I'm getting ahead of myself - but then again - that view is just too breathtaking not to share from the very first! It was a good weekend indeed and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The weekend started early when I was able to get off work around 3:30 and I immediately headed out on a walk and then settled myself on the deck in the shade after - sunshine is glorious!
The rest of Friday afternoon and evening passed in pleasant relaxation - I had dinner with the family on the back deck; we ordered Outback Steakhouse to go and enjoyed the blissful weather while we ate. We caught up on the most recent episode of Defending Jacob and then introduced my Dad to Black Panther - which may well be his favorite Marvel movie too, just like my Mom! The evening was closed some more time sitting out on the deck under the stars - which seemed to completely confuse my pup!
I woke up Saturday morning shortly before 8:00 and went ahead and hopped in the shower before heading out onto the deck to have my coffee and some snuggle time with my pup. The weather on Saturday promised to be similarly perfect - just like Friday - and I wanted to spend plenty of time outside while I had the chance!
Around 10:30 I grabbed my handy face mask and my Mom and I set out for the morning. We stopped into one of our favorite local shops called The Miller House - they have started having short opening hours on the weekends and we popped in for the first time in months - and we were the only guests there! My Mom grabbed a couple things and then we set off for Target and took our time going through the store - I grabbed a cute shirt, some new black sandals and an adorable yellow-checked table runner and we also grabbed some grocery items before heading home!
I spent a good chunk of Saturday afternoon sitting in the front yard on a patch of grass - just enjoying the sunshine and the shade - and because my sweet puppy loves nothing more than to stretch out on a patch of grass himself!
He also very much enjoys lounging in his bed under the whirring ceiling fan... although I can't explain why in the world he lays on the very edge of the bed. I guess you can never know with pups, can you?
As Virginia slowly begins to open back up, one of the first things that has been made more accessible is dining on the patios of restaurants and our favorite Mexican spot has eight outdoor tables... and we were lucky enough to snag one of them on Saturday night and eat out for the first time in two plus months! Talk about enjoying the simple things - it was definitely so wonderful just to eat out! The rest of Saturday evening was pretty chill - I caught up on Killing Eve and introduced my parents to The White Queen, among doing some other things... all in all a perfectly relaxing Saturday!
Sunday dawned overcast and stayed that way for most of the day - but the sun would peek out from time to time and with the forecast for the week ahead looking mostly rainy, we figured after church ended that we should stay outside as much as possible! We picked up Zaxby's for lunch, ate it in the nearby city park and then went home to change and venture out to Luray for the afternoon!
We made a quick loop around a portion of the Hawksbill Walking Trail that goes from the outskirts into the small town and continues alongside the small creek running through the town - we didn't do the entire trail since we wanted to hear the Carillon bells at 3:00. However, they didn't play at 3:00! I guess even the bells are shut down because of the virus because they certainly never played a tune...
Just outside Luray is the Storybook Trail and it's such a gem - the trail is paved and mostly flat, not quite a mile in length and the views from the summit are breathtaking, with the Blue Ridge valley spreading out below the peak and the Blue Ridge mountains lining up along the end of the valley. Every time I go, I decide I love this trail just a little bit more.
I ventured off both sides of the viewing platforms where there are several rock outcrops that offer some different view points for the scenery and then - as I was making my way back toward the platform, I noticed an outcrop down below the platform and decided to climb down to it! It was quite easy to get down to and honestly, it wasn't that hard to come back up when all was said and done. My pup was very confused as to why he couldn't follow me down the rocks...
When it was all said and done, I had not trouble scaling the rocks back up to the viewing platform - however once we'd walked back toward the car and I walked down to the stream to let my dog get a sip of water - I managed to trip and fall on almost completely flat ground. *cue laughter* Apparently my coordination comes and goes at will! The picture below was just before I wiped out - but hey, I did hang on to the leash the whole time!
We decided to take the longer route home, through some of the small towns between here and there and we stopped off at Meems Bottom Covered Bridge - one of the only remaining covered bridges in the area. The wood of the bridge has that smell... of something ancient and long-used; a structure that has stood the test of time, the same smell that antebellum homes and ancient places seem to have. It's a bit enchanting... even if I'm also convinced that all these old places are also a bit haunted.
The North Fork of the Shenandoah River runs under the bridge and we made our way down to the water for a few minutes to take in the sights and sounds of the water. I learned that my dog has zero interest in setting foot in the water - be it bath water or a gently flowing river - he stood resolutely on the bank and refused to come any further into the water.
I snapped a final picture of the clouds and sunshine making patterns across the mountains as we headed back to the car and then it was onward to the house. We had homemade pizza for dinner and then I whipped up a batch of The Grey Stuff! Disney has been releasing recipes from the parks each week as a way to add some "magic" to these unprecedented times and when I saw that they'd released the recipe for the Grey Stuff - I was ready!
If you aren't familiar with what the Grey Stuff is... 1) I'm sad for you and 2) it's the dessert that Lumiere sings about in Be Our Guest: "try the Grey Stuff, it's delicious... don't believe me, ask the dishes..." Beauty and the Beast has long been my favorite Disney movie and this was a recipe I had to give a go! So I passed the rest of my Sunday night with some pizza, a much needed shower, munching on the Grey Stuff (it IS delicious) and just relaxing!
It was such a good weekend and I hope this upcoming Summer has many more good weekends (and weeks) in store!
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