May 18-20: Mark Twain-Stonewall Jackson Dinner Theater Weekend at the Elkhorn Inn!

Mark Twain and dinner guests at the Elkhorn Inn!

Mark Twain and Elkhorn Inn Guests

Mark Twain at the Elkhorn Inn

Doug Riley as Stonewall Jackson

 MAY 18-20, 2018: MARK TWAIN - STONEWALL JACKSON DINNER THEATER WEEKEND AT THE ELKHORN INN! 

 CALL US AT 304-862-2031 OR 1-800-708-2040 FOR RESERVATIONS!

HAVE DINNER WITH MARK TWAIN AND STONEWALL JACKSON!

This unique and special weekend includes specially-themed Chef Dan Dinners and Breakfasts, and performances and presentations by Mark Twain and Stonewall Jackson!

Mark Twain, Elisse, and Dan on WVVA News TV

Both Mark Twain and Stonewall will be portrayed by Doug Riley​, the scholar/actor who personifies both for the West Virginia Humanities Council's "History Alive!" program. The Weekend Package (for two people) is $550.00 + tax, and includes two nights lodging at the Elkhorn Inn, two special Chef Dan Dinners and Breakfasts, and all of Mr. Riley's performances and presentations throughout the weekend. Dinners only are $60.00 per person + 15% gratuity and tax each.

THERE WILL ALSO BE TWO FREE "HISTORY ALIVE!"PERFORMANCES BY MR. RILEY AT THE ELKHORN INN: MARK TWAIN AT 5PM FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND STONEWALL JACKSON AT 5PM ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON!
  

Our October 2017 Mark Twain Weekend at the Elkhorn Inn was featured twice on WVVA News Television, and this will be another great weekend of fine food, literature, history and fun! 

The Elkhorn Inn is the ONLY restaurant in this region on the Bon Appetit Appalachia "foodie" map! The Elkhorn Inn is located at 30767 Coal Heritage Road (Route 52), in Landgraff, West Virginia. The Inn is 18 miles (30 minutes frm Bluefield, WV/VA, and 2.5 hours from Roanoke, VA. 

Call us now at 304-862-2031 or 1-800-708-2040 for reservations!

WVVA News TV filming Mark Twain performing at the Elkhorn Inn

Mark Twain at the Elkhorn Inn

Chef Dan, serving Mark Twain his favorite Buckwheat Crepes for Breakfast!

Elisse & Mark Twain!

Doug Riley as Stonewall Jackson

Click here for a video of Doug Riley as Stonewall Jackson

Mark Twain at the Elkhorn Inn...

Mark Twain's favorite cocktail!

Mark Twain enjoying his fave cocktail- at the Elkhorn Inn!

Mark Twain and Elisse at the Elkhorn Inn

In October, the Elkhorn Inn had a Very special Mark Twain Weekend, with Doug Riley, the historian and actor who personifies Mark Twain (and Stonewall Jackson) for the West Virginia Humanities' Council's "History Alive!" Program! 
One of the "added treats" for our guests, on top of Twain-themed gourmet dinners and breakfasts, was Mark Twain's favorite cocktail, which, he stated, in letters to his wife, he enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Deceptively simple and incredibly easy to make (scotch, simple sugar syrup, Angostura Bitters, and lemon), it was a BIG hit, both with our guests, and with Mark Twain himself, cigar and all!
I discovered the cocktail while researching in preparation for the event: here's the link: Celebrate NYE With Mark Twain's Favorite Whiskey Cocktail

Mark Twain's fave cocktail!

Mark Twain at guests at dinner at the Elkhorn Inn!

Chef Dan presenting Buckwheat Crepes to Mark Twain for breakfast!

WVVA News, covering Mark Twain at the Elkhorn Inn!

Mark Twain, with our Elkhorn Inn Guests

Mark Twain and Elkhorn Inn guests!

One of the things that is the most fun for me is doing research in preparation for planning an event like this! I got to buy and read books I hadn't read (my fave Twain book is still Life on the Mississippi, but thanks to Doug, I read the EXCELLENT book Mark Twain- a Life by Ron Powers, several others, and have a stack of winter reading, including volumes of his autobiography, and the totally hilarious and risque 601: A Tudor Fireside Conversation, As Written By The Ingenuous, Virtuous And Learned Mark Twain. I also got to listen to great period music, and even buy a super cool bustle skirt and blouse (from Victorian Choice on eBay, of course!) so I could be The Hostess With the Mostest in the right period dress!   
I also learned about things like Celery Vases, and other trappings of "The Guilded Age", and added them to the Chef Dan Dinners that weekend, that included Mark Twain's favorite foods, including Pan-Fried Trout, and Herb-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens (in lieu of  Prairie Chickens), Squash Pie for desert, and Buckwheat Crepes with West Virginia Maple Syrup for Breakfast!

