Sargent Shriver Remembered at Wake in DC: MyFoxDC.com

It was our humble privilege to transport the extended Shriver and Kennedy families to the funeral of R. Sargent Shriver, whom Fox 5 News described as “an energetic idealist who left a legacy of public service.”

Among the hundreds who paid their respects at a wake at Holy Trinity Catholic church in Washington DC last Friday were his daughter, Maria Shriver, and son-in-law, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shriver, the brother-in-law of President John Kennedy and the late Sens. Robert and Edward Kennedy, died last week at the age of 95.

His funeral Mass took place Saturday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, Maryland, where mourners included celebrities and political figures alike.

According to the Washington Post,

“Fifty years ago, President Kennedy told us we should ask what we can do for our country,” (former President) Clinton told the gathering. “A whole generation of us understood what President Kennedy meant by looking at Sargent Shriver’s life.”

Shriver was buried later Saturday in Hyannis, Mass., alongside his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

We traveled along Loudoun’s country backroads to enjoy tastings at four destinations, including the original and newest wineries in DC’s Wine Country: Casanel Vineyards, Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard and Willowcroft Farm Vineyard.

Joining us on the tour were:

Tammi Marcoullier, a media and content strategy consultant in Loudoun who launched the popular blog, Living in LoCo, as an editor and consultant to WashingtonPost.com. Tammi currently posts regularly on her blog InsideOut, Facebook and Twitter.

Audrey McGill, a freelance designer of Web sites and blogs who writes about family life and travels in northern Virginia and beyond on her blog The McGill Family, Facebook and Twitter

Dezel Quillen, author of a Loudoun Magazine three-part series on the Loudoun Wine Trail, who has visited dozens of wineries and vineyards in the region. Besides his blog, My Vine Spot, Dezel also is a regular contributor to the official Virginia Wine Lover newsletter.

Joe Roberts, a certified wine specialist from the greater Philadelphia area and author of the book How to Taste Like a Wine Geek: The 1WineDude Tasting Guide. Joe writes mini-reviews on Twitter in addition to his blog, 1 Wine Dude.

Kathy and Terry Sullivan of Maryland, who travel around the country visiting wineries and writing about them for Wine Trail Traveler, their virtual visitor center. Terry also is a regular contributor to Examiner.com as the Baltimore Wine Trail Examiner and on Twitter.

Casanel Vineyards's tasting room, a restored 1800s stone barn

Our first stop was Casanel Vineyards, where the Dave Pepper band was setting up for a performance on the outdoor patio. Inside, Kathleen DeSouza, her daughter Anna, and Anna’s husband Elliotte played host behind the bar, offering tastings of their 2007 Chegada and 2008 Batucada wines.

Nelson DeSouza, left, explains renovations in the lower level of the stone barn

Family patriarch Nelson DeSouza, meanwhile, proudly showed off his handiwork in the tasting facility, from the renovations to the 1800s stone barn to the bar and tables he made himself. The native of Brazil, who had retired from the construction business, regaled our group with tales of his life, explaining the history and meaning behind the names of his vintages.

Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery

It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we had another winery to visit: Dry Mill Vineyards & Winery, Loudoun’s newest winery. Owners Dean and Nancy Vanhuss had lovingly restored a historic stable and barn that was once home to the horses and dogs of the Loudoun Hunt Club, converting it to a tasting room on the main floor and a wonderful space for events upstairs.

Brett and Julia, How Merlot Can You Go bloggers

Upon entering the tasting room, we recognized a young couple at the bar: Brett and Julie, who recently launched a new wine blog, How Merlot Can You Go. Introductions to the Marine Corps lieutenant and molecular geneticist were made all ’round, and our group set about sampling from Dry Mill’s tasting menu, whose 2007 Cabernet Franc was a top pick of the day for some of the bloggers.

Dean Vanhuss

A light drizzle sprang up as we concluded our Dry Mill visit, but our intrepid driver James handily navigated the road leading to our next destination, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard.

Coming Thursday: Part 2 of the Reston Limousine Blogger’s Wine Tour

Reston Limousine offers Public Wine Tours every weekend; to view a schedule of tours, please visit www.restonlimo.com.

Founded by legendary player Billie Jean King, WTT combines the biggest names in tennis in co-ed teams. The Washington Kastles are the newest team, and upcoming home matches include July 21 against the New York Buzz and July 22 against the Springfield Lasers.

In addition to Serena Williams, Reston Limo also has driven around town her sister Venus, who plays for the Philadelphia Freedoms, and Anna Kournikova, who plays for the St. Louis Aces.

Ride in style with Reston Limousine like the tennis pros to the upcoming home matches, as well as the Finals, which take place at Kastles Stadium on July 26. To reserve your driver and vehicle, visit www.restonlimo.com.

The event served to pay tribute to blacks in all aspects of work. Honorees were Alicia Keys (Entertainment), Tyra Banks (Media), Dr. Cornel West (Inspirational/Education), Richard Parsons (Corporate), the Honorable Maxine Waters (Government) and CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd (Entrepreneur). The BET Honors will air on February 22nd, 2008 and is hosted by Cedric the Entertainer with performances by: John Legend, Jill Scott, Ne-Yo, Wyclef, and Raheem DeVaughn.

We also worked with Paul as he hosted and attended multiple events last weekend. He hosted a small event for a few friends and some of the Washington Wizard’s wives that featured Wyclef Jean and his sister Melky discussing their non-profit work in Haiti. From there Erik took the group to Love Nightclub to enjoy Wyclef’s concert. Accompanying Paul was Jaslene Gonzales, the most recent winner of America’s Next Top Model.

On Saturday night, Jaslene hosted the “Teens Count: School Fashion Battle” event at DAR Constitution Hall. Paul served as a judge, and there were many great sponsors including the CW network, the Washington Post and WPGC 95.5. We were happy to serve Paul and his entourage for these high-class events, and look forward to engaging in future business with him. It’s wonderful to be able to help out for such great causes and people.

It’s always great to work with famous people, especially ones that have roots tied to the Washington, D.C. area

While famous for his vast fortune and running for president during both the ’92 and ’96 elections, Ross is truly a nice, down to earth man. Ahead of his time, he founded Electronic Data Systems back in 1962 and grew that company until a $2.4 billion buyout by General Motors in 1984.

What I thought was so interesting about him, is that he used to request a crown Victoria. He did not like Lincoln town cars, he preferred something less fancy and he insisted on sitting up front with the driver. I doubt many billionaires are this humble.

Not one for sightseeing, Ms. Derek just rode back and forth to the venue for three days, nor did she go out to eat or visit anywhere besides the hotel and Constitution hall. We hope to see more of Bo because she is was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by President George W. Bush.