So, the 4th comes around this year, and having no desire to go to the mall for the fireworks (security alerts aside, it’s just too much of a madhouse for me) we decided to still do something. Now, it is the 4th, and what could be more American that a road trip?!
So, we packed a lunch, picked a road and a direction, and off we went, down route 29 south.
First stop, the Christmas Gallery in Gainesville. Been past it several times, and decided to finally go in. Fun little shop, and now on the mailing list for the next big sale in a few weeks. :-D
Next stop, the Piedmont Family Fair. Sponsored by the Piedmont Environmental Council, there was a touch of a treehugger slant to it, (big push for no increase in the sales tax for new roads, as it will eff up the open spaces in Va), but still pretty dang cool. Had alpacas and llamas, spinning demonstrations, 4H was there with goats, and an angora rabbit. I’ve never seen one of those, looks like something Jim Henson would have come up with. And of course, they had the booths with all the cool food, which I am a sucker for every time. Walked out with a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce, pumpkin butter, onion jam and spiced garlic jelly. (Yeah, they both sound weird, but they are GOOD!) Also picked up three bars of homemade soap. (Again, I am such a sucker for these things!)
Then on to Unicorn Wineries. They had signs up advertising a 4th of July “event” that would be running until 6pm. So, we turn off and down the road we go. Turns out it was a wine tasting. Yum! $3 to buy the glass and away we went. Good stuff. Ended up taking 6 bottles to the counter, at which point, they informed me that for a mere $12 more, I could get the “Herd” (one of each of their wines). Hmmm, that would be 3 more bottles. And it’s not like it would go to waste. So, of course, I went for the Herd. Tim just laughed and said, “Wow, they saw you coming from a mile away!!” Actually, it really was a good deal. Honest, it was!!!
Back down the road, on to Sperryville, VA. You have to love a town that has the motto of “Easy Does It”.
This was the only place that was a “must” on the list of places to go, as it is the home of “Cooter’s Place”. Yes, you did read that right. Dukes of Hazzard. No, I’m not kidding. It’s a little souvenir shop with a attached burger shop, and Ben Jones does live right around there somewhere in Rappahanock County. He’s running for Congress again in the 7th district, too. It’s really a hilarious place to go - assuming my camera was not ruined by all the rain at DCAR, there are some pictures of Tim, and me, in the General Lee. It’s really just a hoot, and you should definitely stop in and take a look around if you’re ever down that direction.
Then we popped across the street to the Sperryville Emporium. It’s a weird store, with everything from Minnetonka Moccasins to brand new furniture and everything in between. Also a big section of Virginia made foodstuffs. Which again, I couldn’t resist, and I now have a bottle of Vidalia Onion Barbecue sauce.
Back on the road and through the mountains. Beautiful day, gorgeous views, great drive. Stopped at a custard shop just outside of downtown New Market. Not being a big custard freak like Tim is (it seems to be a Wisconsin thing), I was happy with a Coke and going through the gift shop next door, called the Basket Case. Here is where I found what has to be the biggest scam in the gourmet foods industry. “Gourmet Dipping Sticks” to go with your gourmet mustards and such. AKA Pretzel Sticks. I am so totally in the wrong business.
We then drove through downtown/historic New Market, which is really pretty. Passed by the Southern Kitchen Restaurant, and decided we’d go down the road a little further to see what we could see and then come back and have dinner there. After a few minutes, I see a sign that says, “Welcome to Rockingham County”. Hmmm, Rockingham County? Isn’t that Harrisonburg? We couldn’t have gone *that* far afield, could we? Next sign: Harrisonburg, 11 miles.
Oh, what the heck, we’ve gone this far, might as well go ahead and drive through Harrisonburg!!! Which we did, then got back on I-81 and headed back to New Market for dinner. It’s around 8:00 at this point. We get into New Market and back over to the Southern Kitchen at 8:15, only to discover that they closed at 8:00 for the holiday. Damn. On the door, they have the schedule for the 4th of July events in town. Fireworks start at 9:30. Tim looks at me, knowing that I have to go to work in the morning… “How about we go ahead and stay for the fireworks??? I’ll drive home and you can sleep in the car?” Well, the offer to drive took care of it for me, and off we went, following the crowds to the New Market Community Park.
They have concession stands with hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream set up in the park. There are kids running around with sparklers, and they are even letting people set off the little fireworks in the park. (Which surprised me no end, even the legal ones in Fairfax County will get you in trouble it seems.) Lots of people there, but still lots of room to move around and nothing like how crowded it gets up in Fairfax for any event. Really, really nice. Had someone come in and play taps for the lowering of the flag, and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner before the fireworks started. The fireworks show itself only ran around 20 minutes, but it was really, really nice. Mainly because of the atmosphere I think. There’s definitely a very strong sense of community in New Market, something that seems to be lacking up here. It seems to be on the short list of places that Tim wants to move to someday. It certainly has made mine.
Finally rolled into home about midnight, with two dogs waiting for us who were definitely ready for dinner and a trip outside, but certainly none the worse for wear for our getting home so late.
Next time out, we’re heading for Strausburg. No clue at all what is there, but we saw the road signs for it and liked the name. Seems like a good enough reason for me.
