More on Hidden Valley Court in Palmyra
In the words of the Sellers -
Proximity to areas in Central Virginia:
45 minutes to Short Pump, Waynesboro
60 minutes to Richmond, Staunton
Proximity to areas in Fluvanna and Albemarle County:
15-20 minutes to Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Fork Union, Scottsville, Zion Crossroads
30 minutes to southern Charlottesville (Pantops, Belmont)
45 minutes to northern Charlottesville (Forest Lakes, CHO Airport)
Neighborhood:
The neighborhood has a diverse age range, from first time home owners to retirees. Immediately surrounding our house, we have a family with grown (college+ age) children, and two families with high school students. There are several more families in the subdivision with elementary and middle school age children.
Several folks have horses, and one of the horse farms holds horse shows on the weekends in a large indoor arena. None of this is visible or audible from our house, and there aren’t any traffic issues as a result. There is one dog breeder in the neighborhood, and most families own at least one dog.
What to do:
Despite being in rural Fluvanna County, there are a range of activities within 15-20 minutes. One of our favorite weekend pastimes is the Fork Union Drive-In, which is one of the oldest drive-ins in the nation. Tickets are $7 for a double-feature, and they usually show second-run movies, with an occasional first run for good measure. There are *tons* of families and kids that attend, so typically the first movie is a comedy or family film, and the second is usually rated a PG-13 or higher.
Scottsville is also nearby, and has several good restaurants. The town also holds numerous holiday and special-occasion events, including 4th of July fireworks, music festivals, and of course river rafting. The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that we are members of is located just north of Scottsville, and provides organic produce from early summer into the fall.
Lake Monticello offers the nearest full grocery store and gas station. The range of local businesses includes a pharmacy, a Dominoes Pizza, a number of primary care doctors and specialists, a hardware store, and a number of locally owned restaurants.
Carters Mountain, a local orchard located just outside of Charlottesville, is about a 30 minute drive from the house. We get most of our fruit from them in the summer and fall months, starting with peaches when the orchard opens for the season, and many varieties of apples late into the fall.
The House:
We love our house. We purchased it because we liked the layout and size of all the rooms, and especially liked the acreage. Having a split floor plan, with the master suite separate from the rest of the house, has been very convenient. We entertain several times a year, and the house is big enough to comfortably accommodate 30-35 people, especially if the deck area is utilized. The covered front porch is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a quiet morning or evening in the country. There are a number of hummingbirds that visit the hanging baskets and flower pots on a regular basis. Our dogs love having an entire acre of fenced back yard.
We especially like the layout of the living room, with the centrally located entertainment center (and a cleverly located cut-away for access to the rear of the A/V equipment), hardwood floors and gas fireplace. The kitchen is very spacious, although if we were staying in the house, we would consider adding an island. There is a custom built corner cabinet that serves as the pantry. The other upgrades we had considered were tile floors in the bathrooms, and improved flooring and counter tops in the kitchen.
Our only regular utility bill is electric, through the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC). We average approximately $100/month, running a little higher in the winter and summer, and a little lower in the spring and fall. We also have a contract with Blossman gas, and they come out as necessary to fill our 100 gallon propane tank. We didn’t make it through an entire tank this past winter, but we did use almost an entire tank in the winter of 2004/2005. The tank was refilled recently.
Our television programming is through DirecTV. The dish and wiring support all of the upcoming HD programming on DirecTV. Also, with the installation of an external antenna, it would be possible to pick up over-the-air signals from Charlottesville and Richmond. Our monthly bill for DirecTV service (HD / DVR) is approximately $60.
Our satellite internet service is Wildblue, billed through Nelson County Cable. The bandwidth is sufficient for regular browsing and downloading, however the high latency of the satellite connection makes it unsuitable for online gaming. CVEC is slowly rolling out a broadband over powerline service, which promises much lower latency. Full-scale deployment of this service is expected in late 2007.
Of course, there are some things we don’t like about living here. The powerplant (located over a mile away) can be a bit noisy, especially on quiet summer nights. Generally, this isn’t noticeable unless you’re outside in the back yard.
The builder’s lot has also been challenging. We haven’t made any special efforts to grow grass, but the back yard has filled in pretty well. The front yard (especially in front of the office and on the side of the driveway) still has some significant bare spots. Between the front and back yards, there are hundreds of bulbs that have been planted. The show starts in early spring with the daffodils, and continues into late summer with a beautiful mix of iris and daylillies. The arbor over the back porch is a perfect setting for climbing flowering vines, which currently include morning glories and a trumpet vine.