Wayfinder’s Washington D.C. Top 15

We did a lot in DC. There’s a lot to do and it was hard for us to choose. So we didn’t, or at least that’s how it felt on the last night!

If you don’t feel like wearing yourself out and speeding through everything, I suggest either more time or a shorter list of “Must dos.”

Here are our top 15 to help you start narrowing your list:

The White House

The White House Tour: Plan early! White House tours are free, but fill up. They are scheduled through your Congressional Representative, on a first come, first serve basis.  Don’t expect to see a lot or go everywhere. The tour is self-guided and you are only allowed in a few rooms in The East Wing: Dining room, Blue room, Red room, Green room, etc. I have heard that some people are disappointed with the tour, but we loved it. Just being in The White House, and the fact that we could go in, was pretty cool.  You can find information here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

"Sea of Stones"

Arlington National Cemetery: When we started planning this trip, I didn’t think I wanted to go to Arlington. I was wrong. I started reading about it in Fodor’s and the more I read, the more I knew I wanted to visit. The “sea of stones” is beautiful and moving. I couldn’t stop taking photos of all of the different angles and shadows. Walking around, away from the crowds is a must. Then be sure to visit The Kennedy Graves, The Arlington House (where Robert E. Lee once lived) and The Tomb of the Unkowns. Time your visit to The Tomb of the Unkowns on the half hour, to watch the changing of the guards. If you miss it, stick around until the next one. You will be glad you did! The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as “The Iwo Jima Memorial”, is north of the cemetery itself. It is worth the drive, walk, bus ride….  whatever. 

Reading the Gettysburg Address

Navy Memorial

Memorials: Just walking around and seeing all of the memorials is a great experience. They are all inspiring in their own way. But, if you are short on time be sure not to miss:

Lincoln Memorial: Massive and inspiring. Read everything and be sure to note the spot on the stairs where MLK gave his “I have dream” speech.

Korean War Veterans Memorial: Beautiful with few words. Look at the faces of the stainless steel soldiers and on the black granite wall and you won’t need anymore than “Freedom is not free.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial: The black wall of names is a powerful and beautiful memorial, made even more so by the many Veterans and families looking for names of family members and friends.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial from Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial: These two memorials are inspirational on their own, but standing at the MLK Memorial, looking across the Tidal Basin and seeing the Jefferson Memorial struck a chord with me.

United States Navy Memorial: We stumbled upon this memorial when we were looking for the National Archives. It’s right across the street. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but the stained glass panels are one of my favorite single pieces in all of DC.

Museums: To be fair, we didn’t spend enough time in any one museum to have an expert opinion. And we didn’t make it to the HolocaustMuseum, which is supposed to be amazing and heartbreaking. That being said, here’s what we liked best:

National Archives: No words can describe seeing the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, but there’s more to this building. If you have time, watch a program, visit another exhibit or do some research! It’s free, unless you make reservations in advance. At $1.50 per reservation, it is well worth it to skip the line around the block. Make a reservation here: http://www.archives.gov/nae/visit/reserved-visits.html
National Museum of Natural History: This is Todd’s favorite museum, so I will let him write. “Given the short amount of time we spent at each museum I think this one provided the most bang for the buck. Iconic taxidermied and fossilized giants are on display throughout, easy to see without having to constantly reference a map. Hard to miss the enormous Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops fossils, and you shouldn’t.

International Spy Museum: There’s some cool stuff on display at this museum: Bond’s Aston Martin, KGB Lipstick Pistol, Bulgarian Umbrella, Lighter Camera, etc. But, the coolest thing about going to the Spy Museum is that you get to adopt a cover identity, memorize details and answer questions throughout your tour.  I was Angela Falcone, a 21 year old (ha!), Italian Travel Agent and my destination was Hanoi… for business of course!

Food: We didn’t have any bad food in DC, but these stood out:
Ben’s Chili Bowl: This was our first stop in DC. Have a half-smoke at Ben’s and become a part of history. It’s tasty too!

Jaleo: This was Todd’s birthday dinner. It was fun and delicious! We split the following: Patatas Bravas, Jamon Iberico, Chorizo Iberico, Valdeon (amazing blue cheese), Datiles (bacon wrapped dates), and Ensalada de Remolacha Con Citricos (salad of beets, pistachios, citrus and that amazing blue cheese). Surprisingly, since we are kind of obsessed with cheese and pig, the salad was our favorite!

