his own scrumptious BBQ.

For the past 25 years, his ribs (baby back, spare or beef) have been a hit, there’s hearty Brunswick stew (chock full of corn, string beans, carrots, and potatoes), killer chili, Sandra’s favorite: beef brisket, and you-could-eat-alone sides of chunky smokey baked beans, cukes & onions, sweet potato fries and, of course, hush puppies. Wash ‘em down with root beer and Cheerwine.

On the last Monday of every month Buz and Ned’s is featuring Pig Pickin’ Mondays  at their 8205 West Broad St. location only. The traditional, down-home, country PIG PICKIN’ starts at 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. (or earlier , ’til they run out of pig). It’s a first-come, first-serve, all-you-can-eat meal featuring an amazing 100% wood barbecued whole pig cooked slowly using only freshly-cut hickory log, served with Buz and Ned’s barbecue sauce on the side. The buffet will also include: hush puppies, freshly shredded cole slaw, sandwich rolls, three bean baked beans, sour cream red skinned potato salad and freshly-brewed iced tea.

With a whole-hog knowledge of ‘cue, meat-eaters will agree that Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue is a Southern authority on smoke. Go on in and eat like a local.

Boulevard Location: 1119 North Blvd., Richmond, VA 23230 (Directions)
Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11am-9pm · Fri-Sat: 11am-10pm
Tel: 804-355-6055
West Broad Street Location: 8205 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23294 (Directions)
Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11am-10pm · Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm
Tel: 804-346-4227
buzandneds.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitrichmondva.com

Imagine an Easter Egg Hunt on the grounds of the glorious Flagler Museum…The Gilded Age estate was a 55-room winter retreat built in 1907 as a wedding present for Henry Flagler’s 3rd wife Mary Lily Kenan Flagler. Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, featuring guided tours, changing exhibits, and special programs.

Children are invited to hunt for more than 8,000 eggs on the Museum’s Lawn and in the Cocoanut Grove. The Museum grounds will be sectioned off into age-appropriate areas so everyone, including toddlers, will have an opportunity to participate.

When the Museum gates open at 9am  children  will be visited by the Easter Bunny. Don’t forget your camera as this is a great photo-op with the Bunny and the grandeur of the museum as a backdrop. There will be an Easter Craft Activity Table, where children can engage in Easter-themed art projects, face painting, balloon sculptures, and play a game of Bean Bag Toss.

The egg hunt begins promptly at 10am. The Easter Egg Hunt for children age four and under will be held on the Southeast Lawn with 3,500 hidden eggs. For kids ages five and older the Hunt is in the Cocoanut Grove with 4,500 hidden eggs.  Look for the golden egg to win a special prize.

To purchase tickets: flaglermuseum.us/programs/easter-egg-hunt

Photo Courtesy of: © Flagler Museum

Location: Flagler Museum, One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach, FL 33480
Date: Sat, April 15, 2017
Time: Gates open at 9am.The egg hunt begins at 10am
Tel: 561-655-2833
flaglermuseum.us
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: thepalmbeaches.com

Why not get away with your family to Almonte, ON, just west of Ottawa . The very first reason is that Ed Atwell of Healthy Food Technologies (hft) has figured out how to make low-fat donuts that are scrumptious. He “tricks” the donuts by frying them (in zero trans fat oil) for 1/2 the time and then baking them at the same temperature. Watch the video to see him explain the process he invented.

Now take a walk around the corner and pick up your to-go-with coffee at fair trade high quality Equator Coffee Roasters. They roast the beans right there, having bought them from small-scale farming communities and paid the farmers well. Do not  miss the Oh-so-Canadian maple-flavored latte. It’s worth driving there just for that! Kids can enjoy the hot chocolate.

Next you can pick up snacks for the car or yummies to take home at Dandelion Foods co-op before a 45 min. drive to Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp. D
andelion Foods co-op sells whole, local and organic foods and some for specialty diets. Here you can buy the famous Hummingbird chocolate bars favored by Prime Minister Trudeau. Note the PB & Joy (with peanut butter) and the spicy Mayan.  Please bring back the Empire Cheese caramelized onion cheddar cheese for me.

For lunch and fun, at Wheelers Pancake House you can visit the Maple Museum and the Chainsaw & Logging museum and the kids can have fun in the playground. Handy men and women will be mesmerized by Mark Wheeler’s dad Vernon’s collection of hundreds of chainsaws. Everyone will enjoy his “largest collection of pure maple syrup artifacts” which help explain the history of the maple sugar industry. From First Nations wooden spigots to the plastic lines of today, syrup pour-ers, molds, pails, and everything else related to this sweet topic, it’s all here at this 38-year family business. Don’t forget to leave room for the freshly made pancakes and delicious syrup right from their trees.

For the grand finale, we visited Keith and Elizabeth Adam’s alpacas and llamas at their  Serendipity Farm. For retirement they decided to raise alpacas for the fun of it. The couple exudes their enjoyment of spending their golden years with these elegant, fluffy friends. They’ll chatter about the little quirks of each of the animals as well as the work associated with raising them.

Alpacas produce fiber that is as fine as cashmere, soft, silky and much warmer than sheep’s wool, while also wicking moisture away from the body.
In their little shop you can buy scarves, gloves, purses, as well as fiber felted sheets, alpaca and fiber rovings and handspun yarn.

Leave some time too for the local shops which wind their way along the downtown streets. Yes there’s plenty to do in Lanark County for a low-key interesting getaway weekend. We are not sure how this area attracted so many hippie/free trade/entrepreneurial types who seem to care for the planet. You can feel virtuous spending time and money in this town.

Equator Coffee Roasters, 451-A Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0, Tel: 613-256-5960
www.equator.ca

Dandelion Foods, 541 Ottawa St, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0,  Tel: 1-613-256-4545
www.dandelionfoods.ca

Healthy Food Technologies, 25 Industrial Rd., Almonte ON  Tel: 613-256-9900
(HFT) https://www.facebook.com/HFTinc

Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp, 1001 Highland Line, McDonalds Corners(Lanark Highlands), ON K0G 1M0 Tel: 613-278-2090
www.wheelersmaple.com

Serendipity Farm Alpacas & Llamas,  929 South Lavant Rd, Lanark, ON K0G1K0  Tel: 613-259-3304 or 613-222-6303
www.serendipityalpacas.ca

www.lanarkcounty.ca