A 4 day Virginia weekend with no map or plan in which I learn that even though the memories are about the trip and not the destination, sometimes a little preparedness goes a long way.
Motto of the week "Instagram that shit!"
Which would have probably been more awesome if I had a cell phone signal for like 5 minutes while tucked away in the mountains of Virginia and her half-sister to the west.
Step 1: Race Prep
We kicked off the day one by heading up to Hagerstown to pre-ride an upcoming race course and visit some friends. The course was BORING - straight up a hill and straight down it - but at least now we know what we're in for (and once again, I mean "we" as in "he" and maybe myself depending on how packed the field is that morning. There was drinks and responsible driving and fun for all.
Next Stop: Lost River
Friday we killed some time and hit up the Crack Barrel before heading south to our destination, The Guesthouse at Lost River. The inn is beautiful, the staff is very friendly and the owners are kind. Our room was off in a side cabin as our weekend fell on 'family weekend' and as we all know my love of children, but that was perfect. We had an entire suite to ourselves with a fireplace, comfy leather furniture, and a full kitchen. I could have seriously gotten my cook on in this little inn if I had planned better. We enjoyed great drinks at the bar and had dinner at the inn (everything 'nearby' is at least an hour away).
Sightseeing
Saturday we were in full on vacation mode and headed down to the Natural Bridge. Where it is an amazing sight, I'm pretty sure Foam Hedge was more entertaining a place and I pouted a bit when Handsome wouldn't let me stop at Dinosaur Land which has an insanely flattering brochure for a not so charming destination. We got a little lost looking for some mountain bike trails but ultimately ended up at Douthat State Park where we climbed for the better part of an hour. I earned my badge in official mountain biking and we headed back down the swooping trails. We headed back to the inn (2 hour drive) cleaned up and back down to a local town for dinner. I won't mention the name of the restaurant near Lost River that specialized in brewing, nor will I mention the waitresses name that told us to hurry up with our appetizer and salad so she could bring us our steak. I can say that the plating was poorly conceived as the steak was hard to find on the small plate under the three cups of french fries served atop it but that the food was otherwise ok. Sticking to the positives here. 😉
Food, and more food
Sunday had a relaxed start as we ventured out to find the nearest Waffle House (a guilty Sunday favorite of ours) before heading down to Skyline Drive for some picture taking and hiking. With beautiful 60 degree weather, we hiked down to Overall Run Falls (something like 6.4 miles give or take) while I accidentally left the battery running in the truck and the doors unlocked. The whole trip took about 2 hours and was worth it for the beautiful views at the bottom. And luckily, our truck wasn't dead or robbed blind when we returned to it. After a long weekend of a lot of driving, we headed home, where we sat in traffic on 95 for the better part of the evening.
