Initially I thought the museum would be all indoors with displays of like Native American baskets, frontier wagons, and farm tools. Instead the first part consisted of a series of houses -- many that were transferred piece by piece from their original locations -- depicting the lives of settlers prior to coming to the US. The second half depicted Native American life as well as the progression of frontier life -- from single log cabin to a much nicer log house with a one-room school. Period dressed reenactors were at each station working on crafts, tending the farm, and/or answering questions. I wanted to look and touch (and photograph) every little detail and what made this place even more awesome was that you could touch and interact with pretty much everything. We have been pretty obsessed with the BBC historical farm tv series lately and had a major nerd out moment when we got to the Irish Farm. It was set up almost exactly like the Edwardian Farm! Too vague a reference? If you like period houses and recreated villages (obviously we do) then you'll love this place. And if you don't, it's still a really beautiful place to walk around. We only really planned on spending an hour or so there but we lost track of time and found ourselves there for nearly three hours. I guess we must have really enjoyed it.
goats!!!! duck mafia will you just look at that buttery light Sly: "You look so happy on a farm. Maybe we should live on one?" Me: "Can we have pigs and goats and dogs and cats?" We always seem to find little friends wherever we go Note: Sly took the bulk of these photos. After breakfast we poured over an area brochure found in the hotel lobby. Natural Bridge Park looked promising and wasn't too far. Then we checked the ticket price and never mind. Why was the admission to Natural Bridge Park more expensive than entrance into Shenandoah NP? Instead we went with option number two: Frontier Museum. Initially I thought the museum would be all indoors with displays of like Native American baskets, frontier wagons, and farm tools. Instead the first part consisted of a series of houses -- many that were transferred piece by piece from their original locations -- depicting the lives of settlers prior to coming to the US. The second half depicted Native American life as well as the progression of frontier life -- from single log cabin to a much nicer log house with a one-room school. Period dressed reenactors were at each station working on crafts, tending the farm, and/or answering questions. I wanted to look and touch (and photograph) every little detail and what made this place even more awesome was that you could touch and interact with pretty much everything. We have been pretty obsessed with the BBC historical farm tv series lately and had a major nerd out moment when we got to the Irish Farm. It was set up almost exactly like the Edwardian Farm! Too vague a reference? If you like period houses and recreated villages (obviously we do) then you'll love this place. And if you don't, it's still a really beautiful place to walk around. We only really planned on spending an hour or so there but we lost track of time and found ourselves there for nearly three hours. I guess we must have really enjoyed it. Frontier Culture Museum / $10 adult/$6 child. (I could have sworn it was cheaper than this when we went but this is what the website says // If you're the type of person that likes places like colonial Williamsburg, Renfests, and the Tenement Museum, then you'll pretty much love this place. I think any kid (or kid at heart) would go nuts here because you can touch and play with everything! Bonus points if you can recognize all the reenactors on site that are in the video they show before you tour the grounds. Additionally, there are a bunch of special events that sound really cool -- sheep shearing, lantern tours, holiday workshops. The grounds are pretty expansive and there are a couple of trails that you can explore. If, however, you don't feel like walking, there's a little golf cart shuttle that will take you from point to point. There is a little artisan workroom at the old dairy farm. We didn't explore this (not sure if you can) but a lot of artisans seem to work onsite making things like period furniture and crafts, some of which can be found in the gift shop. TIP: bring a picnic lunch. There are lots of picnic tables throughout.
0 Comments
"Can you just take a normal picture for once?" Answer: Nope. Vintage vibe? Check. Awesome old-school signage? Check. Family owned since 1952? Check. A real drive-in with a name like "Dairy-Rite"? Check. Old fashioned hamburgers served in friggin' wax paper served car-side? Check, check, and check. Malted shakes? Check. Excuse me while I squeal with delight. So many favorites in one place in Staunton of all places. Of course we were gonna go here. And of course we loved it. Every last delicious bite. DETAILS Wright's Dairy-Rite (check out that awesome commercial on their site) / Inexpensive // Mostly burgers, fries and shakes but they also have healthier options like hummus and fruit // These burgers were similar in style/taste to an In-n-Out burger which, depending on your burger preference, you will either love or hate. We loved. But then even if the burgers were just ok I would have still probably loved this place. Like movie drive-ins, establishments like these are a dying breed, so whenever we find one we have to stop and check it out. We aren't big meat eaters but when we do eat meat (mostly in the form of burgers, my weakness) we like to make sure its special. To me, places like these are not so much about the food as they are about being able to touch (and taste!) a piece of the past. Highly recommended. TIP: If you don't want to eat in your car, you can order and sit down inside, or sit outside. There's also a little grassy hill beside the parking lot where we saw a couple enjoying their food. This looked like a pretty awesome spot too.
