Monday, August 15, 2016

Weekend fun in Harrisonburg VA.

They say laughter is the best medicine, mix that with a relaxing weekend away in the mountains and you an cure just about anything. The hubby and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Harrisonburg VA, home of JMU college, and wow. Was is one of the best weekend trips we've ever had. It was packed full of fun activities, relaxation, and some top qualify food. If you are looking for a fun weekend trip in VA read our blog for the many activities and best places to eat in Harrisonburg.



We started out weekend trip early Friday morning. We stopped for lunch at the Cross Keys Vineyard in Mt. Crawford VA. Its beautiful landscaping was quite a sight on the drive in and made for a beautiful view while eating lunch.


The venue would make for a beautiful wedding.
 
 
We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Johnny got the bbq sandwich while I got the crab cake. It was so moist and full of flavor. It paired perfectly with my chardonnay.
 
 
After our meal, we went inside for their tasting. They have several different tasting options with a fun and friendly staff. My favorites were the chardonnay and the red blend named after the owners best friend! They also have a wine flight option where you can enjoy 4 different wines out on their patio!
 


About 2 miles down from the winery is a lavender farm. Being from Virginia Beach, we don't run into many specialty farms so we decided to check it out. It was so cute! It was set up similar to a small town with the lavender shop, winery, and farm in the back. You can enter the farm to pick fresh lavender and view their shop with many hand crafted items made from their lavender. They have bath products, edibles, and WINE! Yes, they sell lavender infused wine so naturally we had to do a tasting !

 

 They have over 8,000 lavender plants on the farm. It was quite the site.

 
After looking around the farm and buying some items from the shop we grabbed some of their lavender infused ice-cream (we chose the pumpkin flavor! )
 


After the lavender farm we headed to our bed and breakfast. Since we waited until the last minute we couldn't get any bed and breakfast in Harrisonburg so we chose the Cave Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast which was right outside of town, about 20 minutes away.
 
 
The house was originally built in the 1800's and filled with history!

 
It was furnished with many antiques and artifacts.

 
They even turned downstairs into their own private civil war museum.
 
We stayed in the Gold Room which was a private room at the end of the hallway.

 
We had a fireplace (which with the 100 degree weather, it's safe to say we did not need to use it). We also had a private bathroom with a shower/bathtub.

 
The best part about a bed and breakfast on the farm would be... the COWS! Yes, there were cows on the fields next to the farms.
 
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So naturally I had to cow selfie!

 
 
We also had a nice view of the mountains from the from porch.
 


We had dinner downtown  at a local southern kitchen and whiskey bar called Jimmy Madison's.
 
 
We enjoyed their meatloaf and the shrimp and grits. They have tons of whiskey choices and flight options!
 
The event that inspired our whole trip was an indie country artist that was playing in Harrisonburg, Chris Knight. After dinner we went to the Clementine where he was playing and enjoyed drinks and his acoustic set.
 
 
After the show we made a pit stop at Kline's for some ice cream! Nothing says vacation like ice cream! 
 
 
 
We started our Saturday with breakfast at the inn. They served fresh fruit,  yogurt, sausage/egg casserole with fried potatoes.
 


After breakfast we head over to skyline drive. We drove around a bit at looked at some of the overviews.


The trails were a little crowded so we decided to head to the Luray caverns and hit the trails up on the way home.
If you have never been to the Luray caverns, I absolutely recommend it. It is nature at it's finest. I can't even begin to describe the beauty underground in this hidden gem.
 


 
 

After Luray, we went over to a local BBQ food truck, Triple Crown BBQ. Can I say OH MY GOD. I have had many barbecue sandwiches in my life and hands down this one takes the cake. It was so moist and flavorful. Johnny got the sampler and it did not disappoint. It was so amazing we stopped her for lunch on Sunday too! If you are anywhere near Luray Virginia please do your self a favor and stop by to try their food.
 

 
After lunch we headed back to the Bed and Breakfast for some relaxation and down time.
(Perfect time to use the bath bombs and massage oils from the lavender farm!)
 
We had a very nice dinner at the Local Chop House and Grill.
 
 
 It has a warehouse design with an upscale service and excellent food quality. If you are going on a weekend it's best to make a reservation or you will have over an hour wait. We made the mistake of not having a reservation so we ate at the bar, which to my surprise was still an excellent setting. We received excellent service and still had the privacy for a romantic setting.

 
Yes, that does mean we were same side sitters! I promise Johnny had a good time!

 
For dinner we had the fillet minion with their duck fries, asparagus, and collards, oh and champagne of course!
 
With our anniversary in a few weeks, we decided to turn this dinner into a celebration. Our waiter brought us out 2 of their best desserts  with "Happy Anniversary" written on them. I got the honey butter cake with their pomegranate pineapple ice cream. Johnny got the fudgy brownie cake with their sweet cream ice-cream and caramel popcorn. So Yummy!

 
After dinner we headed to a local brewery, Pale Fire, for some beer flights and to wind down.
 

 
Sunday we had breakfast at the inn and head to Skyline Drive for a morning hike before the trip home. We took a short hike down Dark Hallows to see the waterfall.
 

 
It was such a fun trip! We cannot wait to plan our next visit to explore Harrisonburg. Hope our mini vacation gave you some fun ideas for your next trip!