Blue Ridge Parkway Caching, Wining, and Dining

Since my birthday fell on last Thursday, and Brugger's birthday is next Thursday, we decided to celebrate both by heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday, primarily to visit Villa Appalaccia Winery for wine (it's our favorite winery in the region), and Chateau Morrisette for dinner (plus some more wine). There are a couple of Aventure Lab caches on the Parkway with a handful of stages at Mabry Mill, so we stopped there on our way so that I might claim them. I did. It was nice to visit the mill, which was a long-running personal & family tradition for many years, but — very sadly — the restaurant has closed, possibly permanently, though hopefully temporarily. Mabry Mill is one of the most photographed locations on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I've taken more than I can count there over the years. And I'm posting a couple of more here.

Near the Parkway, U.S. 58 is undergoing a massive construction project, and last year, we had the misfortune of being stuck on it for an exceptionally long time while the work was going on. Google Maps indicated there might be delays, so on the way up — which was rainy (and very foggy once we reached the Parkway) — rather than taking 58, the more direct route, I went up U.S. 57 to Route 8 to the Parkway. It's a bit longer, but it's somewhat more scenic, especially since the construction work has utterly destroyed the most beautiful scenery along 58. We did take 58 home since by then it was late evening, and we ran into no problems whatsoever.

At Villa Appalaccia, we encountered a large crowd, which we found surprising since the weather was pretty dismal. Regardless, Ms. B. and I sat out in our favorite location — a little walled courtyard set back from the main building in a scenic grove of trees. We met a couple of interesting gentlemen smoking cigars out there, so we buckled up and shot the shit with them for a solid hour. Turned out to be a lot of fun.

Then Ms. B. and I migrated to the nearby Chateau Morrisette restaurant, where we enjoyed a first-rate dinner (as we almost always do) — butter-poached filet mignon for me and a beet salad and French onion soup for the missus. To accompany dinner, we went with a bottle of Dry Dog red, which wasn't bad. Not bad at all.

So, it was a lovely birthday excursion. We even enjoyed the fog and rain because it offered us a somewhat haunted atmosphere. Not much could be better for a birthday celebration.

Yesterday also would have been my brother's 60th birthday. He and I shared a lot of times on the Blue Ridge Parkway in our younger days. Here's to remembering all the best times with him.