Ray’s Hell Burger: Best Burger Ever! Or at least one of the best burgers I have ever tasted. And, it’s near Arlington so you can make an adventure out of it.

Old Ebbit Grill: This place is old and storied. We heard it wasn't very good. Just touristy. But we had a gift card, so we went. I only have two word for you to remember: Eggs Chesapeake. Yum.

Jaleo

Ray's Hellburger

The Metro: I love the Metro! It is makes it easy to do a lot in a short amount of time, you don’t have to worry about parking and you can stay at a hotel out of the main tourist areas without missing any of the action!

All American Road Trip Part 3: Blue Ridge Parkway MP 294 - Shenandoah

Mayberry, Music and a Bridge

This summer we decided to stay stateside and go on an All American Road Trip. Starting in the The Smokys, we drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah and ended with a few days in Washington DC.

This is Part 2. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

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Day 5 started with a quick sunrise (yes, sun!) breakfast at Yonahlossee, followed by lots of driving. This would be the longest driving day of the trip, from MP 294- MP 89, with just a little time carved out for hikes, food and culture.

The first stop was a short, relativly easy hike to The Cascades at E.B. Jeffress Park (MP 271.9). The nature trail to the top of the pretty waterfall is a one-mile loop with signs describing area plants and animals. This was great spot to stretch our legs before driving almost 60 miles to our next destination, the Blue Ridge Music Center, though we did make a quick stop at Brinegar Cabin at MP 238.5

Brinegar cabin is right off of the Parkway and features the original root cellar and traditional garden. Rumor has it that there is a pretty great staff on site sometimes, but everything was closed up when we were there. The garden & buildings were worth a look regardless.

We made great time to the Blue Ridge Music Center, which is good because we had somewhere very important to be before 1:00 pm and it would have been a shame to rush through the exhibit or miss the live music playing outside. The Roots of American Music exhibit is very extensive and includes everything from origins to interactive displays. For me, the most memorable part of the exhibit is the display tracing the origins of the instruments, songs and music. A map showing how "the European fiddle and the African banjo met..." is a good example. Between the displays and the traditional musicians performing live, you could spend an entire day here. But we had to get to Mayberry.

Mt. Airy is about 45 minutes off the Parkway. It's also where Andy Griffith grew up. They say  Mt. Airy is the inspiration for Mayberry, but one thing for sure is that Andy went to the Snappy Lunch as a boy and mentioned it on the show and in a song. The Snappy Lunch also has the World’s Famous Pork Chop Sandwich, so we had to get there before they closed at 1:00 pm.

We drove into town at about 12:50, so i dropped Todd off in front and went to park. Mt. Airy is a busy little town, so I wasn't sure how long it would take. Luckily, there was a spot two doors down, right behind Sheriff Taylor's car! Ok, it was one of at least two replica squad cars that we saw before leaving, but I am convinced this was the one. It was a Galaxy 500 and had a cardboard cut out of Andy in the driver's seat. Enough said.

Back at The Snappy Lunch, I found Todd sitting in back booth with a little smirk. Apparently I read the hours wrong and The Snappy Lunch doesn't close until 2:00 on Tuesday. And I may have rushed him a bit at the Music Center. Just a bit. Regardless, the Pork Chop Sandwich was strangely fantastic! I ordered mine with everything (tomato, chopped onion, mustard, cole slaw, and a special chili sauce). It was messy. And wonderful.

After lunch, and a look around at the photo covered walls, we walked up and down Main Street. It was cute, but nothing special, unless you want an Aunt Bee Apple Pie or a haircut at Floyd the Barbers! Still. I liked it. I am glad we made the side trip and would do it again, if only for another Pork Chop Sandwich.

We took a shortcut back the Parkway, lots of turns on State Routes. It was a little confusing, and The Parkway wasn't signed from the small road we entered on (State Route 677/Willis Gap Rd.). If we hadn't been so well acquainted with the road, we may have driven right by.

Taking one road in and another out allowed us glimpses of the area's agriculture and love of hydrangeas. Really, really big hydrangeas. Besides the hydrangeas, we saw apple orchards, peach orchards, Christmas tree farms, boxwood shrubbery farms, wheat fields, corn fields, cabbage patches, squash patches, a flax field and heritage polebean.. poles?

