Ms. B. and I wanted to have a getaway of some variety for our fifth
anniversary, primarily just the two of us because she's had to be gone so much
to Michigan to look after her folks (not to mention on various arts &
crafts long weekends). Last year, we enjoyed two lovely trips to Wintergreen in
the mountains of Central Virginia, so we decided to return to it for our
anniversary trip. Five years ago on October 19, we we were married in Venice,
Italy; Wintergreen isn't exactly Venice, but it surely is a beautiful area,
with lots of wineries/distilleries/breweries/dining. Yep, just the place.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
During the morning, we packed up the car, and precisely at noon, off we went. Our first stop was lunch in Gretna, a little Mexican joint called El Cazador. The food was good, and they hit us with some extra-jumbo margaritas that were delicious. After all that had settled, we moved on and arrived at our lodgings in Wintergreen precisely at 4:00 p.m., our designated check-in time. It's a lovely AirBnB at the Wintergreen Resort — although, for a brief time, we wondered if we were going to be able to get inside, for the door code did not work. I messaged our host, and, happily, he saw it immediately (it was quite chilly outside). He was able to reset the code remotely, so in we went. The place is the perfect size for the two of us, cozy and fairly romantic for an anniversary stay.
During the morning, we packed up the car, and precisely at noon, off we went. Our first stop was lunch in Gretna, a little Mexican joint called El Cazador. The food was good, and they hit us with some extra-jumbo margaritas that were delicious. After all that had settled, we moved on and arrived at our lodgings in Wintergreen precisely at 4:00 p.m., our designated check-in time. It's a lovely AirBnB at the Wintergreen Resort — although, for a brief time, we wondered if we were going to be able to get inside, for the door code did not work. I messaged our host, and, happily, he saw it immediately (it was quite chilly outside). He was able to reset the code remotely, so in we went. The place is the perfect size for the two of us, cozy and fairly romantic for an anniversary stay.
Once we settled in, we popped over to the nearby market, where we picked up
a few staples, and then we trucked over to
The Edge for dinner, which is right on the ski slopes and offers some beautiful views.
Right now, the fall color isn't quite at its peak, but it's getting there.
Last year when we were here, conditions were similar; we saw minimal color, and then one morning we woke up,
looked outside, and found that autumn had exploded. Perhaps we'll be so
lucky again this year. At The Edge, we both had excellent mushroom & Swiss burgers. And they do make a damn fine martini.
Afterward, we returned to our place and settled in to watch Tales of Halloween and an episode of Cabinet of Curiosities, which satiated our craving for some Halloween-themed entertainment,
accompanied by a smidgen of wine. Then off to bed.
Monday, October 19, 2026
I got up bright and early, had coffee and a cinnamon roll, and hoofed it to a nearby geocache — one I'd been unable to find on our previous trip here — called "Exploring Wintergreen #5: Ski Fever" (GC29P8R). This time, I managed to turn it up in short order, so that was most gratifying. It was cold out there, I can tell you.
I got up bright and early, had coffee and a cinnamon roll, and hoofed it to a nearby geocache — one I'd been unable to find on our previous trip here — called "Exploring Wintergreen #5: Ski Fever" (GC29P8R). This time, I managed to turn it up in short order, so that was most gratifying. It was cold out there, I can tell you.
Brugger was awake by the time I arrived back at our lodgings. I worked on the
blog a bit until lunchtime, when we set out for
Three Notch'd Brewery & Craft Kitchen, which looked like a happy place from the info online. And indeed it was.
Their hot honey chicken wings about sent me over the moon, and they make a
dynamite Bloody Mary.
Then we rode up to Pollak Vineyards, between Waynesboro and Charlottesville, which we hadn't visited before. It's a nice spot, with several very decent white and red wines. They had a Petite Verdot that was as good as any I've ever tasted, so I picked up a bottle. From there, we headed a few miles eastward to Chiswell Farm & Winery, our favorite of the numerous wineries we'd visited on our last trip. It's a beautiful old mansion with sprawling grounds and scenic views. Plus they have very good wine. Ms. B. has turned to drinking mostly whites, so she tried a flight of whites, and I had a flight of reds. Here, I liked the Meritage marginally better than the Petite Verdot, so my favorites were flip-flopped from Pollak's. And again, a lovely experience; Chiswell is probably my favorite winery that I've visited in the Eastern U.S.