With Old Rag *finally* checked off the list we decided to explore the area a bit and check another item off our mental East Coast to do list: see a play at Blackfriars Playhouse. As it was a game time decision we didn't have reservations or tickets or really much of a plan at all. We parked in a gas station parking lot and looked up a few motels/hotels before deciding to stay at the HoJos, one of two places near downtown Staunton. We took hot showers, made post-theatre reservations at one of the nicer restaurants in town, got ready, then walked 10 minutes into town admiring all the beautiful architecture along the way. We caught a few songs from a street musician and then slipped into a coffee shop for coffee and a light meal before the play. Blackfriars Playhouse was a total surprise. I mean, we saw photos online but they didn't compare at all to being there. I think our reactions were, "whoa, this is pretty cool." I may have also said, "wouldn't it be cool if we lived here?" We opted for the cheap seats, but they were actually really great -- first row balcony, practically hovering over the center of the stage. A lively band played and sang their hearts out prior to the show. We only realized after that they were also the actors! As for the play -- we saw Edward II written by Christopher Marlowe -- and it was really good, Staunton -- who knew? What a cute little village-like town with lots of dining options hippie markets, a main street with all kinds of shops, street buskers, a Shakespeare theater, and gorgeous historic architecture for days. DETAILS Howard Johnsons // approx $70/night // The main selling points are that this motel is pretty cheap and really close to town whereas most of the other motels in the same price range are located closer to the highway. There's also plenty of free parking. The rooms are dated, like I'm almost positive the bathrooms are original, but there have been updates to the building (though I was really hoping the vintage orange and teal zig zag car port would be intact -- it was not) and there's a decent continental breakfast, a pool, and washing machines. It's a pretty good value, considering. All of the rooms share a long balcony with pretty nice views of the city, especially from the upper levels.
Stonewall Jackson Hotel // $120-$200/night // This was obviously our first chose, but not having prior reservations we were told that the only room they had available cost $199/nt. I'm assuming this was a peak season/fall foliage/weekend rate? At more than 2x the HoJo rate we opted for the cheaper option. Location wise it cannot be beat -- it's right in the heart of town, right next to Blackfriars and a block from the main street with all the shops. I love old historic hotels so maybe one day we'll be back, just in the off-season. The By & By // Cafe/Coffee // Inexpensive // We stopped here before Blackfriars to get some caffeine in our bodies. What I loved: cute place, great location, lots of vegetarian/healthier menu items, and our drinks were huge. There is also the cutest little beer garden out back. What I didn't love: they charged an extra dollar for splitting a plate, which we didn't realize until after we ordered. I only wanted, and had, a bite of Sly's sandwich, so that was off-putting. I would kind of understand if we were they type of people that wanted to use free wi-fi all day by just ordering one sandwich between 4 people, but we weren't. Anyway, obviously a pet peeve of mine. Cranberry's Grocery & Eatery // Inexpensive // I love my hippie marts and was surprised (?) to find that Staunton had such a good one. In addition to health/organic foods they have a pretty sizeable menu of coffee and breakfast and lunch cafe items. Zynodoa // Farm=to-Table American / Expensive // This restaurant was right up our alley -- we are suckers for local, organic, seasonal, etc and after reading all the positive reviews and after visiting their website, we were super excited to eat here. Reservations on a Saturday were pretty easy and they are used to seating a post-theatre crowd. So, first the good: modern lounge-y interior, organic, farm-to-table, etc, and friendly service. The bad: the amount of food is disproportionate to the price and we were really underwhelmed by the food. Perhaps our expectations were too high? Maybe we are just food snobs? Maybe we didn't order the "right" thing? Nothing tasted bad, but for $25+ a plate I found myself drawing comparisons to many other similar restaurants in more expensive cities that deliver much better, much more creative food. Maybe missed something or maybe it was an off night. We really wanted to love this place -- and certainly all those 5 star online reviews saw something we didn't, right? Instead we left the restaurant disappointed, wishing we had chosen to eat at the cozy little Indian place down the street instead. American Shakespeare Center - Blackfriars Playhouse // $20-$40 per ticket // According to their website, this is the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor theatre. I'm no expert on Shakespearean theatres but this place made me nerd out a little bit. The sets were very simple and the lights were kept on throughout the performance like they would have back in Shakespeare's day. Before the show and during intermission the actor-band performed in the upper stage balcony area and an on-stage wine/beverage/snack cart contributed to a very lively atmosphere. The theatre is small so every seat has a pretty good view. Besides distance from the stage, the seats in the orchestra section differed in that they had seat backs whereas the ones upstairs were bench-like. There was also an option to sit on a chair on the stage -- before our performance they asked if anyone in the audience wanted to sit up there. We were perfectly happy with our 'cheap' seats though. