Shenandoah County

16:00
I sleep fairly well. I wake up at 01:40 feeling wide awake, despite only having been asleep for a couple of hours. I wake up at 03:50, and am convinced it’s time to spring out of bed. There’s enough residual tiredness though, that each time I manage to get back to sleep. I wake for the final time at 06:00. I have a brief try, but no - it’s not happening. I’ve done ok though.

My travelling body clock is used to Asia, and it feels a little strange waking up to find the day is half done in the UK. There’s a decent sounding diner nearby that I’ll head to for breakfast, but it’s not open till 08:00. I pass the time looking for stuff to do today. I’ve visited Virginia countless times for work, but my experience has been restricted to the North East corner, up near Washington DC. Today, I’m going to head out to see a bit more of what Old Dominion has to offer…

The decent sounding diner turns out to be even better than advertised. Twelve bucks buys me sunny-side eggs, hash browns and corned beef hash. It’s a hefty plateful, and should set me up for the day. I’m planning to be on a two meal per day strategy while I’m here, otherwise I suspect I’ll come home the size of a housing estate.

After breakfast, I head South West, along Highway 66. This is NOT Route 66. Apparently there’s an Interstate 66 as well - just to add to my confusion. I don’t love highway driving, so when the opportunity to head off on a smaller, back road presents itself, I grab it. The following hour is a delight of sweeping curves, swooping hills, and increasingly bizarre place names. I love this side of road-tripping. I drive past several vineyards, which surprises me a little. I obviously know there’s more to US wine than California, but wasn’t aware that there’s a burgeoning wine industry in Virginia. I’ll take a look on my way back. For now though, I’m headed to Shenandoah National Park, and specifically to the Skyline Drive, a 105 mile road through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The drive is beautiful. The views over the Shenandoah Valley are mesmerising. I stop at a few overlooks, and have a wander through nature. The park is close to deserted, and it’s a wonderful moment of solitude. I’m also loving my little car - my constant companion for the next 2 weeks. Just this morning it’s done busy town driving, highway cruising, and country back roads, and dealt with all of them really well, and been fun to throw around. They do an EV version, which I’ll take a look at as our next car, when we replace ours later this year.

Leaving the North end of Skyline Drive, it’s turning midday, and I’ve been awake for hours. Google Maps directs me to a lovely little bar-cum-BBQ pit a couple of miles away. I’m not remotely hungry, but the smells coming from the smoker are objectively amazing. While I’m nursing my beer, an order of a brisket sandwich comes out of the kitchen. I briefly consider ordering one to go, but decide against it. From here, I set the sat-nav for Foamhenge - which is exactly what it sounds like. I ask Google Maps to avoid highways and toll roads, and end up spending a joyous hour discovering more of the backwaters of Virginia. I stop at a couple of vineyards along the way - with mixed success. The wines at Three Foxes are adequate, the wines at Greenhill really pretty good. I’m very well behaved though, and do much more spitting than swallowing.

I arrive at Cox’s Farm only to find Foamhenge DENIED. Apparently, it’s only open in Summer, which doesn’t officially start until Memorial Day, at the end of May. Curses.

It’s a quick 20 minute scoot back to Herndon. I grab some road supplies from Safeway, and head back to my motel. I’m seriously considering an afternoon nap…

19:45
Ya see, the danger of afternoon naps when travelling West is that your body, not unreasonably, thinks it’s bed time. As a result, waking up after an hour is way more challenging than it should be. My alarm goes off at 18:30, and I could very easily roll over and go straight back to sleep. Being the brave little soldier that I am, I manage to drag my ass out of bed. Takes a good 10 minutes before I can open my eyes properly though.

I head out for a walk, in the hope that some exercise will blow away the cobwebs. My motel’s in a pretty bland part of town. Strip malls, supermarkets, chain hotels. I do find a sports bar, so pull up a stool. They’ve got a good selection of local beers, one of which I try. It’s decent. There are something like six TV screens, running from one end of the bar to the other, and each showing a different game or event. There’s Major League baseball, college baseball, college lacrosse, NHL ice hockey, a re-run of some Formula 1 that was on earlier, and a talk show about NFL football. I love these sports bars. They’re an ingrained part of local US culture. Guaranteed if you walk into one alone, you’ll be part of a conversation ten minutes later. So much so, that…. Oooh, Tuaca!

21:30
I spend a very enjoyable hour talking to Albie, he who ordered the Tuaca. Si, the bar manager, explains that he had a bottle of it delivered accidentally a few years back. The distributor said to keep it, rather than go to the hassle of sending it back, and Albie, who’s one of Si's most regular customers, developed quite the penchant for it. As a result, he now goes through a couple of bottles a month at the bar. I explain the resonance of Tuaca and Brighton, and Si ends up pouring me a free shot of it, which is more than kind.

Dinner is a very good Reuben - such a good combination of flavours. 3 beers and a couple of Tuacas in, and I’m fading. I reckon a Zopiclone tonight to try and bank a good 8 hours, and a reasonable wake up time...Read more