Those stops took us till dinnertime, so on the way back to Wintergreen, we found dinner at Blue Mountain Brewery, which we'd visited on previous occasions. I killed a very good pulled pork sandwich, with potato salad, and I hoped I wasn't overworking the stomach today — on trips like this, healthy eating is a rarity. Back at our place, we watched Cabin in the Woods and, after a little while, zonked out.
Then we rode up to Pollak Vineyards, between Waynesboro and Charlottesville, which we hadn't visited before. It's a nice spot, with several very decent white and red wines. They had a Petite Verdot that was as good as any I've ever tasted, so I picked up a bottle. From there, we headed a few miles eastward to Chiswell Farm & Winery, our favorite of the numerous wineries we'd visited on our last trip. It's a beautiful old mansion with sprawling grounds and scenic views. Plus they have very good wine. Ms. B. has turned to drinking mostly whites, so she tried a flight of whites, and I had a flight of reds. Here, I liked the Meritage marginally better than the Petite Verdot, so my favorites were flip-flopped from Pollak's. And again, a lovely experience; Chiswell is probably my favorite winery that I've visited in the Eastern U.S.
Those stops took us till dinnertime, so on the way back to Wintergreen, we found dinner at Blue Mountain Brewery, which we'd visited on previous occasions. I killed a very good pulled pork sandwich, with potato salad, and I hoped I wasn't overworking the stomach today — on trips like this, healthy eating is a rarity. Back at our place, we watched Cabin in the Woods and, after a little while, zonked out.
And that was how we spent our fifth anniversary. A truly lovely day for both
of us. I love you, Ms. B.!
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| Lunch at Three Notch'd Brewery |
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| The tasting room at Pollak Vineyards |
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| Chiswell Farm & Winery |
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| Wine flights at Chiswell |
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
First things first: geocaching! There was a cache about a mile down the mountain — "Top of the (Wintergreen) World!" (GC2KJWT) — on the Devil's Knob Trail — and the rather foreboding name is quite apt. The long descent by road from our place to the trailhead was steep, to be sure, but the trail... wowz. It's steeper than steep, rocky, narrow, and slippery in places, with a couple of plunges on one side that would prove fatal should one take a bad step. The terrain rating is 4 out of 5, with 5 being the most difficult, and I'd say that rating is spot-on. It was less than a quarter mile from the trailhead to the cache, but that trek took twice as long as the mile down the mountain.
First things first: geocaching! There was a cache about a mile down the mountain — "Top of the (Wintergreen) World!" (GC2KJWT) — on the Devil's Knob Trail — and the rather foreboding name is quite apt. The long descent by road from our place to the trailhead was steep, to be sure, but the trail... wowz. It's steeper than steep, rocky, narrow, and slippery in places, with a couple of plunges on one side that would prove fatal should one take a bad step. The terrain rating is 4 out of 5, with 5 being the most difficult, and I'd say that rating is spot-on. It was less than a quarter mile from the trailhead to the cache, but that trek took twice as long as the mile down the mountain.
I spent a good while searching for the cache, as ground zero was a target-rich
area. In the end, the coordinates and hint ("Just hanging out") proved very
good. Also... that last step to reach the cache was a doozy. It was one of
those long "plunges" one does not want to make. In the end, I awarded the cache a favorite point on geocaching.com for its enjoyable placement and the
challenging hike.
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| View from the overlook at the trailhead |
A couple of views of the trail
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| The cache is down there...somewhere. |
L: Living on the edge at GZ; R: That last step could be a doozy.