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, or even if you're not. Old Rag has eluded us for years now -- a glaring white box on our mental East Coast to do list that we had yet to check. It has loomed over us every time we have visited Shenandoah, and pretty much every time we considered hiking it we came up with a bunch of reasons why we shouldn't do it on that particular trip. Too far. We just wanted to relax that weekend. We had a lot of other trails we wanted to hike. Why don't we try something that doesn't require us to wake up so early. Not really feeling it. Let's hike something a little shorter. Chance of rain. Too many people. The list went on and on. There was that one time we were really close to going -- got up before the sunrise and everything -- but in the end, with the threat of rain looming, we nixed the idea. This time was no different in the sense that the same excuses kept popping up. I was hoping Sly would talk me out of it, but he never did. At some point I realized that we were really (finally) going to do this thing and from that moment on we became all in. We ate dinner in our motel room and went to bed early. We woke up before the sunrise, got ready in tired silence, packed the car and set off for Old Rag. The drive to Old Rag was stunning in the morning light -- another picturesque scene that would make for a great jigsaw puzzle cover. We parked our car -- the parking lot already practically full by 8:30 -- gathered our things, and tried to beat the crowds of people milling about in the parking lot. The first part of the trail was paved and easy, and then came the climb. Up we went, bypassing group after group of people, anxious to get to the top and get the incline portion of the trail over with. Dirt trails led to carved stone steps that led to slippery rocks. We climbed over and under and between and around. Pulled ourselves up and dropped down and squeezed and climbed and ducked and shimmied. This part -- known as the rock scramble -- was reallllly fun. We reached the 'false summit' and stood in awe looking out over the golden trees and then climbed even higher, the trail seemingly never ending and always going up. Was this the summit? What about this? How about here? We kept climbing and climbing and climbing until we found a cozy hidden spot where we ate our lunch with a million dollar view. As for the 'real' summit? Anti-climatic to some degree. There were much better views and places to sit and ponder the beauty around us than the actual and legitimate top of the mountain. But then, perhaps I was biased -- there were just too many people there and all I wanted to do was retreat back into nature. So back down we went, this time practically running, letting gravity aid us on the downward sloping trails. Leaves fluttered magically around us -- red and orange and yellow -- all glittering in the October sun as they floated down to kiss the ground. The entire way up and down I dreamed of drinking a cool crisp glass of sweet apple cider from the little stand we had passed on the way up. It did not disappoint. Liquid magic. Best cider ever, but maybe that much better because it felt well-earned; a reward at the end of our journey. And as we hiked along the now=paved roads on a perfect Autumn day, cider in one hand, a bag of local apples bought from another vendor in the other hand, we wondered aloud: why hadn't we hiked Old Rag sooner? DETAILS Old Rag Trail // 8-9 miles RT, moderately strenuous // Most everything we read said that this hike would take 7-8 hours. It took us about 4-5 and that's with A LOT of stopping for pictures, a 30-45 min break for lunch, another 30 min wait to get through a backed up part of the rocky section, and a few stops to buy stuff from vendors. This hike was also described as "strenuous to extremely strenuous," but I found it to be rather moderate. Maybe a 5.5/10. The beginning portion is steep, but it's a gradual incline and gradual switchbacks. This portion is only about 2.5 miles or so and it's over pretty quickly. The rocky portion of the trail requires some upper body strength, but I wouldn't classify it as difficult. Let me put it this way: I saw a lady about 20-30 years older than me climb to the top wearing mom jeans and Keds -- and she made it to the top at about the same time as us.