Evan and I have been needing a prolonged break for a while and especially because of the pandemic. We were originally going to go away for two nights but because AJ's been particularly clingy lately we shortened our getaway to one night. Our getaway happened to coincide with the terrible twos hitting hard. Right beforehand AJ had refused to nap for four days in a row. We finally wore her down for a nap the day before we left but she reignited her stubborn streak to give my parents a hard time while we were gone. Ugh. Honestly, it made it challenging to relax and focus on the present. I don't foresee any adults-only overnight excursions again for a while. I just think AJ's at a challenging age. She's extremely stubborn, strong-willed, and the tantrums are pretty epic.
We started the day with a curbside pickup from Red Truck Rural Bakery. The lemon blueberry muffins are so scrumptious! Then we worked those off with a hike in Shenandoah National Park at White Oak Canyon Trail. The trail follows several waterfalls. We hiked to the lower falls, though there's an opportunity to continue to an upper fall beyond. We were so impressed with the lower falls that I don't think we missed much by not seeing the upper fall. Our hike is labeled "easiest" but the problem with any rating system is that everyone's standards are different. It was NOT an easy hike. It was extremely rocky and much of it was uphill on the way to the falls. We also had to cross the stream a couple of times and the final time, right before the lower falls, the current is very strong. We saw people take off their socks and shoes to wade across but Evan and I challenged ourselves by walking across some big rocks. To get close enough to the lower falls for a nice picture we had to do some rock scrambling, which was a first for me. All in all, I'd probably label it a moderate hike. I was sweating, breathing hard, and the rocks definitely tripped me up here and there. It was an extremely rewarding and beautiful experience. Definitely the highlight of our getaway.
Some of the views from the country roads on the way to the trailhead:
From there we went to The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm in Sperryville, one of the gateway towns into Shenandoah National Park. There are several interior rooms in the main house but we booked the cabin so that we could be as isolated from other guests as much as possible. On the one hand, the grounds are magnificent and the views of the mountains are amazing. On the other hand, I'd say that the cabin was more shabby than chic. It definitely had a rustic, sometimes dingy feel and there was mold or mildew or both that caused me some problems. My nose was constantly running, I had a headache, I didn't sleep well, and I had a scratchy throat the next morning. It's also expensive and I don't feel like we got our money's worth. Breakfast was decent and we got to eat it on our mini-patio so we could simultaneously look at the mountains.
The Inn and grounds:
The next morning:
We also had an unimpressive dinner (for me, Evan liked his burger) from Headmaster's Pub. We were both very much wanting to have some local, flatbread-style pizza but their hours are wonky due to the pandemic and they were closed the one night we were in town. Of course.
Another unfortunate footnote to our trip is that there were obnoxious political ads all over the place for the orange menace. It just really put a bad taste in our mouths and made us eager to get back home. Otherwise, Sperryville is a really cute, quaint town with lots of charms.
We're looking forward to taking more hikes in and near Shenandoah National Park. We bought an annual pass so that will be a motivating factor. One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it's made us appreciate what's local to us. There's so much to do around here!
