Oh, Shenandoah

Last week was my birthday, this week is Brugger's birthday, and a while back, we figured we needed to celebrate these dastardly days...somewhere, somehow. She recently had fairly serious surgery, and even while recuperating, she's been working her ass off on several freelance projects; so, we decided it was only proper to collaborate with our regular traveling companions Terry & Beth and plot an outing together. We settled on Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, a few hours north of home, where the scenery is beautiful, the mood is mellow, and the wineries, distilleries, and breweries are plentiful. Our destination: a lovely VRBO at the Wintergreen Resort, which Terry located for us. Wintergreen is best known as a ski resort, but off-season, it turns out to be very affordable and hardly any less beautiful than under a coating of snow.

 

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Today, just after lunchtime, we embarked on a three-hour tour... well, okay, a drive... mostly up U.S. Highway 29. In Gretna, just north of Danville, we stopped so I could hunt a new geocache—"The Tavern Phone" (GCB2WY0)—placed by old friend Klaussinator (a.k.a. Mike), who hails from the Danville area. Mike is known for his ingenious gadget caches, and this one proved to be another winner (the photo there will give you a good idea of what I was looking for). The setting was the historic Yates Tavern, which dates back to the year 1750. A lovely spot, and a fun cache.

 

The drive up wasn't too bad, though once on the winding, two-lane mountain roads, traffic picked up, and it was pretty slow. We arrived in Wintergreen around four o'clock, very shortly after Terry & Beth. We hung out in our lodgings for a time, enjoying the scenery, a few munchies, and a spot of wine. Six-ish, we sought dinner at a nearby restaurant called The Edge, right at the top of one of the ski runs. There weren't many patrons at the place, but the service, the drinks, and the food proved top-notch across the board. I had a dirty martini and a plate of chicken wings with hot honey, which, if it came down to it, I might be willing to kill for.

 

A mellow evening back at our lodgings, though Kimberly had to fit in some more work, as her workload is overwhelming. Still, I'm pretty sure she'd rather bring some work with her on an otherwise relaxing trip than stay home and work, work, work.

On tomorrow's docket: hitting a few wineries and getting together with old friends, writer Elizabeth Massie and artist Cortney Skinner. It's been way, way too long since we've seen them.

Living room of our Wintergreen VRBO

The traditional, first-glass-of-wine toast

A view from the balcony of our Wintergreen VRBO

The smushy cache log, signed

Friday, May 9, 2025
Hey, hey, it's Brugger's birthday! I'd given her a card and a gift before we left home, so today, she got a loving pat on the head (okay, yes, and a nice kissy). I didn't sleep in this morning; instead, I got up relatively early, downed some coffee and half a bagel, and set out walking toward a couple of geocaches less than a mile away. The mountain was pretty well socked in with fog—visibility was less than a hundred feet in any direction for a while—but as I hoofed it higher up the slope, the sun began to burn away the mist. Sadly, most of the caches in the vicinity have enough did-not-find logs to suggest they're missing, but I proceeded to search anyway. The first one, not unexpectedly, was a bust. The second one had a higher difficulty rating, so I expected something a bit unusual. It lurked at an overlook along the hiking trail, which offered a helluva fine view.

 

I hunted for a good while before I finally noticed something a little out of place. And, indeed, that was the cache. The logsheet was a smushy, damp mess but I still managed to get my "Damned Rodan" signature on it (shortened to "DR" in this case, as you can see in the photo). A happy success here. Yay!

It wasn't exactly hot outside, but very humid, and by Yog, we are on a mountain! In places, a very steep mountain. So, by the time I hoofed it back to our lodgings, I looked like I'd been dumped in a dirty swimming pool. The shower that followed felt pretty heavenly.

Heading out on the misty trail

Overlooking one of the ski slopes as the fog burns away

Once everyone had fixed themselves up as much as they could be fixed, we headed out to explore the Shenandoah Valley wine country. Before any wining, though, we needed lunch, so we found a place that looked apt: the Iron & Ale tavern, just down the mountain a ways at a golf course. Decent enough food and drink, and there was a cache on the premises. Woot. After foodz, we headed to Flying Fox Winery, in nearby Afton. We all had flights so we could sample several of their available vintages, and in general, we were pleased with their offerings; Flying Fox is the only winery I've ever been to that produces vermouth (it's all sweet here rather than dry). I found it enjoyable enough.

From there, we trucked over to Hazy Mountain Vineyards & Brewery. This was an expansive facility, with a touch of Spanish decor; a little incongruous with the setting, we thought, but it was comfortable, and the views of the nearby mountains were incredible. Good, though not superlative wine.

