They Slept in the Space Shuttle

Our friends Mark and Nancy have been traveling this summer in their RV – last week, as they crossed the border from Canada into New York, I saw a post that they had traveled 13,000 miles since leaving home in San Diego a few months back.  The whole odyssey has been chronicled on Nancy’s blog (here, or in the blog roll on the right) and via their prolific Instagram accounts. 

…Speaking of which, their visit inspired me to start using that app again.

As I understand it, they begin planning the trip around a visit to the Newport Folk Festival, which annually takes place in August.  They got their logistics all set up back home and then hit the road, first to the Pacific Northwest, then across the northern tier, via Chicago and Pittsburgh, and then to the fest.  After that, up into Canada for a few weeks, and now they’re on their way back home – so they slipped in a quick visit by Hawksbill Cabin and then Harrisonburg (Nancy’s a JMU alum) en route.

We’ve had some great visits with them over the years, whether at their place on the west coast, or when they’ve come to the DC area, although Mary and I haven’t made it down to San Diego to see them – they used to live in Santa Barbara.  I was able to spend some time with them Saturday and Sunday hearing about their adventures, and showing them around Luray and New Market, before they got on their way again.

On Sunday morning, they gave me a tour around the Airstream (named Feona) and showed me how the four of them got along in there; they’re traveling with their dogs Dax and Trixie.  It takes a little getting used to – they took three or four shake down trips in California before they launched on this adventure.  It didn’t feel anymore cramped in there than it does in a hotel room in Manhattan, although you do have to get yourself organized and stay that way, like you would on a boat.

As we parted ways in the parking lot of the New Market Battlefield on Sunday, a couple from North Carolina came up to chat with me about the vehicle.  “That’s a nice rig,” they said, “all the way from California, too.  Seems like you see more of that kind of travel out west.”  After I explained that Mark and Nancy were visiting and on the way home now, this couple told me about how they hoped to take a similar trip someday.  There is an entire national community of people who want to do that, in fact.

It took about 20 minutes of planning to park it for the night on Saturday, but they were satisfied with our sloping driveway.  I invited them into the house for the night, but they declined:  “That would break our streak,” Mark said.

For Sgt Darne

On Saturday, Mary and I got up at 0-dark-thirty - the designated starting time for so many things out here at Hawksbill Cabin - to join in an event over in New Market honoring Matthew Darne, a former Marine sergeant who was lost last April.  This was an event put together by Healing our Heroes, an organization that supports returning soldiers, all too many of whom are dealing with injuries that go much more deeply than the visible flesh and blood wounds that many of them bore.

My service, in the Cold War, never put me on the front lines, in the heat of battle - a 'hot war' as it were.  There were risks, but I can only read the books, or see the stories told in video (I recommend Restrepo for those who are interested in an embedded story about what the troops we sent over there have gone through) about loss of life or risk of injury in the heat of battle. Still, I know that despite the grief and worry that these stories bring to life, we just can't understand fully the complete picture.

I found this tribute post about SGT Darne:
http://bostonmaggie.blogspot.com/2013/04/farewell-matthew-colin-big-darne.html
He was a very likable fellow - just like the hundreds I met and served with.  It's a shame we lost someone of his character.

His wife was very strong as she spoke at the opening ceremony for this 5K Run and 1.25 mile walk at the New Market Battlefield State Park.

Today I'll keep her and the family, and so many of his friends, in my thoughts.

New Market Battlefield and Civil War Museum

A Union cannon placed overlooking the battlefield.

We found ourselves with unseasonably warm weather on a Sunday morning last month, so after breakfast at the Southern Kitchen in New Market, I suggested that we go on an outing to the Civil War Battlefield there.  Mary and I had chanced upon it in 1993 but hadn’t been back; since we’ve been coming to the Valley I’ve wanted to go and we had never managed it until now.

The museum is a unique modern building.

There is a good museum here, and the battlefield is a state park.  There is a small theater in the museum that offers a couple of films on this topic.  It’s well worth the visit.

What’s significant about the Battle of New Market is its association with the Virginia Military Institute, or VMI.  I’ve worked with VMI alums in the past, and I know of their commitment to the school’s traditions and history – and New Market holds a special place for them.  Cadets from the school marched from Lexington, VA to New Market – just more than 80 miles, in four days during the spring of 1864.

One of two battlefield monuments, this humble memorial
is inscribed:  This rustic pile the simple tale will tale:
It marks the spot where Woodson's heroes fell.

The Confederates were there to stop a Union advance down the Valley, and the VMI Cadets were meant to be a reserve force for the battle.  Eventually, they were called into action, where a number of them were killed and many more injured. 

The Cadet Corps’ story is quite a brave one, well worth checking out in person or via the Wikipedia article linked below (there’s also a link to the museum).  But there are a couple of additional points for me to make in this post.