Having survived the Devil's Knob Trail, I hoofed it back to our place. Brugger
and I got ourselves fit to be seen in public, inasmuch as that's possible, and
drove down to the nearby market where they have a deli with really good
sandwiches. We had a couple for lunch, and then set out on the day's winery
tour. Our first stop was Flying Fox Vineyard, which we'd visited last year when we came to Wintergreen with friends Terry
& Beth. Their wines are okay, but what I most appreciate is their four
varieties of vermouth, since one isn't going to find any comparable spirits elsewhere in the area.
Then we went a short distance up the way to Veritas Vineyards, on Afton Mountain. Veritas was the first vineyard in this area we ever visited, well over a decade ago, with friends Elizabeth Massie & Cortney Skinner (whom we plan to see tomorrow). The wine here is excellent, and the facility is huge — it has expanded considerably since our first visit. We very much enjoyed our return.
Next on the docket was another visit to the Blue Ridge/Crozet Tunnel, also at the summit of Afton Mountain. We went last year when we were here and quite enjoyed the experience. It's a mile-long railroad tunnel, now part of a nice rail trail. It was cold and damp in there, but we didn't mind a bit. And at the far end, a geocache awaited, which I found with ease. Last year, we encountered a good many folks along the trail, but this time, the tunnel and trail were almost deserted. We passed only a scant handful of humans on this outing, which made it all the spookier — and thus fun.
We needed some dinner, so we found it at Devil's Backbone Brewing Company (there's a shit-ton of places with "Devil" in the name around here). It's a huge establishment, and we found the food, drink, and service quite good. I ordered fish & chips, and Ms. B. got a huge plate of roasted brussel sprouts, so we ended up sharing dinners with each other. Good stuff!
For our evening entertainment, we watched As Above, So Below, a cool horror flick we'd seen some years ago. Still very enjoyable. It's one that made me glad we had gone caving before watching this, rather than after. Since we have a fireplace and plenty of firewood, I built a fire to make things nice and cozy. Another excellent evening for Ms. B. and me!
Then we went a short distance up the way to Veritas Vineyards, on Afton Mountain. Veritas was the first vineyard in this area we ever visited, well over a decade ago, with friends Elizabeth Massie & Cortney Skinner (whom we plan to see tomorrow). The wine here is excellent, and the facility is huge — it has expanded considerably since our first visit. We very much enjoyed our return.
Next on the docket was another visit to the Blue Ridge/Crozet Tunnel, also at the summit of Afton Mountain. We went last year when we were here and quite enjoyed the experience. It's a mile-long railroad tunnel, now part of a nice rail trail. It was cold and damp in there, but we didn't mind a bit. And at the far end, a geocache awaited, which I found with ease. Last year, we encountered a good many folks along the trail, but this time, the tunnel and trail were almost deserted. We passed only a scant handful of humans on this outing, which made it all the spookier — and thus fun.
We needed some dinner, so we found it at Devil's Backbone Brewing Company (there's a shit-ton of places with "Devil" in the name around here). It's a huge establishment, and we found the food, drink, and service quite good. I ordered fish & chips, and Ms. B. got a huge plate of roasted brussel sprouts, so we ended up sharing dinners with each other. Good stuff!
For our evening entertainment, we watched As Above, So Below, a cool horror flick we'd seen some years ago. Still very enjoyable. It's one that made me glad we had gone caving before watching this, rather than after. Since we have a fireplace and plenty of firewood, I built a fire to make things nice and cozy. Another excellent evening for Ms. B. and me!
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
It wasn't exactly the crack of dawn, but I got up before Kimberly so I could have coffee and some scrambled eggs, work on the blog, and go geocaching. It wasn't a terribly restful night; my sinuses are succumbing to fall allergies, and the vast change in diet/drink over several days gave my stomach a few fits. And it ain't quite over. Anyway, about the time Ms. B. roused from bed, I set out on the mile-long downhill trek to a cache called "Sparkledust Fairy Village" (GCBR33H). It really was a little fairy village, nestled amid the trees and rocks in a small green space between the main road and one of the housing developments. It was a clever, imaginative hide, and it took me a little while to find the correct address amid the fairy houses. I liked it.