Back on the Parkway, we still had a hundred miles or so to go. We made a couple of roadside attraction stops at: Puckett Cabin (MP 189.9), once home to a famous midwife who supposedly delivered hundreds of babies without losing a patient and Ground Hog Mountain (MP 188.8), a picnic area displaying various fence types used in the area. We saw them all along the Parkway, but it was interesting to see them all together and read about their uses and evolution.

At MP 178 is Meadows of Dan and The Poor Farmer's Market, showcased in Southern Living as having "Best fried pies, jams, and jellies on the parkway, plus quilts and pottery." We stopped for picnic supplies for the next day, but ended up with Blenheim Ginger Ale, the best I've ever had. And I've had a lot of ginger ale. You can get it in Hot, or Not as Hot. I had the Hot.

Meadows of Dan also has the best Blue Ridge Parkway sign we saw. Worth a stop for a photo op if nothing else.

Our next, and last, stop of was Mabry Mill (MP 176), one of the most photographed ... on the Parkway. It's a restored gristmill/sawmill/woodworking shop and blacksmith shop and has living history displays and demos. It was pretty and interesting, but we must have been there at the wrong time of year/day, because it was not as photogenic as I had been led to believe. My favorite display is the still. It's kind of hidden out in the woods, which makes it that much better.

Already road weary, we hopped back in the car and drove the last 90 miles to The Peaks of Otter. Unfortunately, that meant driving through Roanoke at rush hour. Traffic was pretty dense for the Parkway, but nothing too terrible. What was bad, was the endless line of bicyclists. I am not anti-bike. I think all roads should be shared and have been on both sides. But this was just dangerous. It was made worse by the rain, but I can't imagine that it's a good idea under the best of circumstances. The issue seemed to be that the bicyclists were spread out too much (or not enough?). Between that and the rush hour traffic it was knuckle whitening to try and pass. It was doable, if scary. Then, one group stopped on the side of the road and one guy stopped IN the road with his foot out about a foot more into the road. I seriously thought I was going to hit him. And, if there had been oncoming traffic I would have probably hit something..... So there's my rant. Just be careful, whether you are on two wheels or four, motorized or people powered. Or just avoid the Roanoke stretch at rush hour, in the rain.

I was very happy to finally arrive at The Peaks of Otter. I was dry, there were no bikes, I could eat and relax. Which I did, mostly. The Peaks if Otter was obviously a popular getaway at one time. It still has a beautiful view and the building is very unique and pretty cool. Unfortunately it's been let go and is outdated. It's very clean, but a little... weird. And not always good weird. I would have loved to have seen it in it's heyday though. The cool 50's architecture, picturesque peak and lake, prevalent wildlife and expansive lawn is still noteworthy, but I bet it was something else at it's... peak.

Peaks of Otter

The next morning, after a quick coffee and some protein bars, we headed back off the Parkway to The Natural Bridge. We were in hurry. Lots to do and many miles to go before we got to The Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah.

The Natural Bridge is about a half hour off the Parkway. We considered stopping at The Devil's Marble Yard, but we wanted to get to Shenandoah early enough to do a 4 hour hike that I was really looking forward to. So, we went directly to the Natural Bridge and got there before they opened at 9:00 am, and I'm glad we did. The Natural Bridge is a natural wonder, but it is a privately owned and operated attraction. From the huge gift shop, wax museum and other attractions, I am pretty confident that it is rare to have the bridge to yourself these days. I wanted an unobstructed view to recreate some old family photos that I recently scanned for my grandparents, so the timing was perfect. Not only was able to recreate the photos pretty well, we saw a family of river otters as we walked along the Cedar Creek Nature Trail. For all I know they are out all of time posing for photos, but I like to think it was just for us.

Otter

We ended up spending more time at the Natural Bridge than originally intended, so it was straight to Shenandoah after that. We arrived a bit later than we planned for, so we made a quick stop at the Ranger's station to get the skinny on the "big" hike. After being assured that we had plenty of time, we headed back a few miles on Skyline Drive and started the long hike to Camp Rapidan.

