Virginia 2021 - Day 6: Easy Hike, Wine, Beer

The weather was marginal again, this morning, so we lounged around the house and made plans to do things between the bouts of rain in the forecast.

When we finally headed out, we decided to stop in "downtown" Madison for some brunch. One of the only local establishments that we hadn't yet experienced was Miranda's, so we decided to try that.

We got there a few minutes before they opened (at 11 AM), and decided to wait and give it a try. It turns out they only do breakfast on Saturday and Sunday (when they open at 8 AM). Instead of brunch, we had coffee and tea with lunch, which was decent.

After carefully studying the forecast, we decided to squeeze in one more hike for the week. We were looking for something relatively nearby and not steep, which ruled out anything in Shenandoah National Park. Sabrina found Preddy Creek Trail Park, about 20 minutes from the house, which looked reasonable.

It had rained overnight and this morning, so the woods were cool and damp in the shade. We hiked the longer loop trail around the park, which showed ample evidence of recent equestrian use.

There were also some "advanced bike trails", which had these clever anti-horseback gates.

The trail was easy, wandering up and down gentle slopes for about 3½ miles, which was just what we were looking for after a week or steep hikes in SNP.

We added the optional "creek loop" that followed what we assumed was Preddy Creek for a mile or so.

There was a surprisingly stout wooden/cable-suspension bridge, in the middle of the park.  It seemed out of place. We couldn't resist crossing it, even though we didn't want to explore that side of the river.

I wondered how the mountain bikers and horseback riders were supposed to cross the bridge, as there were 5 or 6 stairs at each end. Not far past it, there was a trail that forded the creek.

It was getting hot and humid as we finished today's hike, so we donned dry shirts and once again sought a nearby vineyard. Since they're littered all over the valleys here, it wasn't hard to find one a few minutes down the road: Reynard Florence Vineyards and Winery.

As we pulled into the driveway, a fat corgi abandoned the couple he was with, at the pergola, and followed us to a parking space. He was a big fan of Sabrina, as dogs usually are.

We ordered two wine flights, then went out the back door to look for shaded seating on the deck. Ti Rey, as his tag read, escorted us.

The view from the back deck wasn't great, so we settled on a table in the front, with an umbrella for shade. This view was exactly as advertised, on the website.

Ti Rey, of course, parked himself next to us. The owners assured us he was very friendly with people (but not other dogs).

As we sipped our wine flights, the owner decided that he'd better process his burn pile, before the rain came. He then monitored it from a safe distance, while sitting on a running tractor, "for safety". Occasionally, he would drive forward and use the bucket to push some burning sticks back into the pile.

The couple that been occupying the pergola retreated to the back deck, for some shade. Shortly after, some clouds rolled in, so we seized the opportunity to finish our wine from the "best seat in the house", as the website describes it.

It was just starting to rain again, as we left the winery around 4:30 PM.

I almost convinced Sabrina that we should try another vineyard, but all of the nearby options were closing soon anyway.

As we had eaten lunch at 11 AM, we decided to have dinner earlier than usual (for most of the week, we'd been eating around 8 PM, due to almost everything being an hour away from the house).

One of the only recommendations we hadn't tried from the "welcome" paperwork hanging from a magnet on the side of the refrigerator was Bald Top Brewing.

Aside from the obvious benefits (beer), Bald Top also advertised wood-fired pizza, and was only about 3 miles from the house.

We timed it perfectly; it started pouring rain just after we got inside.

They had 20 taps, so the fact that the flight was only 8 beers seemed inadequate, but I only wanted to try 10 or 12 of them anyway.

We claimed a corner table in the semi-outdoor tent that was attached to the... barn? But it quickly became apparent that we'd have to relocate, as:

• People started closing the walls/flaps, cutting off the cool breeze (and the rain, I admit)
• There was loud music blaring from several speakers, which seemed to be getting louder due to the flaps being closed
• Some guy started bringing in instrument cases and an amp, signalling the inevitability of live music

We ordered a few personal pizzas, and once they were ready, we fled to a detached tent during a lull in the rain. Initially, we had the entire tent to ourselves.

It started raining again, shortly after we'd made our strategic move. The humidity was working wonders with Sabrina's hair.

I thought the pizza was quite good. Sabrina would've preferred it slightly crispier. In both cases, I think it exceeded our expectations, given that we were in a tent, in the middle of a field, surrounded by cows, and the pizza was made in a barn. 

On the way out, I stole a glance at their pizza oven, through the open kitchen door.

Back at the farm, we sat on the front porch and listened to the birds, cows, and goats, as the rain returned and the sun set over the mountains. We managed to time everything around the weather today, and needed neither raincoats nor umbrellas at any point.

It's allegedly going to rain, intermittently, all night and all day tomorrow. We're leaving in the morning anyway, so this doesn't present a huge problem for us, beyond the possibility of needing an umbrella while loading the car.