After dancing, Kayla and I headed over to Heartwood to peruse some Appalachian crafts (and to eat some lunch). But we got sidetracked on the way by a sign bound to tug any homesteader astray: "Plant sale."

The Virginia Highlands Community College has a large greenhouse system, and they were taking advantage of visitors attending the Virginia Highlands Festival to show off their space (and to move a few plants to new homes). At 25 to 50 cents per plant, I splurged on about a dozen broccoli and brussels sprouts to add a bit of security to my own tardy plantings, and Kayla picked out some fall greens and flowers.

But the most intriguing feature of the greenhouse wasn't for sale. Instead, a large aquaponics setup was filled with huge koi living happily in water filtered through the growing medium beneath a slew of plants. Granted, both fish and greenery were purely ornamental, but it was still intriguing to finally see an aquaponics system in action.

And that --- plus some chocolate --- filled up our girl's day out to the brim. Kayla called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Do you think that means she's never getting in the car with me again?