Camp Rapidan was President Hoover's summer reatreat. The president's cabin, "The Brown House",  and the Prime minister's cabins have been restored to their 1929 appearance. It's a peaceful spot.  You can sit on the deck of the Brown House and look out at the Rapidan River, where the president fished for trout, stocked before he arrived.The hike itself is pretty easy and very scenic. It does cross three streams, but there are large, well-placed stone to step across on all there. The hike back up is slightly ore difficult, because it is all uphill.

Big Rock Falls

The cabin is open for ranger led tours in the summer and, if you can't manage the hike, they will drive you in via a park road. There were no tours when we were there, but we were surprised to find a few park employees hanging out on the deck of The Brown House.

In the end, it only took us 3 hours to complete the hike, and we even stopped at Big Rock Falls for a quick rest.  We were checked in and at dinner before 7:00 pm.

Big Meadows Lodge is one of my favorite places we stayed during this, or any, trip. They have done a fantastic job of keeping it authentic without letting it become rundown. This is not any easy task. The rooms are small, but very cozy and clean, with beautiful views of the valley. The main room is huge with a fireplace at one end, a community puzzle (at least when we were there), windows along the back wall and a deck outside. The Spottswood Dining Room is a great place with great food and more of those windows along the back wall, perfect for watching the sunset. I had Chesapeake Fried Oyster Stew and we split the Rainbow Trout and Black Iron Roasted Smithfield Pork. We also split dessert, which we very rarely do. The Blackberry Cobbler is amazing and the Blackberry Sundae is something else.. good, but a little too much sweet for my savory tooth. I would eat here even if I weren't staying overnight!

After dinner, we headed down to the Taproom, had a couple local brews, Devil's Backbone for me and a seasonal draft created for the park for Todd, and listened to some pretty decent acoustic guitar cover.  After a sleepless night at Peaks of Otter I was more than happy to turn in early to the cozy room a few steps away.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast in the Spottswood, hiked to Dark Hollow Falls, saw a couple bears and headed for D.C. (Post coming soon!)

Mugello 2011: Photos

I just watched the MotoGp race at Mugello on TV.  Last year I was lucky enough to watch from Tribuna Poggio Secco.

Tribuna Poggio Secco

Here are a bunch of photos from the weekend.
You can read an essay I wrote about our fantastic B&B here.

B&B Alla Corte di Carla

Track Food Italian Style

Track Food Italian Style

Mugello 2011: Pasta, or How to Speak Italian

I just watched the MotoGp race at Mugello on TV.  Last year I was lucky enough to watch from Tribuna Poggio Secco.

Below is an essay I wrote about the B&B where we stayed during last year's race weekend. It is called  B&B Alla Corte di Carla and was by far the best place we stayed in Italy.

You can look at photos from the track here.

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B&B Alla Corte di Carla

B&B Alla Corte di Carl

Pasta, or How to Speak Italian

“Inglese.” That’s what the neighbor said when she introduced us to Carla, our host. I’d spent months teaching myself to speak Italian, but to Carla and the neighbor, I spoke English. Carla didn’t.

Carla smiled and summoned her son Alessio to help us settle in. He asked if we would be dining with them. We hadn’t planned to, but it was late and we'd driven all day so we said “yes”. We would eat out tomorrow.

Between my bad Italian and Alessios decidedly better English, we settled on a time and arrived to find that we were the only guests. This was a relief. We were road weary and not feeling sociable.

The wine from the family keg was welcome, as was the bruschetta that arrived soon after. The tomatoes were perfect, the bread was perfect, everything was perfect. Then the pasta came. It was perfect. When Alessio asked if we wanted more I greedily accepted. Todd made a polite, but futile, attempt to decline. It's not easy to say no to pasta in Italian.

Carla brought the pot and started scooping. Todd gestured no more. She smiled and kept scooping until the pot was empty. Not wanting to offend, and because it was perfect, we ate it all. When she drilled an index finger into her cheek we responded in kind, with nods and smiles. We knew that this gesture meant “delicious!” We didn’t know that parents use it to encourage their children to eat.

Dinner lasted for hours. We lingered after desert, drinking and talking with Alessio. Todd asked, “Alessio, how do you stay so skinny?” He just shrugged. We decided the secret was the digestivos, so we were sure to drink plenty of Grappa.
We never did go out to dinner. More guests eventually arrived, and we were happy to share meals and Grappa, but always felt more connected to our hosts. On our last night, after making our way through 8 varieties of pizza, Alessio asked Todd if he wanted more, adding, “It’s like pasta.”

