Nomad Life - Day 30

Even though I stayed up quite late last night, I was still wide awake by 0600 and spent the early morning getting organized (printer, etc.).  Brenna was awake by 0730 and we talked a bit before she asked if I wanted some breakfast.  By then, I was hungry (she wasn't) so made some pancakes - this didn't turn out very well (I wasn't used to her stove) and I filled the apartment with a bit of smoky smell.  Brenna opened all her windows and back door and it took a while to air everything out after that...  She claimed that she wasn't hungry before this but Brenna actually ate some of the pancakes so it didn't seem too bad by the end.  Starting at 0900, we both started getting ready for a day in Shenandoah National Park.  We were ready to leave by 1030 and, after driving east on US-33 to Skyline Drive, headed north, deeper into the park.  There was no line at the NPS checkpoint (nice) and very little traffic on the roads.  We got good views from several pull-out stops - and each commented on how much we really liked the park.  The curvy mountain roads - which I used to see almost every weekend - made the driving take much longer than I'd expected and it soon became clear that my estimate of 1300 for being in Woodstock (to meet Jesse) was not going to work.  And, when we parked at a trailhead (1145) on the east side of Big Meadows, I suggested that Brenna update him on our later arrival.  The weather was wonderful (60s on the ridge, sunny and lightly breezy.  At the place where we parked, there were very few people and we took a walk/hike along the Rapidan Road (gravel) to the Millprong Trail.  There were so many birds!  The meadow was also teaming with butterflies and bees - a perfect atmosphere for an outdoor excursion.  Brenna told me she'd been trying to log all her outdoor activity for the year and was happy to have someone to go with her.  We had a very enjoyable (2.5 mile) walk and talked a good bit during our hour in the pleasant weather.  Returning to the car, we continued north on Skyline Drive towards US-211.  There were many, many bikers riding in the same direction and this slowed our progress considerably - it was quite hard to pass them!  Finally, though, we reached Thornton Gap.  Heading west from that point, we passed through Luray and saw the Caverns, Jellystone Park and Cooters - this inspired a lot of good (funny) conversation.  For most of this period, we didn't have any cell signal so it was difficult to update Jesse on our ETA to Woodstock.  Fortunately, he was busy with some home improvement projects and wasn't too upset about the length of time it was taking us to meet.  At about 1415, we arrived in Woodstock and quickly located the Woodstock Brew House.  I'd asked my daughter and her boyfriend to go with me to this place because I'd heard about it from some work colleagues who know the owners.  We ended up getting a rather big lunch (buffalo mac and cheese for me and burgers for Brenna and Jesse) at 1230 and I had one their original beers.  We started inside the brewery, talking for several hours, and then moved outside for another beer and a pretzel (for Brenna and Jesse).  Once finished with our meal, we walked around in the historic district of Woodstock, looking at old buildings (they had three courthouses in town) and browsing in little shops (Brenna really liked their bookstore).  While discussing all of the options we had for activities nearby, the Shenandoah County Fair was mentioned (last day for that event), along with a hike to something called the Woodstock Tower.  This sounded interesting to me so, at 1700, we drove east towards the mountains.  Brenna's little car (a Honda Fit) navigated the narrow, paved roads pretty well at first - however, the road to the tower turned into a narrower and narrower, low quality gravel road.  About half way up the treacherous route, Brenna asked Jesse to drive us the rest of the way - fortunately, we made it!  There were a few places to park near the summit and the weather was wonderful.  We made our way from the car to the trail towards the tower and, about 10 minutes later, were climbing the steel stairs to the platform above.  From there, we could see a lot of the Shenandoah Valley, several good bends in the Shenandoah River, the Allegheny Mountains, the Massanutten and the Shenandoah National Park beyond.  Wow!  We spent a little time up there but then more people arrived and we vacated the platform.  Jesse showed us a launching area for hang-gliders (more great views) and then we headed downhill to where people involved with "The Ring 70" (ultra-marathon race) had set up a SAG station.  Jesse recently got interested in these kinds of races so we stayed to talk with the group for a little while.  Afterwards, we started downhill in Brenna's little car (Jesse at the wheel).  I'll admit that it felt good to reach the pavement again!  After returning to the Brew House (so Jesse could get his own car), we drove to a nearby gas station (Brenna was almost out of gas).  Following Jesse's classic (1974) Toyota FJ, we headed to Edinburg so we could visit his new house.  When we arrived, the tour began - it was amazing how nice the place was but also to see all the renovations he was doing to improve it further.  There were lots of amenities, a beautiful yard, gardens, multiple spots for cars, etc. - wonderful!  After I saw almost everything, Brenna suggested we walk to a nearby campground (located along Stoney Creek) and, with the nice weather (cooling into the mid 60s), this turned out to be a great idea.  After sitting in some comfortable chairs on a deck at the campground for a little while, we returned to Jesse's house so we could go out for some more food.  Because we were almost all full from our earlier meal, though, the "dinner" ended up being ice cream at the Edinburg Mini Golf and Ice Cream (2000).  The evening was wonderful for sitting outside and we had even more time for additional conversation - very nice!  Afterwards (2100), Brenna and I said goodbye to Jesse and we headed towards Harrisonburg (via US-11 and then I-81).  The traffic wasn't too bad and we made good time, arriving at Brenna's apartment by 2130.  Brenna told me she was tired so I said goodnight to her and spent time reading before heading to bed (2200).  What a great day in the Shenandoah Valley!