Oh, Shenandoah...Again

Back in May, friends/regular travel companions, Terry & Beth, joined Brugger and me for a few days' sojourn in the wine country of central Virginia, with our headquarters at the Wintergreen Resort. On that trip, we were able to enjoy a brief but mighty nice dinner and visit with long-time friends, artist Cortney Skinner & author Elizabeth Massie. Well, that was really too little of a good thing, so Ms. B. and I decided we must return to the scene of the crime, and this time bring on board as much of the local talent as possible. This area of the Shenandoah—Staunton and Waynesboro in particular—is home to several writers and artists, all of whom I've called friends for many years. Apart from Cortney & Beth, we have Keith Minnion, Nanci & Phil Kalanta, Dave & Trudi Simms, and Matt & Deena Warner (the latter of whom did a great job redesigning my website earlier this year). We plotted a reasonably massive gathering in advance, while leaving the rest of an extended weekend for Brugger and me to wander about, discover spirits & vittles, go antiquing, hunt geocaches, and do whatever deviant things our teeny minds might concoct.

Thursday, October 16, 2025

This morning, Ms. B. and I mounted up and set forth for Wintergreen, stopping for a few geocaches, lunch in Lynchburg (Chili's), and some provisions at the Wintergreen Market. Our little VRBO is cozy, convenient to all the local amenities (wineries, breweries, cideries, and restaurants) as well as our friends. We arrived right at check-in time (3:00 p.m.) and made ourselves at home. Happily, our host provided us with plenty of necessities (like coffee), and as you can see in the photo above, we put some of our own provisions to good use.

For dinner, we trucked over to The Edge, which we'd enjoyed immensely on our previous visit. This time was equally good. A damn fine gin martini, I can tell you, and a hell of a good turkey burger with bacon. Afterward, Ms. B. and I retired to our lodgings, where had some cheesecake and a smidgen of wine for dessert. And we watched No One Gets Out Alive, which we'd seen before, but found it enjoyably creepy.

 

A most satisfying inaugural evening, to say the least. Till tomorrow.

Friday, October 17, 2025

Hey, it's a geocaching morning! I rose early, before Ms. B. even stirred, had a quick breakfast and coffee, and then set out for a cache less than half a mile from our lodgings, at least as the crow flies. Damn, those lucky crows. I took a shortcut down to the trail, as it was only a couple of hundred yards behind our place, but what a couple of hundred yards. Steep, steep terrain, mostly covered with mountain laurel, and if you've ever bushwhacked through mountain laurel then you probably understand how abusive its whip-like branches are. SWAT! WHACK! THWACK! Gracious!

Once on the trail proper, I had to cross about a dozen contour lines on the map, and we're talking terrain that is steep, rocky, and slickery with leaves. So, with all the winding up and down, that less than half a mile turned into a full mile-plus, with every step requiring a lot of caution. No kidding, a bad step in such terrain could have dire consequences.

But let me tell you, what gorgeous terrain it was. Fall color is far more advanced in these woods than in the neighboring areas. There's a flowing stream near the trail with some nice waterfalls. And when I finally arrived at the cache, I found it in good condition. Understandably, it doesn't get much business out in that area, but it was certainly worth the effort. (I don't think I paused as often to rest when I hiked nine rugged miles at McAfee Knob to get my 10,000th cache a few years back.)

Near the cache (Foraldeliben's Treasure, GC8VWBQ)

After this adventure, Brugger and I stopped at the nearby market to pick up a few picnic provisions, and then we drove down to Valley Road Vineyards, not too far away. Here we found some pretty good local wine. Our timing was good because, just as we started our picnic, a passel of tour buses pulled in with several passels of people, which just about filled up the place.

Our next destination was a couple of geocaches on the outskirts of Waynesboro, then into Staunton, a few miles farther on. Brugger went antiquing, and I went...caching. Found several fun ones, but then I realized my phone was nearly dead—and my spare external battery was completely dead. Thankfully, I was done caching for the afternoon. Anyhoo, Ms. B. and I met up again at Accordia Wine Bar, which we had discovered on our trip here in May. A little liquid refreshment hit the spot here.

Valley Road Winery

Overlooking the valley from just outside of Waynesboro

Finally, we came to the most compelling reason for our visit—meeting our crowd of ne'er-do-well friends at Thai Staunton restaurant. Keith Minnion and Dave & Trudi Simms couldn't make it, but Matt & Deena Warner brought their sons, Owen and Thomas, so our table was pretty well filled up. The food and service here were fantastic, and the company was the best there is. There were lots of memories between all of us as well as many newer stories to tell. After dinner, we hopped a couple of doors down to Kline's Ice Cream Shop, had sweet treats, and yammered a whole bunch more.