All American Road Trip Part 2: Blue Ridge Parkway MP 408 - 294 Food, Fog and Water (falls & rain)

This summer we decided to stay stateside and go on an All American Road Trip. Starting in the The Smokys, we drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah and ended with a few days in Washington DC.

This is Part 2. You can read Part 1 here.

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We woke up at Pisgah Inn to rain. We ate a good breakfast at the restaurant and watched the rain and fog roll across the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was pretty to watch from the safety of the dining room, but we weren't looking forward to climbing Mt. Pisgah. So we skipped the hike and headed north, past Asheville. There was restaurant up the road that we had to make by 3:00, so we figured it was worth it. Plus, we are pretty sure we climbed the mountain a while back when we were backpacking in Pisgah.

There's a lot to do/see in Asheville, but my sister lives there so we've seen or will have chance to to see it next time we visit. For your purposes, here are some things worth stopping for:

Art Deco buildings in downtown Asheville
The Biltmore if you have the time. It's pretty cool.
The North Carolina Arboretum
Eat at: 12 Bones, Tupelo Honey, Luella's, Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company, My Father's Pizza in Black Mountain & Early Girl (full disclosure: Early Girl is not my favorite, but Todd and most other people think it's the bees knees).

Craggy Flats

On the other side of Asheville, we stopped at Craggy Gardens at MP 364.5, past Craggy Gardens Picnic Area. It had stopped raining, but there was still a lot of fog, which made the views and hike through rhododendron tunnels to Craggy Flats more magical. Craggy Flats is a an open, windswept heath bald, as if there is any other kind. Balds are summits "covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected." This particular bald has a lot of rhododendron and flame azaleas.

Todd and his spirit bird at Craggy Pinnacle

.5 miles away, on the Parkway, is Craggy Pinnacle. We drove. And then realized that we could have hiked up from the Visitor's Center at Craggy Gardens. The trail is a little steeper than the Garden trail and features cool, wind-twisted beech trees among the rhododendron. At the top you will find sweeping vistas that include a great view of the Parkway itself. Todd found his spirit bird here. Then it started to rain.

Brunch at Knife & Fork

Hot Tub at Little Switzerland Inn

Back in the dry car we made a beeline to Spruce Pine (exit near MP 330) and The Knife and Fork for brunch. We really wanted to eat here, but had to make it a priority, because they close early on Sunday (when we were there) and aren't open at all on Monday. The rained out hike at Pisgah had put us ahead of schedule and the continuing rain made us feel better about driving past Crabtree Falls. We made it well before our 3:00 deadline. It was worth all of the trouble.

We split Chicken & Pancakes, Three Cheese Plate, Chicken Wings & Rabbit Wings. Everything was delicious, but the Rabbit Wings were off the charts! I'm going back just for more of those and the great service. Everyone was super sweet and really wanted to know that you were enjoying the food & the space.

After lunch, we checked in at The Little Switzerland Inn (MP 334) and decided to backtrack to Crabtree Falls (MP 339). There were a few other cars in the parking lot, but the rain was really coming down & the fog was getting thicker, so we went back to our lodgings at Little Switzerland Inn and waited it out in hot tub.

Lobby at Little Switzerland Inn

Little Switzerland is a strange, not in bad way, place. It is very old school fancy & is kept up pretty well, which is good because we spent a lot of time there. We ate in the bar, instead of the Chalet Restaurant. After our amazing brunch, we weren't that hungry, so we had what we called "Blue Ridge Tapas": Swiss Onion Soup, Homemade Chips with Blue Cheese and Carolina Caprese ( fried green tomatoes with homemade pimento cheese & a red pepper puree). They put the game on, so we stayed for a while.

Crabtree Falls, NC

We woke up well rested. It was still raining, but we decided to head back to Crabtree Falls for the third time & just go for it. The Ranger at the Visitor's Center said we should be ok, just be careful on the rocks. He did not tell us that trail was almost all rocks at some points! We went slow & made it down the steep, rocky, wet trail. Luckily, the Ranger also told us that we could shorten the hike by driving to a trailhead in the campground, instead of hiking in from the main parking lot. This cutting .5 miles out of our hike. In the rain, this is a very good thing. Regardless of how long & slippery the hike, the 70-foot falls are definitely worth it. And I think they might have been even better in the rain. We had them all to ourselves! Note: don't get these NC falls confused with Crabtree Falls in VA, also off the Parkway.