One of the VMI alums donated the money to acquire this site, which includes the Bushong farm that stood at the battlefield during the Civil War.  It was in this area that the Cadets advanced through what became known as the “field of lost shoes” – the ground was soggy (this field doesn’t appear to have natural drainage, despite its position on a bluff over the Shenandoah North Branch), and as they progressed over the field they bogged down and lost their shoes.

This stained glass panel memorializes the cadets who died.

A sculpture by Moses Ezekiel in the museum hall.

Among the notable cadets at the battle were a relative of Thomas Jefferson’s, and Moses Ezekiel, an internationally renowned sculptor (good bio here:  http://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/moses_ezekiel.html).

We made our way through the farm and orchard, and across the battlefield, eventually coming upon a cannon placement that reminded me of how vulnerable the troops advancing through that field of fire would have been.  I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted to such a challenge, had I ever been called to do so.

Finally, as I mentioned before, Mary and I visited here in 1993.  The bluffs at the edge of the farm gave me my first look at the Shenandoah River.  How far we’ve come, eh?

Here are the links to the article about the battle, and about the museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Market

http://www2.vmi.edu/museum/NM/index.html

New Market's Southern Kitchen

I think it may have been Chris and Jeneane that turned us on to it first, but we have been in love with the Southern Kitchen in New Market since we first visited a couple of years ago. They make a stop for breakfast there whenever they are out camping in the GWNF. Of course, we just drive over the mountain whenever the inspiration strikes – just as likely for lunch as for breakfast.

And apparently we are not alone. There are fans among my fellow H-burg bloggers, and there is a review here, with general favorable results: http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=427.

We like the décor. From the roadside Americana outside to the fifties era Formica (we took some inspiration from the chartreuse boomerang pattern for the Hawksbill Cabin kitchen remodel) inside, and the Wurlitzer jukebox – it all makes a comfortable post card dining situation. The geraniums greeting you road side are still in bloom right now, even in November.

We’ve found the portions large enough to satisfy. For breakfast, the meal might include a western omelet with biscuits and sausage gravy – which always reminds me of having breakfast with my grandfather at a drug store counter in Sanford, Florida – or one of the hearty combos, eggs over easy. For lunch, it’s got to be the two piece fried chicken dinner, shown here with homemade potato salad (Mary likes the beets).
The Southern Kitchen also has a nightly dinner special, although we’ve yet to make it over there in the evening. A last note, they have a legacy dish, peanut soup – it’s worth a try if you’d like something you haven’t had before. It’s been a menu standard there for more than 50 years.

Late Start Saturday

Mid-week during our vacation, we got in touch with Mary's friend Barbara, who we had invited out for the weekend. She planned to drive out Friday night, but the storms held her up; she arrived at around 9am on Saturday.

I had hoped that this would be the day of the canoe float, finally, but we had just gotten started too late to fit that in. I had been in touch with two river outfitters during the week, Downriver Canoe Company in Bentonville and Shenandoah River Outfitters in Luray, and both said they sometimes run out of kayaks by 10am on spring weekends.

Instead, we decided to drive over to New Market for lunch at the Southern Kitchen - always a favorite. And since we would be on that side of the Massanutten ridge I had a few other activities in mind.

Our first stop after lunch was to take the short walk on the Storybook Trail to the Page Valley overlook. This is a great view from 1600 feet up or so across the valley to the ridge of Shenandoah National Park.

Somewhere along the line of the road in the foreground lies the Hawksbill Cabin, nestled almost at the beginning of the ridge in the distance.

Next, we drove through the GWNF, stopping to take a look at Passage Creek, swollen with rain, along the way. This picture is from a drive over there a few weeks back, when the creek was in similar condition.

Finally, up in Toms Creek, we visited North Mountain Vineyard. It had turned out to be a very nice spring day despite the continued threat of thunderstorms, which is just the way it is in Northern Virginia this time of year. We sat out on the deck and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and the cheese plate, watching people come and go.

It was a very relaxing time. I've said it before, but a couple of these vineyards remind me of Sonoma - especially this one and Linden. The Virginia wines, while they are always improving, aren't quite the consistent match to those in California, but the industry here is doing very well and you can find some very pleasant surprises in the vintages.

Easy Day Hike: The George Washington National Forest Storybook Trail

When Mary and I went to Sal’s for lunch a few weeks back, we planned to cut through Chrissman Hollow in Massanutten as a shortcut (by the way, I've seen the name of this place written in a number of different ways - the road there is also known by a state number and is called the Forest Development Road, alternatively).

Once we were up on the mountain, we found that the road was closed due to potentially inclement weather and had to turn back. Before we completely retraced our steps back to New Market so we could take US 11, we stopped by the Storybook Trail and took the short hike.

