We had originally planned to have a lazy morning, and then leave the house around 10:45 AM to have a comfortable buffer for making it to Shenandoah River Adventures before noon.
But the weather forecast over in Elkton suggested thunderstorms would roll through in the afternoon, so we shifted our itinerary an hour forward, leaving the house before 10 AM. On the way out, we got a long shot of the farm from the gravel driveway.
It was about a 45 minute drive, with a few delays for road work and tree pruning, over the Swift Run Gap, down into Elkton, and into the grassy-field parking lot at SRA.
I don't think we really had any expectations, but it's definitely an efficient operation.
First, we had to sign a lengthy waiver that was approximately 50% absolution of negligence, 25% alcohol-related, and 25% search-and-rescue costs. After filing our paperwork, we got back in the car, followed the shuttle bus across the street to the boat launch / park where we would finish the trip, then boarded the bus to the upstream launch point.
We were the only passengers. It was a loud and bumpy ride, but had ample airflow.
I helped the driver unload a tandem kayak, paddles, etc., and we loaded the rest of our gear into the boat. As he turned to walk back to the shuttle, he said (literally) "You're done when you see the orange buoys. Any questions?"
I asked if there was anything to know about, between here and there. He quipped "Not really. Watch for alligators."
We went with SRA because it was explicitly not a guided/group tour, like the other companies. As we were the only people embarking around 11 AM, we practically had the river to ourselves for the entire trip.
There were 8 or 10 areas with rapids; we definitely put a few new scratches in the bottom of that kayak. A few of them were more exciting than we were expecting, but we managed to keep everything in the boat.
For most of the 7 miles or so, our only company was the occasional turtle.
We beached the boat against a log and stopped for lunch about halfway through, but it was extremely hot in the sun so we didn't dawdle long.
Early on, it seemed like it was going to be a very quick trip; the first half was much faster than the second, however. The paddles they gave us were also very heavy and rugged, which contributed to the difficulty. The labels, still attached, extolled their durability and strength.
By the time we landed, pulled the boat out, dried off, called SRA, waited for boat pickup, and changed out of our wet clothes, it was 2 PM. We debated lounging around the park, possibly catching up on some reading, but the sky looked ominous to the west.
Indeed, our decision to shift everything an hour earlier turned out to be a wise one.
Somewhat tuckered out from our trip, but also wanting some shelter from the impending precipitation, we beseeched Google to find us a nearby winery.
The closest option was
Brix and Columns, so we made our way to Dave Berry road and sampled two of their finest flights.
We had driven 10 or 15 minutes south, and managed to almost find the gap in the line of thunderstorms. It rained while we enjoyed the wine and the view, but we had scored a table under cover.
I think we spent over an hour at that winery, just relaxing and enjoying the view, with some wine.
After the storm line passed, the cool breeze faded and was replaced with hot air and the smell of the farm, so we consulted the
Shenandoah Spirits Trail map and found another nearby option.
It was unclear at first if the
Cave Hill Farms Brewery was even open, because Google maps said it should be, and there was an "open" sign at the gate... but there was also a "brewery closed" sign halfway up the drive.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but the brewery is literally in a barn. Which is also a museum?
The ambiance was fascinating. The music was a bit too Country for my taste. Also the beer wasn't good.
I'm glad we went, because it was a unique experience/venue, but I need to say again: the beer was not good. Of the four that I tried, one was decent, two were mediocre, and the fourth was just bad.
It was hot and very loud inside, so once we got our snack, we relocated to the outdoor seating.
We apparently documented this, from all angles.
It was around 5 PM when we left the farm brewery, and I was on the hunt for a decent beer, so we stopped at
Elkton Brewing, on the way back to Swift Run Gap.
The four beers I tried here (5, 9, 10, 12) were all excellent. I wanted to bring them all home, but #9, #10, and #12 were not available in crowlers.
We ran into a group of four people that had also been at Brix and Columns and at Cave Hill Farm Brewery with us; we discussed how bad the beer was at the previous brewery.
Options for dinner were sparse and uninspiring (sorry, Elkton), and the few places we had considered on the east side of Swift Run Gap were not open tonight, so we just returned to the house and finished the last of our leftovers from earlier in the week.
Another line of strong storms rolled through; it was loud on the metal roof.
I took a nap on the couch. We researched hike options for tomorrow.
It's been a peaceful evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment