I've been to every Custard Stand location in the state, so I was shocked when we passed one in Summersville that I had never seen before.

Despite the rainy day, I knew I had to try this location out! Ice cream was calling my name.




Of course, it was hard to bypass a hotdog with chili this visit. Next time.



I stared at all the flavors for quite some time before ultimately choosing maple.



And that's a small cone! Yum. What's your favorite flavor?

A chilly, wet day couldn't stop me from finally seeing Kirkwood Winery's 25th Annual Grape Stomping Wine Festival -- and, of course, finding some good local grub afterward.

After stomping on some grapes, we headed out to Long Point Grille & Bar in Mount Nebo at Summesrville Lake. The wooden cabin-esque building was a nice refuge from the torrential downpour.

And as soon as we stepped inside, the server greeted us and told us to have a seat wherever we'd like. I, as per usual, selected a booth near the window (better for photos). The inside is charming, in a sense. Lots of light wood, and it seems to be a nice deck outside for when the weather is nice.

The menu has some fried appetizers, like jalapeno poppers (this is when I discovered heather's love for jalapeno poppers). They have sandwiches and salads, as well as a bunch of different kinds of pizzas and calzones - and the pizzas can be made into calzones!

Heather ordered the jalapeno poppers, and she may have uttered the word "life-changing." These did not have cream cheese - rather, they had cheddar cheese and the jalapeno was chopped up into bits instead of one large piece.

She let me steal one, and they were pretty tasty.

For my entree, I ordered a calzone with crispy chicken (I saw this as an option on one of the pizzas) and mushrooms. You can also opt to turn one of their pizzas into a calzone, which Heather did with the Greek pizza (hers has a balsamic glaze that you can see in the photo at the top of this post). I also got a side of mac & cheese because of course I did.

And my calzone was really good. Large, perfectly light crisp dough on the outside and hot and fresh inside. Tons of delicious pieces of chicken and mushrooms, and I asked for a side of marinara dipping sauce, which just combined everything perfectly. The mac & cheese was a doctored up Kraft - cheesier. Not even gonna complain about that.


For dessert, I went with a piece of peanut butter pie. Wow. Delicious. I think I set this restaurant up to achieve, between the calzone, mac & cheese and peanut butter pie. But they hit it out of the park on all three. That, and our server was one of the best. So kind, accommodating and on her game. I'd definitely go back while in the Summersville Lake area.

Grade: A

There are a few well-known festivals around the state that I haven't had a chance to visit yet: Blues Brews and BBQ at Snowshoe, Brew Skies and, until this weekend, Kirkwood Winery's 25th Annual Grape Stomping Wine Festival.

So, I have been to Kirkwood Winery a few times now, but I've always wanted to see the Grape Stomping Wine Festival, because, I mean, how often do you get to see people stomping grapes?

Since the winery first opened in 1992, it has been host to the Kirkwood Grape Stomping Festival held each year on the third weekend in September. Kirkwood Winery strives to maintain a strong family atmosphere during the festival believing it to be the most conducive environment for the continuing preservation of Appalachian history and culture. The goal of the festival continues to be the selection and promotion of the very best of the multi-talented people of West Virginia, most of whom provide demonstrations of their artistic and musical gifts.

The festival had food vendors, artisans, wine-tasting and live music. All of this, plus your wine glass, for $12. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty consistently all day, so there wasn't a ton of dancing. And, our time there mostly consisted of running from tent to tent to try wines and check out the rest of the festival.

But, what I mostly wanted to see was the grape stomping. They have little contests of grape eating and grape stomping throughout the day. And, there is this large communal stomping pit that the kids kind of dominated.

So, I asked if we could stomp in our own buckets just for fun - not as part of a contest, because lord knows between the rain and balance, I would not be able to stay upright (aka this). The woman was so kind and filled our buckets up with extra grapes. Mine had mostly purple; Heather's had a nice mix of green and purple. But the purple gave off more juice, so if this WERE a competition... I think I would've won. Muahaha.

Stomping grapes is a weird sensation. It's, well, exactly how you think it would feel. Little cold, wet, orbs that pop when you exert pressure. But, I mean, how often do you get the chance to do something like this? Not often.

Have you been? What was your favorite part?

I scream, you scream, we all scream ... for Fat Eddie's!

The ice cream shop located at the Summersville Lake (technically in Mt Nebo) is open seasonally, so when I recently had to travel through the area, I had to stop while I had the chance.

Well, is there anything that says simply summer more than an ice cream stand, hot dogs, a hot sunshiney day and a beautiful lake? A group of teenagers doling out ice cream as their summertime job, dirt-cheap prices and overflowing portions? No, no there isn't.

So, I ordered a hot dog (with an English bun) topped with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. When I asked the girl taking my order what her favorite ice cream was, she directed me the "mudslide" storm, which has vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, Heath bar and hot fudge on top.

The hot dog was delicious. I love the toasted English bun, and the toppings were plentiful and perfectly portioned. The mudslide was delicious (mental note: Always listen to the teenagers' ice cream recommendations). It combined a few of my favorite things and ended up in a delicious mix that is even more than the sum of its parts.

Before the last days of summer slip through our fingers, get yourself to an ice cream stand - preferably Fat Eddie's - and treat yourself one last time for the season.

Grade: A

Kirkwood Winery is a mainstay at the wine festivals around the state. They tend to have lots of fruity, sweet wines, but they also carry some others you might cook with - ramp wine or dandelion. They have apple, blush, blackberry, cherry, peach, pear, blueberry, currant, raspberry, plum, elderberry, grapple, ginseng and even more.

Kirkwood Winery is also home to the Isaiah Morgan Distillery, which is southern West Virginia's first mini-distillery that crafts rye, southern moon and grappa spirits.

I really liked the blackberry wine, the peach and the plum, too. If you like a sweeter wine, this is your place. The shop also has some other trinkets; I picked up a wine glass. Overall, a nice little stop if you find yourself in Summersville!

Tastings are free. Business hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After my first Bridge Day and visit to Babcock State Park with Mary Kay, we were searching around for a place to have lunch. We were on the north side of the bridge, so it would be tough for us to get to any Fayetteville restaurants. Which is a bummer because there are a lot of good ones there.

Summersville it was. Maloney's Sports Pub & Grill had some good reviews, so we made our way there. There just happened to be a WVU game on, so it was quite ... active inside. The waitress handed us some menus and helped us out a bit.

Appetizer - fried ravioli. Crunchy, deep-fried with marinara. Not culinarily high-brow, but tasty.

Entree - bacon and blue burger. My burger came with bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. The patty was cooked well and thin in the middle with upturned edges. But when it's piled with blue cheese, tomato, lettuce and onion, all I can taste is deliciousness. Fries weren't bad.

Overall, sports bar-esque food, but good.

Grade: B