Erika Howsare, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

Living

Into the cavern: At Luray, there are so many reasons to stay

Tourist trap: It’s such an ugly term. Of course there’s reason to beware of over-hyped destinations. But—especially with kids in tow—there’s also a certain enjoyment in surrendering, now and then, to the spectacle. I don’t know of anyplace in Virginia where that’s a truer statement than at Luray Caverns. The Caverns, as our guide on […]

Erika Howsare | September 19, 2018

C-BIZ Magazines

Guideposts: The Scout Guide’s founders reflect on their rapid rise

When Susie Matheson and Christy Ford launched the 10th edition of The Scout Guide Charlottesville this July, they did so as the leaders of a company that’s grown, in about a decade, from a simple blog to a small publishing empire with 23 local employees and 60 franchisees around the country. The Scout Guide is […]

Erika Howsare | August 31, 2018

C-BIZ Magazines

Food for thought: What should you know when you buy or sell a restaurant?

In a town with 400 restaurants, one might be forgiven the occasional restaurant-ownership fantasy. And some of us actually take the plunge, becoming the lucky owners of diners, Chinese takeout joints or high-end date spots. But what do you actually get when you buy a restaurant? That depends. Primarily, says business broker Stu Rifkin, “You’re […]

Erika Howsare | August 31, 2018

C-BIZ Magazines

Passing the test: Educational company bets on tech, wins big

How do you get kids to learn math and science? It’s a question that has vexed many a teacher, but Charlottesville-based ExploreLearning has some pretty good answers. Founded in 1999 by UVA math Ph.D. David Shuster, the company develops online learning tools that are now used around the country. The key, says EL’s Tammy Weisman, […]

Erika Howsare | August 31, 2018

Living

The producers: Meet the locals who are taking the plunge into farming

Why did the farmer win an award? Because she was outstanding in her field. Well—all jesting aside—probably not. If she was anything like the real farmers of Albemarle and neighboring counties, she was just as likely to be found working a job in town as spending time on her land. And when she was in […]

Erika Howsare | August 29, 2018

Living

Graveyard to zipline: In Lynchburg, a varied menu of things to do

Lynchburg isn’t that far away, but a visit there really does feel like travel, given how different it is than Charlottesville. A river town intimately connected with the James, a Southern town that many people associate with conservatism rather than its opposite, a college town whose colleges exist at its fringes rather than its heart, […]

Erika Howsare | August 22, 2018

Abode Magazines

Above the bend: California meets Virginia at a riverside getaway

Barbara Stettner grew up in the wine country of northern California, but she’d been in Virginia for 15 years before she found her weekend place in Sperryville. “It’s sort of like the coastal mountains [in California],” she says, looking toward the layered Blue Ridge views. In 2011, when she and her husband, Michael Ewen, bought […]

Erika Howsare | August 2, 2018

Abode Magazines

Change is a good thing: An Albemarle family grows with their house

Over about a dozen years of living in their home on an Albemarle byway, the couple saw many changes. Their twin sons grew from age 5 to nearly 18, and the family’s use of spaces in the house changed along with the boys. More houses were built along their stretch of rural byway. And the […]

Erika Howsare | August 2, 2018

Abode Magazines

Lucky find: A vintage house brings two DIY-ers to Orange

Tonda and Mark Morriss had renovated several houses before, and they swore they were done with all that. They also thought they would downsize when they moved from Texas five years ago to be near their daughter and her family—they dreamed of a one-level house with less property to care for. “We did the opposite,” […]

Erika Howsare | August 2, 2018

Abode Magazines

Adding structure: The garden at Waterperry gains a house of glass

Katherine Kane had always imagined a greenhouse in a certain spot at her magnificent garden at Waterperry Farm in western Albemarle. And not just for sheltering plants. “There are two kinds of greenhouses,” says architect Jeff Bushman, who customized the kit that Kane bought from the English company Alitex. “There are purely service buildings, and […]

Erika Howsare | August 2, 2018