The 2015 Spring-time Girlfriend Getaway

My annual girlfriend getaway was a success. But it went by way too fast, as usual. And Tracey could only stay through Friday afternoon. Carol and I missed having Tracey with us, but we made the best of it.

On Thursday, we did a little shopping, and eating. But mostly, we just enjoyed each other’s company. We don’t get together nearly as often as we’d like to.

We had dinner at Katie’s Kitchen, near Strasburg. They have the BEST fried green beans. Nothing like a healthy dose of veggies for an appetizer.

Friday took us to The Green Dragon. It’s billed as a farmers’ market and auction, but it’s more than that. There’s meat and produce, of course, but there’s also a slew of other stuff for sale. Anything and everything, really. Baked goods, nuts, candy, home decor of all varieties (and decades), hardware, live plants, produce, pet supplies, clothing, flags, rugs, furniture. You name it, you can find it at The Green Dragon. For better or worse.

Unfortunately, it was PACKED with people. We usually go around late-February/early-March. Apparently, the colder temps keep folks away. The warmer temps bring them out in droves.

But we made do, elbowing our way through to our favorite baker of Whoopie Pies. They have a new, radical sign-maker, who decided to change the spelling of one of our favorite treats. It’s supposed to be WHOOPIE. Really.

And we got our favorite lunch treat, too.

A visit to The Green Dragon wouldn’t be complete without a pretzel dog. Or two.

The pretzel dogs were absolutely delicious. And look what I had for dessert…

I saw an important instructional sign, too.

Tracey left us at The Green Dragon. She had to go to a dinner party/wedding cake sampler affair. Carol and I continued on to some of our other favorite little shops.

But first, Carol needed to run into Wal-Mart. I waited in the car, capturing this shot of the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Next up was Carson’s in the Cornfields, a truly unique spot that sells antiques, architectural salvage, re-purposed items, painted furniture, cabinet hardware, outdoor accessories, and other stuff. It’s one of my favorite shops.

Saturday, I went shopping for clothes — ugh! — while Carol visited with her niece and great-nieces for a bit. Then we shopped some more.

Throughout the course of the four-day shopping extravaganza, I was constantly amazed at the variety of, um, stuff, being sold. I’ll save that for another post, though.

Almost Paradise is always entertaining, with their yard full of concrete and resin statuary.

 

And Carol finally found the perfect dog.

The adoption fee was a bit steep, so the doggie didn’t come home with us.

I was so tickled to see a group of Virginia gentlemen seated around a picnic table that I just HAD to join them for a spell.

It’s a fun place, if you like kitschy stuff as much as I do.

And look what we saw on our way back to the motel. It was parked outside a country store.

Perhaps a horse and buggy was out of this person’s financial reach?

Although temperatures were a bit on the cool side, the weather was generally pretty nice. It’s such a picturesque place, really, when you are away from the mega shopping outlets and such.

But the shopping places are fun. And look what I found…

Yes, I brought him home.

I’ll share some of the more unique stuff I saw in my next post.