A clear and sunny morning as we arose to pack our bags and prepare for departure from the Ruckersville Holiday Inn Express. The breakfast room this morning was mostly clear. Plenty of hot scrambled eggs, sausage and Sausage gravy with biscuits. We indulged. When sated we finished packing and double checking our room for leavings. Somehow our luggage load had grown, not more suitcases, but more stuff, partial bottles of wine and soda water, remainders of cheese, crackers, and a box of chocolates had managed to add to our load.
We wrestled all into our rental Camry and headed out for adventure. We had agreed to meet the wedding party at a winery around two so we had some time to kill. We headed north a few miles to find a pottery store whose advert we had noted earlier in the hotel lobby. Not very far away, but they didn’t open until noon and as Deb has established an Etsy Store to try and shed a lot of the collectibles we have accumulated over the years, we decided we really didn’t need another bunch of doodads anyway so headed down the road.
The road signs noted that the famous Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park was just ahead, on the west side of the village of Stannardville, so we thought what the heck. We had driven this some 25 years ago but were up for the fun. We pulled in to the entry booth, lamented the facts that 1) the entry fee was $30.00 and 2) we had once again left our National Park Pass allowing free entry back home in a drawer. As Mark handed over his cash, he asked the Ranger if he was the only forgetful retiree who never remembers his Pass on long vacation trips from home. She chuckled, handed him his receipt and said “It happens more often than you would believe!”
We first headed north for about 15 miles until we realised we should head south if we were to eventually end up near the winery, so we turned around and began the 40 mile sojourn towards Waynesboro. The scenery was wonderful. The understory trees, dogwoods and redbuds, were in bloom, but the rest of the forest was just beginning to leaf out, allowing some marvellous views at the overlooks and through the trees. So stunning that we failed to even think of taking photos! Making these bloggers feel foolish this morning.
We stopped at the Park Store along the way and used the facilities, purchased some cold bottled water and two insulated water bottles and a pack of strawberry wafer crisps. This, combined with leftover cheese and crackers consumed in the parking lot accounted for our lunch, $35.00 of the store purchases, $30.00 for the entry fee - your basic $65.00 picnic lunch in the car on the move! But there was a view!
At exactly two o’clock we pulled into the destination of the Knights Gambit Winery, somewhere near Crozet, Virginia. The balance of the party pulled in shortly thereafter and we enjoyed another glass of wine and leftover cheese, veggies and fruit from the previous evenings festivities. We visited with some of our new friends, and gave our continued wishes to the newlyweds. After an hour, we said our goodbyes. We will see Glenda and Jeff again on the coming Friday in California, so we headed out to follow the backroads to Fredericksburg. It was a beautiful day for an afternoon drive and we stayed off main roads as we made our way eastward through central Virginia.
We arrived at the stone home of Marica Covert Chaves at 5:30. Her home is literally on the banks of the Rappahanock River in Falmouth, Virginia, just across the river from Fredericksburg. The name Falmouth arises due to the fact that this is the uppermost navigable point of the Rappahanock River, below the Falls. Another boring history lesson for readers.
We met with all the Fredericksburg Covert kids, Marcia, Cindy and Hampton. Marcia’s two children Sara and John, along with their spouses and a good collection of their children were present, as well as Cindy’s husband Pete Marshall, Hamp’s wife Bunny, and their daughter Kerry and her fiancé Eric. We learned that this is the first large family get together for their extended family in over three years, therefore we were warmly welcomed as the catalyst for the gathering! We dined alfresco on grilled brats and chicken, breaded snakehead fish which delicacy one of the family had caught the day before, and side dishes of macaroni, potato salad, cole slaw and tomato aspic. The conversation stretched into the dusk and broke up as the bugs came out for their evening meal. The younger families headed out as it was a school/work night, and the oldsters were fading fast. Again, we were having such a good time that pictures were forgotten- an error we will lament for a long time.
We headed out and found our hotel a few miles away - the Hyatt Place Fredericksburg. We pulled in and Deb stepped into the lobby to check in. Just as she finished, the fire alarms for the building went off and the lobby quickly filled as the guests streamed outside, along with the front desk clerk rapidly talking into her phone. Fire trucks arrived and a false alarm was declared. The alarms were reset, all headed back in and we unloaded our luggage and elevatored up to our third floor room. Smaller than the last few days, but obviously a step up in our accommodations, the fire alarm notwithstanding. We unpacked, sat to talk over the day, realised we had taken no pictures, read until the eyelids could no longer handle it and dozed off near 10:45 another long full day in Virginia.