This is an accessible trail, paved with a slight incline. The .3 mile route is populated with interpretive signs that explain the geology of the ridge and Page Valley below. At regular intervals, there are little steps that lead off the trail into what looks like gathering areas where tour groups can stop and listen to guide talks.
Typical of the topography in this area, sandstone layers break through the ridge in places, and layered stones and rocks are visible along the way. But the real prize is at the end, as you crest the ridge.
They’ve built an observation platform up here that looks down to the Valley below – almost 1,500 feet down! Here are a couple of views…looking Northeast and due east. The final one is a view looking straight down from the viewing deck.

I’d seen the trailhead a few times driving through this area, but we never stopped. I am glad I did this time and hope to be able to show this place to some relatives soon.

On the Way to Clementines: The Shops at Mauzy

During one of our weekends last month we decided to make the trek down to H-burg for lunch at Clementines. We'd heard a lot about the place through 81 Monthly, the HBBlogs site, and our neighbors. While we didn't catch a show, we enjoyed lunch, and found a lot of things on the menu we'd like to try sometime - not to mention we'd like to visit the neighboring institutions too.

We drove via New Market to US 11 and made a stop at this rustic set of shops in "Mauzy." Apparently, the main building was built as a stage coach stop. It's heritage as an inn is easy to make out, and it has a number of associated outbuildings as well. The first photos are of the inn and the general store.

There doesn't seem to be any historic certification or protection in effect with the buildings, and to a large extent their exteriors seem to be neglected. It does give the impression of a rustic, even primitive decor, which matches a lot of the items for sale here.

Here is a photo of one of the outbuildings, which include a lock-up, school house, and ice house among others. I was particularly interested in the mill stone, since you find them around the area. Milling was a major income source in the Valley, historically. I didn't see an acknowledgement of where this one came from.

There were the typical booths of antiques in the store, and a number of small displays of crafts: jewelry, soap, and candles, etc. It was a pleasant stop and the building was interesting, but I couldn't say we'd go out of the way for another visit. After a half hour or so we packed it up and headed south on US 11 to Clementines.

A Little Holiday Cheer in New Market

Last year we spent the holidays at the Hawksbill Cabin, and we had occasion to drive over to New Market where we visited this little store, full of Christmas decorations. So on Saturday, after the stop at Southern Kitchen, we went there instead of the caverns - it was getting late in the afternoon and we needed to get back to Alexandria that evening.

This little store is chock-full of every kind of ornament and holiday display. Those little lighted buildings that people set up into panoramas fill the first room. I never realized that there are four or five specialties in this category. Between the Hawthorne Village and Department 58, you could spend your life's savings on this stuff!

The other room is focused on tree ornaments - I think there are some photos in last year's post about this too - but I really enjoy traditional "Nutcracker" ornaments. Below are the new ones my mother gave us this year (thanks Mom) and will hang on the Alexandria tree.

After we wrapped up our stop, it was back to the cabin to close up, and then on to Alexandria...where speaking of holiday cheer, I got to watch the USC - Notre Dame game, contentedly.

New Market's Southern Kitchen

It's a treat from bygone days to encounter this little diner there on the US Highway just south of town. We've been coming here over the last year, as US 11 is one of our routes to H-burg when we are running errands. Plus, it's not too far from the Shenvallee Golf Course, and other attractions.

I've read some on-line reviews - mostly written by my fellow Northern Virginians, who must be passing through New Market in a hurry to get back home. So they don't take the time to appreciate the service or the home-cooked atmosphere.

I can't say we've ever been dissappointed with the freshly fried chicken, or the basic BLT or grilled cheese. Their sides are great, a wide range of choices, all southern cuisine. The signature dish is peanut soup - it's an acquired taste and not for everyone, but it is homemade and served with pride.

These are some interior photos that I hope will capture the atmosphere of the place. It's a great stop if you are passing through there.

By the way, the little wine rack on the counter is full of North Mountain Vineyards wine - I posted on them a while back.

The Short Drive to New Market

Over the weekend, we decided to take a short drive over to New Market. We were planning to grab lunch at the Southern Kitchen and take in the Caverns over there. So after a stop in Luray to visit a few folks around town, including Howard, CFM and Andy at Evergreen Outfitters, off we went down US 211.

As we got to the top of New Market Gap, I turned off onto Crissman Hollow Road for a few moments. I wanted to show my mother the view from up there across the Valley - here's the photo. The two peaks visible on the Blue Ridge here are Hawksbill and Big Meadow, from left to right.

There was a cold front moving in - Howard told us they call these clouds, which seemed to threaten snow, "fish gills."

While we were up there, I saw a small 'for sale by owner' sign and stopped to check it out. Someone was selling an acre-sized camping lot, with the camper parked on it in place. It is in Page County, and probably has a view like the one above. However, it's size and location likely make it unperc-able. Asking price: $8K OBO...for that kind of money, we'll likely continue to invest in lots that append the Hawksbill Cabin.