Exiting the Blue Ridge Parkway Julie and I were in need of some civilization for the day. Lucky for us the northern terminus for the parkway was just outside the college town of Charlottesville. We didn’t know much about Charlottesville other than it was on the smaller side, it was an old town (founded prior to the civil war), it is home to the University of Virginia as well as the hometown for the Dave Matthews Band. As we had only heard good things about the town we were excited to start our visit.
One of the things that Julie has really enjoyed during our travels is visiting different brands of grocery stores. I’m not really sure what it is, maybe different brands of foods, different layouts or just the atmosphere. Her favorite ones so far have been Sobeys in Atlantic Canada, certain Safeway stores in the Pacific Northwest, HEB stores in Texas and Lowes grocery stores in the Carolinas. Her all time favorite (and probably will be forever) is our hometown Wegmans grocery stores. Wegmans is almost exclusively based in the Northeast so it was to Julie’s great surprise and joy that just outside of downtown Charlottesville was her grocery mecca……a Wegmans store. When she first saw it she yelled so loud that I lost hearing in my right ear for a few days. She was super excited. After agreeing that yes we would go but after seeing the town we continued on.
As Charlottesville is over 250 years old parking for a 22’ van in the downtown area was not easy. Streets are narrow, houses close to the curb and parking lots few and far between. Eventually though we found a spot that worked and set off on foot. While Charlottesville does not have a traditional downtown with high rises and financial companies it does have a 7 block pedestrian only street with shops, bars and restaurants lining it. This was pretty great. Julie and I walked up and down the street stopping in shops and really getting a sense of what it was like to live in the area. As it looked like it was going to rain we hopped into a bar called Millers. If we lived in Charlottesville this place would have probably taken all of my money. Millers was a restaurant, beer bar, cigar and foosball lounge. To top it all off the World Cup was going on and we were able to watch the Poland vs. Columbia match. It was pretty much a version of heaven for me.
Once the game had ended Julie dragged me out of Millers and we headed back to the van and took a drive around the University of Virginia. The university was gorgeous with a ton of history, being founded by Thomas Jefferson. As school was not in session there were not many people around and most of the buildings were closed but it was pretty neat to see nonetheless. From the University we drove back to Julie’s requested spot, Wegmans. To say she was excited was an understatement. The last time she had been to a Wegmans was when we were back in Rochester for Christmas, 5 months earlier. Julie had me take her picture in front of the store before going in. Once in it felt like every other Wegmans store, which is to say that it felt like we were home. Having never been to a Wegmans out of the state of New York we did find something unique. They had a Western New York food section. It was on the smaller end but it did have a good amount of sauces and rubs for chicken wings and chicken dishes as well as a selection of upstate New York Wines. It was pretty neat to see foods and drinks from our area of the country that we had not seen in a long time. From Wegmans we headed to our campground for the night.
The next morning we woke up ready to explore another national park. Shenandoah National Park was more or less a continuation of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the main difference being that it had a lodge and you had to pay to enter park grounds. Other than that it was a 2-lane road on the ridge of the mountain just like the Blue Ridge. At 105 miles seeing the park in one day makes for a long day but one that is doable.
We started at the southern entrance driving north climbing up the mountain, Bubbles chugging along. Once we reached the ridge the views were spectacular once again. At an elevation of 3500-5000 feet you were able to see for miles into the adjacent valleys. It was spectacular! As National Park lodges are usually pretty unique we stopped at Shenandoah’s called Skyland Lodge. We learned while at the lodge that the land that Shenandoah occupies used to be private with the lodge being originally built as a getaway for city folks who wanted to spend some time in the mountains. The lodge was more or less original with a few additions added on. Julie and I got a soda and sat on the lodge’s porch to take in the view.
From the lodge we continued our way northward eventually ending at the northern entrance. We then drove back down through the valley past centuries old stonewalls and homes, past horse farms and towering oak trees. All in all we loved this area of the country. The mountains, valleys, small towns and cities and history, it really had it all.
Next up we visit Virginia’s neighbor…..West Virginia!