Once done there, we had a little time before we were supposed to meet Cortney & Beth, and the prospect of some coffee appealed to the lot of us. On the map, we found a Trager Brothers Coffee Shop about ten minutes down the road, so we decided to go for it. Somewhat to our surprise, we found ourselves at the Rockfish Valley Community Center, and at first, we thought we must have ended up at the wrong place. But no! The building, which looked like an old school, actually has a bunch of stuff in it—a thrift store, various artisan studios, a recreation area, and...coffee! We snagged some Juan Valdez and sat outside, where we made the acquaintance of several friendly dogs who were hanging out and playing with their owners. What a cool and unexpected discovery this was.

 

Then we rode up to Blue Mountain Brewery to meet Cortney & Beth, whom I don't believe we have seen in person since the Scares That Care convention in Williamsburg in 2019. They arrived at the restaurant just before us, so we settled ourselves at a nice outside table and commenced to making mischief (and maybe a little merry). The food hit the spot—for me, a pepper jelly and bacon burger with a Full Nelson IPA to accompany. Stories aplenty flew left and right, and I think we all got on famously. Silly us, though—we were having such a good time that none of us thought to take any pictures. I guess that's what happens when you get old and your mind starts slipping....

 

That was pretty much it for the frivolities. Our gang returned to our lodgings, where Brugger buckled down to do some work and I did the requisite blogging. Here 'tis.

And so...till tomorrow.

It's Brugger's birthday! Look at that old lady!

Is not their birthdays, but they still old

The view from the terrace at Hazy Mountain Vineyards

Strangest-looking bunch of vultures ever

I think I found a little wood pecker

Saturday, May 10, 2025
Once awake, caffeinated, and dressed, I set out walking after a couple of caches in the opposite direction I went yesterday. It was a bit farther—and a hell of a lot steeper—than yesterday morning's stroll. This here IS a mountain! My caching results were basically the same as yesterday: one find and one DNF (again, the container is clearly missing). If I put this much energy into my walks every day, I'd either be healthier than a horse or dead.

Ms. Beth wasn't feeling up to the local winery tour we had originally envisioned, so we opted to go exploring...wherever. A little later...and, why, yes, we found ourselves at some interesting locations. Our first stop was at Bold Rock Cidery, not far out of Wintergreen, where Brugger and I both tried the Imperial Berry Cider, which we found right pleasing (she even bought a six-pack to bring home). For our lunch vittles, I went for some very good smoked chicken wings, and Brugger had some kind of salad thingy.

You know, since the days that I used to travel regularly between Greensboro and Waynesboro, this area has grown immensely; back when, there was little but farmland, woods, and a handful of mercantile establishments. I do typically frown on rampant commercial development, but hereabouts, the developers have largely blended the structures into the environment rather than destroyed it, and these businesses bring in considerable tourist dollars; so, to my mind, that's the best of all worlds. 

From there, we decided to venture into Waynesboro and see if we might come upon any interesting shops or bars. Not so much, at least in downtown, though I did find a cool geocache fashioned by a couple of cachers who go by the handle of Emvirginia—none other than friends Cortney & Beth. So, we decided to head over to nearby Staunton, which is home to numerous writers and artists of my acquaintance. I thought seriously about giving them a holler, but since this was such a spur-of-the-moment decision, it seemed a somewhat awkward proposition. Therefore, Ms. B. and I resolved that we should make a special trip here in the not-too-distant future, specifically to hang out with these folks who clearly need hanging out with.

We found Staunton to be a fairly hopping place. The main downtown streets were closed to traffic, and the local bars and eateries took over the spaces. I snagged a few caches, and then we plopped ourselves in a lovely little bistro called Accordia, where we sampled several spirits, followed by coffee, at least for Terry and me. Great atmosphere and service, so I recommend this place highly.

Afterward, I found a few Adventure Lab Cache stages, and then we hit the road back to Wintergreen. On this leg, we took Mount Torrey Road, which was one of the most scenic, secluded back roads I've traveled in a long time. There was a cache at Mt. Torrey Furnace, a historic location that caught my eye, so we stopped so I could hunt it. I found it quickly, and all of us really enjoyed the unexpected discovery.

By now, it was dinnertime, so we again hit The Edge at Wintergreen Resort. I did have another of their first-rate martinis, but I at least ate marginally healthier this time—a green salad with beets, red peppers, mandarin oranges, and grilled chicken, which I found delicious. Brugger had some kind of a salad thingy.

Once back at our lodgings, we settled in for the rest of the evening. Brugger had work to do, and I had blogging to do. Terry chowed on some leftover cheesecake, and I drank coffee (which might be a mistake at this hour; we shall see).

We head back home tomorrow. I'm gonna call this trip another big winner in the annals of trips with our Creeple Peoples. The lunacy was delicious from start to finish.

Creeple People at Bold Rock Cidery

L: Wonder who might have done this clever thing! R: Saturday afternoon in downtown Staunton

The remains of the old Mount Torry Iron Furnace