Linville Falls: Erwin's View

With one rainy waterfall hike under our belts, we decided to stick with that day's plan and go to Linville Falls (MP 316.5). We checked with the Ranger to make sure conditions were good and headed up. In the end we felt a little silly, since the trail at Linville Falls is pretty easy, at least the main trail. There are three spurs off of the main trail that lead to three different views. At .5 miles is the Upper Falls, at .6 miles is the Chimney View and at .8 miles is Erwins View. We went to all three, but if you only have time for one, Chimney View is the most popular. However, we preferred Erwin's View, it's higher and farther out, giving an overall perspective of the falls and valley.

It stopped raining by the time we left Linville Falls, but we decided to skip Wiseman's View anyway. It sounds like a great hike, dubbed the "Grand Canyon of the East", but is a couple of miles off the Parkway and the drive involves "leaving pavement", which didn't sound like a great idea after all the rain. Instead, we backtracked to the Linville Falls Community (MP 317.4) and had Pimento Cheese Sandwiches and Pie at Famous Louise's Rock House. It was really good and is indeed a rock house. It's also on the National Register of Historical Places, which is cool.

Driving

Next stop, Grandfather Mountain. And stop we did. And turned around. And left. Grandfather Mountain sounds like it would be a lot of fun. It's a privately owned attraction that UNESCO has designated an International Biosphere Preserve. There is a huge backcountry, which would be interesting if you have the time, but we were going for the wildlife habitat and walk across the mile high swinging bridge... until the nice lady at the gate informed us, the rain & fog would mostly like keep the animals out of site and the bridge views would be lost. In fact, she said, we wouldn't be able to see the other end of the bridge. So we left.

Time for more rain hiking, but first, a quick stop at Linn Cove Visitor Center (MP 304.4) to learn how they built the Linn Cove Viaduct, said to be "the most complicated concrete bridge ever built."

Rough Ridge hike in the Fog

At MP 302.8 is a pull off that seems to overlook nothing, until you climb a steep and rocky (and in our case wet) Tanawha Trail to Rough Ridge. We were told, buy our guidebook (Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway by Nye Simmons) that Rough Ridge "takes on a special magic in fog, when the weather is otherwise frightful." Perfect! It really was magical in fog. Once we got there. But the hike was pretty rough, lots of large puddles that almost had us turning around at least twice.

Wet and tired, it was time to head to our most deluxe accommodations on the trip, Yonahlossee. Just what we needed. There were two ladies on the covered porch when we arrived. They were the only other Inn guests (there are also cottages) and have been coming every year since the were girls and Yonahlossee was a summer camp. They were exited to hear about our day's adventure and wanted to tell us all about the trails that they used to hike and the wonderful Manhattans on the terrace at the Crestwood. I think they were a little disappointed to find out that we were only there for one night and already had dinner plans.

We had reservations at The Gamekeeper that night, but had plenty of time to relax in the sauna and big fluffy beds. We skipped the workout room.

Todd at The Gamekeeper

The Gamekeeper is my favorite restaurant of the entire trip. Knife & Fork is pretty close. We showed up early and relaxed at the bar. I thought that it might be a littl too fancy, but it isn't at all. It's a cozy, elegant space and the people are exceptionally nice. We loved our waitress, Sandi, she was very helpful, laid back, but attentive, and she sounded exactly like Amy Sedaris.

We split, as we do, the following fantastic appetizer: Mixed Grill (including ostrich, antelope, rabbit and alligator sausage and bison sausage), Pork Belly, Gazpacho and, of course, the Cheese Plate. It was all fantastic, but I was surprised by how much I loved the antelope... I really, really, really loved the antelope!

I would go back to Yonahlossee just to eat at The Gamekeeper. But, I would also check out some of the hikes the "camp girls" told us about  & maybe even have a Manhattan on the terrace at the Crestwood. Fancy!

Part 3 is here! : Blue Ridge Parkway MP 294 - Shenandoah (Including Mayberry, bears and a bridge!)