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: - If this is your first time to Shenandoah you should know that access to Old Rag is on the other side of where all the park stuff is located. It will take about 1-1.5 hrs to drive to Old Rag from Big Meadows Lodge. - Lodging options near Old Rag parking are pretty limited in terms of budget options. Many are B&Bs and many require more than 1 nights lodging. Besides backcountry camping, we couldn't find any camping options directly by Old Rag. Luray, Warrenton, and Culpeper are about 35-45 min away and have some more budget-friendly motel options. We passed a PATC cabin that was being built right next to the trail head. If this place is open and available, it's seriously in the best location and you wouldn't have to worry about parking/getting up *as* early. You can also stay at Corbin Cabin and hike to Weakley Hollow Trail from there. - Weekends + awesome Fall weather = people overload. We arrived at the parking lot around 8:30 and the main lot was practically full. If this concerns you, I would aim to be there before 8am. Or even better yet, camp in the backcountry the night before. - There is a fee to park at the Old Rag parking lot -- it's the same 7-day fee you would bay upon entering the park. Of course our National Parks Pass expired just before this trip but if you have one of those the fee is waived. Credit card is accepted at the fee station (and is preferred). - You can find porta-potties in the Old Rag parking and a primitive outhouse near one of the shelters -- I think it was Byrd's Nest. - Old Rag trail is a circuit loop so you can start from either end -- via Ridge Trail or Weakley Hollow. Ridge Trail is the 'normal' way to go up -- it's shorter but steeper. The opposite way is via the Weakley Hollow that follows a fire road the majority of the way with a short climb as you start to summit towards the end. I actually think the 'easiest' way up is via Ridge Trail. No matter which side you choose they both require some level of climbing and I think if you are going in 'reverse' some of the rock portion will be harder to navigate as you will be going down through a crevice rather than climbing up. - Wear grippy shoes (though I guess Keds work too) and bring grippy gloves. While the gloves are not mandatory, they would have come in handy. Our hands got a little scuffed up climbing on all those rocks. - If it's raining, I probably wouldn't hike this trail. Some parts were reaallly slippery -- even without any rain. - Bring some cash. There were a couple souvenir, food, and fruit stands along the side of the paved trail on the way up/down. We skipped the souvenirs and went right for Frank's blue tented beverage stand. In the Summer's, I think he sells homemade ginger ale (possibly other drinks), but when we went he was selling homemade apple cider -- hot or cold -- and it was the best $2 per cup ever spent. Frank was pretty awesome too -- total old school mountain man. Closer to the parking lot there was a guy selling apples out of the back of his pickup truck. On the way up he tossed us a few of the less-than-perfect apples for free so we could taste them. Well they tasted delicious. We bought a bucket full on the way back to our car for $7. - This goes without saying, and is reiterating every single guide book or article I read about the hike, but go early (or go on a weekday). We didn't get there *that* early, but it was still just early enough that we missed the throngs of people behind us. And while I generally like hiking in solitude there is another reason for getting there early -- by about noon or so some portions of the rock scramble area became extremely congested with lines that backed up all along the trail (click here to see what I mean). From the top all we saw were lines and lines of people just waiting to scramble through the rock passages. It's not all like this but there were some areas that required a little more time to navigate and some people were REALLLLLLLLY slow or tentative in these sections. It's a bit like car traffic -- one person slows down to look at something and next thing you know every car is at a standstill. Thankfully we only waited in one of these lines just once, but if I had to do it all the way up, it would have really taken the fun out of the rock climb part. - Overall I get why this hike is so popular -- it's challenging but anyone can do it. It's a lot of fun climbing and exploring the rock section, and it's easy to find a hidden little spot to get away from the crowd. - For a tiny sampling of what Old Rag is like -- try hiking Bearfence Mountain. It's short, fast, and pretty easy but you get to climb over rocks and have a really good pay off/view at the end. My sister sent me an article from Saveur magazine a couple months back that inspired us to take a little road trip for our anniversary. We used the article as a guide but ultimately only went to one of the places listed. The rest of the trip we sort of planned choose-your-own-adventure style: we would make a decision between two things and then follow a loose plan based on that