Then... the mile-long return trek up the mountain. It was nowhere near as taxing as yesterday's rugged hike, but the inclines here are nothing to laugh at, I can tell you.
It wasn't exactly the crack of dawn, but I got up before Kimberly so I could have coffee and some scrambled eggs, work on the blog, and go geocaching. It wasn't a terribly restful night; my sinuses are succumbing to fall allergies, and the vast change in diet/drink over several days gave my stomach a few fits. And it ain't quite over. Anyway, about the time Ms. B. roused from bed, I set out on the mile-long downhill trek to a cache called "Sparkledust Fairy Village" (GCBR33H). It really was a little fairy village, nestled amid the trees and rocks in a small green space between the main road and one of the housing developments. It was a clever, imaginative hide, and it took me a little while to find the correct address amid the fairy houses. I liked it.
Then... the mile-long return trek up the mountain. It was nowhere near as taxing as yesterday's rugged hike, but the inclines here are nothing to laugh at, I can tell you.
Once back, I cleaned up, downed some more caffeine, and wrote in the blog.
Then Ms. B. and I mounted up and drove to
Barren Ridge Vineyards
between Waynesboro and Staunton. It's another winery we had visited on a trip
to see Cortney and Elizabeth — back in 2014, I believe. It's a beautiful
location, and the wine is very good, particularly their Touriga and Petite
Verdot.
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| The view from the terrace |
For dinner, we chose the nearby Depot Grille. The restaurant is in the old train station, and I
recalled seeing it last year while I was geocaching in the area. What
a great choice it was: beautiful ambiance, great food, and excellent service.
I killed one of the best bison burgers I've had anywhere — and I do love me a
good bison burger. Plus they make damned fine martinis.
On a more ridiculous note, all of us neglected to take a single photo while we
were together, which was... well... ridiculous. I reckon we're all old and were so
busy chatting that we never reached for our phones. Alas!
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| The impressive bar at Depot Grille, Staunton |
After we parted company with Cortney & Beth, Kimberly was craving ice cream, so we hoofed it to
the nearby
Split Banana Ice Cream Parlor
and killed a couple of cups of the cold stuff. Yep, it was delicious.
We drove the dark, winding backroads back to our lodgings in Wintergreen, a
truly dark and eerie route, at times reminiscent of the opening scene of
Professor Harrington driving away from Lufford Hall in Night (Curse) of the Demon. Needless to say, I loved this.
We watched 2014's Ouija, which we enjoyed. We'd watched the 2016 Mike Flanagan prequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil, a couple of weeks ago; Flanagan's is a better film, but taken together, they are both
quite entertaining.
And then... lights out. G'night.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
This was the last morning of our Wintergreen anniversary trip, which made us a little sad because we've had an awesome time (except for the possible onset of a creeping crud for both of us; hoping it's allergies, but this is pretty ugly). We packed up and headed out right at 10:00 a.m. We stopped for gas in Lynchburg, and lunch at cool coffee shop called The Pod in Gretna. Quite delicious, and a fitting close to another fantastic Brugger-Rainey outing. Kimberly, especially, has needed a break from the stress of dealing with her parents and trying to gain new clients for her freelance work. Our AirBnB was fantastic, and we'll be looking forward to a return to this area next year, assuming AI hasn't gained sentience and sparked the Rise of the Machines.
This was the last morning of our Wintergreen anniversary trip, which made us a little sad because we've had an awesome time (except for the possible onset of a creeping crud for both of us; hoping it's allergies, but this is pretty ugly). We packed up and headed out right at 10:00 a.m. We stopped for gas in Lynchburg, and lunch at cool coffee shop called The Pod in Gretna. Quite delicious, and a fitting close to another fantastic Brugger-Rainey outing. Kimberly, especially, has needed a break from the stress of dealing with her parents and trying to gain new clients for her freelance work. Our AirBnB was fantastic, and we'll be looking forward to a return to this area next year, assuming AI hasn't gained sentience and sparked the Rise of the Machines.
I'll be back.