Finally, we all parted ways, and Brugger and I drove the spooky, dark backroads to our lodgings. It was quite a day, to say the least, and the evening gathering could hardly have been more fun and mentally/emotionally refreshing.

We started watching The Ritual, which is a cool, creepy film just right for the season, but since we were both tired and about ready to pack it in, we stopped halfway, figuring we'll finish it tomorrow night. I managed to stay up long enough to finish today's blog entry.

I foresee another possibly rugged hike in the morning. G'night.

Front: Thomas, Deena, Matt, Nanci, Phil; Back: Cortney, Beth, Owen, Ms. B., Old Dude

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Today, the No Kings Protests will be held all over the country, and if we were at home, Brugger and I would certainly be taking part in the Martinsville gathering. We'd thought about going to one in Staunton, but we ended up getting a very late start this morning, and we wouldn't have been able to make it in time. We are kind of sorry to have missed it. Anyway...I can absolutely assure you, those of us who protest this regime do NOT hate America. Quite the opposite. We protest the burgeoning autocracy. We protest the disregard for the rule of law and the US Constitution. We protest the escalating attacks on our free speech. We protest the demonization of those who disagree with the extreme right's imposition of its policies of pure self-interest. If you don't see this happening, right smack right in front of you; if you somehow see protest as hating America; or if you say, "If you don't like it, then leave," you are truly too brainwashed, too dim-witted to be reasoned with. This country IS my home, and I don't leave my home because it needs one hell of a house-cleaning. Right now, it surely does.

Here in Wintergreen, first thing this morning, I set out on foot after a cache at an overlook about a mile away. It wasn't a rugged hike like yesterday, but the ups and downs are still pretty extreme right here on the mountainside. At ground zero, my coordinates bounced me all over the place for a while, but I finally homed in on an apt-looking spot. Sure enough, I found a hook where the cache would have resided, but...no cache! Dammit. Anyway, I scratched around the area for quite a while with my hikey stick and finally turned up the container buried in the leaves. So, I signed the log and re-hid the cache where it was supposed to be. Ah, success!

 

Just as I completed my task, a nice lady approached me and asked if I was geocaching. I said that indeed I was, and she told me someone she knew hid this particular cache. She didn't know that much about caching overall, so I explained a few of its finer points. I've been at this activity now for over 17 years, and I still have the bug. I don't see it ever going away

Brugger and I soon headed out for brunch at Beltie's, a nice farmhouse-type restaurant where they also have Beltie cows! Big and cute, I'd call 'em. Some of them quite enjoyed being petted. I had a bucket of coffee and a fried chicken, pimento cheese, habanero-bacon jam, and arugula biscuit, which was so good I just about hollered.

From there, we found wine at Afton Mountain Vineyards, which was decent. Their best wine was a blend called Bacco, presumably from "Tobacco," since it had the distinctive and very agreeable aroma and taste of rich tobacco. That made me very happy. Then we headed over to King Family Vineyards in Crozet, where we ended up sitting with a very nice couple who live in the area but have traveled all over the world. We shared quite a few enjoyable travel tales. The wine was generally very good, particularly their blend called Seven. And finally, we topped off our little winery tour at a beautiful place called Chiswell Farm & Winery. It's probably the most scenic winery I've ever visited, and their Meritage wine was superb. The images below are from Chiswell.

From there, we drove down to the old Crozet Tunnel, now known as the Blue Ridge Tunnel. It's an old railroad tunnel cut clean through the mountain, almost a mile in length. It's now a rail trail, and yes, there was a geocache. Interestingly, Ms. B. happened upon it quite by accident. We really loved going through the tunnel—it's very dark and very chilly (and in some places, quite damp). When we arrived, it was pretty crowded, but by the time we left, the sun was going down, and we were damned near the last living souls at the place, which made it almost—and very agreeably—creepy.

L: Southeastern tunnel entrance; R: Ms. B. dancing in the dark

L: The Blue Ridge Tunnel is almost a mile from end to end; R: the northwestern tunnel entrance

Once we departed the the tunnel, we found dinner at a fairly new pizza restaurant called Trinacria, which was right next to Beltie's. The (exceptionally large "small") pizza was quite good.

Finally, we returned to our place and finished watching The Ritual, which really is a fun horror flick, and perfect for the Halloween season. Tomorrow...it's back to Ground Zero.

Peace out.

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