Fall travel adventures during COVID
We needed a break. Don’t we all at this point? We wanted to be as safe as possible when doing it though. I think we all are struggling with how to best exist right now. Amanda Mull published a really great piece in the Atlantic about it.
In the fall, we have previously taken some amazing trips to Colombia, Serbia, Hungary, and more. Occasionally, we have done short trips (less than five hours). Usually, it’s been to Staunton or Charlottesville. Usually, we would end up trying to find something near downtown in those areas. Our goals in the past focused on the affordability of location, but proximity within walking distance to restaurants and bars along with short drives to wineries and hiking.
This time though we couldn’t risk a Howard Johnson deal (yep we did HoJo once in Downtown Staunton…and it was…listen…it was a ten minute walk to Redbeard Brewing, which is amazing). We needed to avoid what would seem to make sense to us normally. We needed something more remote, but not too insanely remote. We needed a guarantee of cleanliness, safety, social distancing, and again price was a factor.
I scoured Airbnb and other sites with not much coming up. Eventually, we decided to widen our search to a mid week break. I found a great deal on a condo/cabin rental in Basye, Virginia.
Airbnb has done some work to improve policies around many things including COVID-19 Safety with a new cleaning regiment for hosts. Our host was also really responsive and we felt comfortable.
We didn’t bring our own linens or additional cleaning supplies but felt like everything was more than adequate upon arrival. Also, our condo/cabin rental was in a more remote location and we never saw neighbors. We did share a wall with neighbors as it was sort of a duplex, but that’s how it works with where we live now (we are in a semi-detached row home). I wasn’t expecting a bunker, but reasonable amounts of space and safety. I got it.
Basye is SUPER WEST - almost to West Virginia. The closest highway is I-81. There was a lot of driving around there and a lot of mountain driving (Dramamine and breathing exercises were my friend). Eventually though I got used to it and really enjoyed the beauty and scenery.
There’s a lake nearby with some limited fishing, a lot of activities at Bryce Resort, hiking (Tibbet Knob is where I bruised myself trying to get over a rock scramble, but the view was worth it), and more nature related activities. Things are all kind of a drive with limited restaurants. Almost all the entirety of our food preparation was in our Airbnb kitchen that was fully stocked with what we needed after a quick pit stop to Food Lion. We were truly though trying to stick to outdoor type activities and limit our engagement with others.
Going mid week meant that the wineries we were lucky enough to visit were much quieter, which was perfect. However, there were plenty of activities that were only available on the weekend.
We really enjoyed visiting Muse Vineyards and Shenandoah Vineyards (closer to Woodstock) as well as Cave Ridge Vineyards in Mt. Jackson. The donuts at Showater’’s Orchard were spectacular (as were the views in the back). The cider - Old Hill Cider - was pretty tasty and we grabbed a couple of bottles including the one aged in bourbon barrels.
We drove over to Luray to finally visit the caverns, which was great during this time. They were much emptier and mostly everyone was following the correct procedures. One man I tried to get away from was wearing his mask on his chin because I guess he breathes from his chin?
On our way back, we achieved one of my goals that I’ve had since moving to this area in 2004 - driving along Skyline Drive. It was beautiful weather with the leaves various shades of yellow and golden colors. The overlooks were just…I’m not sure how to describe it.
I’m not saying I have the answers or am doing everything right, but I am trying like many others. We got a nice secluded trip away and were able to do it with minimal issue and I think we are the better for it.