The Elkhorn Inn is planning to do another special weekend event with Mr. Riley in early May 2018, in which he shall portray both Mark Twain and Stonewall Jackson! This promises to be a fabulous weekend of literature, history, great food, and fun! Please call the Inn at 304-862-2031 if you are interested in attending, or would like to book a guest room now and get the room of your choice! And I'm still trying to figure out who I want to be for the spring event! :-)

Grillo's Essential Natural Insect Repellent: now at the Elkhorn Inn!

The Elkhorn Inn & Theatre is proud to introduce a GREAT new product in our Gift Shop: Grillo's Essentials all-natural, essential oil insect repellent!  
West Virginia is #AlmostHeaven, but it's also "Land of Ticks"- and this REALLY works- better than the poisons- to keep the bugs away- and you can use it on your pets, too! I can't use poisons on my skin, and so bugs usually eat me alive all summer; ticks are a BIG problem in rural West Virginia, and Lyme Disease is a HUGE concern! Grillo's Essential Insect Repellent LITERALLY made the bugs stopped biting me! Amazeballs! It is SO great to find something natural that truly and seriously works- & it smells SO good, too! If you are outside- working, ATVing, gardening, playing golf, hiking biking, fishing, laying in the sun- whatever- you NEED this! 

I was in the garden the other day in my bathing suit, being eaten alive by insects and swatting at myself as usual, when I remembered I had Grillo's! I rubbed it on my legs, arms, chest, and back and IMMEDIATELY the bugs stopped biting! THAT was when we decided we had to have this in the Elkhorn Inn's Gift Shop! 
Made with a proprietary blend of all natural essential oils that are proven to work better than Deet, it smells great, too- not "girly" or sweet- just great! AND, as I said above, it's safe to use on your dogs and cats- and we do!
Everything I need for summer in our garden at the inn is right here in this photo: my weeders and plant food, suntan oil, ice coffee, my new sun bed, and Grillo's Essential Insect Repellent!
The Grillo's Essentials Natural Insect Repellent 10ml Rollerball is $14.95 + shipping from the Elkhorn Inn (email elisse@elkhorninnwv.com or call 304-862-2031 to order), or you can buy it at the Elkhorn Inn!  
And Grillo's Essentials, like the Elkhorn Inn, is a SCORE Mentors #BizChampion!

#ATV Leaf-Peep & #Railfan Site Scouting! It's fall, y'all!

Now!

Next month!

This week hubs and I did a wonderful, easy ATV ride through the mountains to scout out the best places to "leaf peep" in October. Because it's gloriously LEGAL to ride ATVs on our roads here in McDowell County, WV, we  rode right from the Elkhorn Inn in Landgraff, WV, all the way to Lashmeet! It was a long, lovely ride, and although it is fall now, it was warm enough to wear sweatshirts, and our mountains are still 80% green! The best  leaf-peeing here is in October, and the foliage here is usually beautiful all the way through Halloween! (We often get calls at the Inn asking what the best weekend for leaf-peeping will be, and if I knew the anawer to that question I'd be a Very rich woman! We get similar calls in the winter, asking which spring weekend will be best to see the Rhododendrons flower! I wish I knew! Like the cherry blossoms in Japan, foliage and flowers are a giant Mother Nature Crap Shoot! LOL)

We rode from the Elkhorn Inn through Eckman, WV stopping first to take some photos of one of Sky's great new organic farms, which is literally one minute from the Inn. What was once an unsightly field of overgrown weeds is now squash and corn and beans, thanks to Sky and "McDowell County Farms"! :-)

 As you can see, our mountains have Just started to change color! Wait 'till next month!!











Then we rode through Crumpler, WV...

 And started riding 'round and 'round, up into the mountains...
See- it really IS still green!

Looking down to where we started!

Bear Town Church, Herndon, WV

  

 One of THE most gorgeous "leaf-peeping lookouts" we know of in Herndon, WV! Wait 'till next month!

Turkeys in the yard!

Herndon, WV

 Another gorgeous "leaf-peeping lookout" for October...

Dan feeding "Cheetos Dog"!

We found some great "railfan photo spots" along the way, too; these were near Giatto, WV.

An old RR line...

Elisse, at a great "railfan" photo spot!

Made it to Matoaka!

Another great railfan photo spot...

Lashmeet, WV: Pizza and Hoagies!

After Matoaka, we kept going to Lashmeet, WV, but just as we got there it began to drizzle! Fortunately, it was 4pm, and the Pizza/Hoagie place was just opening up for the evening, so we ran inside and had hoagies! And the rain passed us by!

On the way home... wait 'til next month!

On the way home, we stopped to take photos of some of the fall decorations in Keystone, WV...

Keystone, WV

Our last stop of the day was above our Theatre, where Dan took me to pick the cattails that I love to have to decorate the Inn in the fall!

Dan found THE Mother-lode of Cattails!

Then we came home, and DIY Dan decorated the Ekhorn Inn with garlands of leaves and wreaths and scarecrows- 'cause it's fall, y'all! :-)