choice. In this case: to hike or not to hike Old Rag. And if we did hike it, on which day. We chose to hike Old Rag on Saturday (more on that in the next post) so that we could ease into it a bit, but also because we both knew that if we pushed it off until the next day we would probably talk ourselves out of it -- as we have every single time we're in the Shenandoah area. So Friday was spent meandering along winding roads lined with trees bursting at the seams with bright reds and oranges and yellows witnessing Autumn in all its colorful glory. We stopped for lunch at Fulks Run Grocery hoping to sample their fried ham sandwich but discovered they ran out long before we arrived. We purchased a few snacks for the road and some lunch for the next day's hike and continued along Skyline Drive hoping to find some inexpensive hole-in-the-wall motel near the Old Rag entrance. We didn't have much luck -- of the places we found, two were haunted house creepy, and I think (or hope) were not open and one was too expensive for just a night's stay. We continued on to Culpeper, googled a cheap motel, checked in, explored town a bit, and ate some take-out Mexican food back in our hotel, watching the crappiest of all crap tv -- some show called Buck Wild (???) on MTV. (wtf) -- before finally switching to some Food Channel competition type show. We don't have cable tv at home so watching tv in a dinky motel was pretty much the bees knees. Not that there was a ton to do out there anyway, though truthfully, knowing that we had to get up early the next day, we didn't exactly try too hard either. DETAILS Fulks Run Grocery // On Fridays they fry a couple of hams and make fried ham sandwiches. Ham is not my most favorite thing in the world to eat (generally speaking I try to avoid pork products on the account that I'm obsessed with pigs) but we were curious and in vacation mode. Plus it was in Saveur, it had to be great, right? What you should know is that they sell out really early -- like before noon -- especially if tour buses (!!!) decide to stop by. If you can't make it early enough, call ahead and they will save a sandwich for you. For those that don't like ham, the grocery store has a small deli counter where you can order from a list of other options. Or you can just pick up some snacks from the grocery section. There are only a few small tables in the way back if you're planning on eating in.
Maria Bonita // Mexican food, inexpensive // Cute family-run Mexican restaurant in Culpeper with small bar. Large portions for reasonable price. Definitely a million times better than Taco Bell. Overall the food was good, not mind blowing. I would eat here again if it were convenient but I wouldn't go out of my way. The Ole Country Store // bakery, deli, prepared foods, dried goods // If you are looking for a sandwich, a snack, dried fruit, or a pie, this is the place to get it. You can also find some local dairy items like eggs and milk here. Or, if you're in the market for some log tables, carved bears, or adirondack chairs, you can find those here too. Bonus points: there is a soft serve truck in the parking lot next door. Red Carpet Inn // Culpeper, VA / $65-$70/night //If you plan on hiking Old Rag you'll find that the options for inexpensive lodging is pretty limited. Basically you can choose from cabins, a lodge-resort type place, b&bs or a historic hotel -- all were a bit pricier than what we wanted to spend and many required more than one night's stay. As for motel options, the two closest places are Luray and Culpeper with Culpeper being marginally closer timewise. If you're planning on staying at one of the lodges in the park keep in mind that Old Rag is on the opposite side of the park and as such, takes over an hour to get to the Old Rag parking area (more on this in the next post). Which led us to Red Carpet Inn. If you look it up online you'll see a lot of negative reviews, but then there weren't many budget motel options in Culpeper with great reviews. All things equal, we chose this place because it was cheap and we planned on getting up early so it was not worth it to us to a lot of money on a room. We were a bit nervous because of the reviews but after snooping around a bit determined it was good enough. The best way I can describe this place is: sad. The grounds were very well kept -- and it seemed like the owners/caretakers' talents lie in this area -- but the rooms could use a major overhaul. They were shabby, dated, and equipped only with the very basics. No hairdryers, no kleenex, no remote, but we did have wifi and a mini fridge. That being said, it was cheap, the owners were nice, there were plenty of rooms available and it was far from the worst place we have ever stayed. The linens were clean so I felt ok about things overall. I wouldn't exactly recommend going out of your way to stay here, but if budget and location are considerations and your expectations are realistic (this definitely is not the Ritz), then this is an adequate enough place. |
SEARCH THIS SITEalas
Archives
November 2015
Bookmarks
All
Projects |