Forgotten LOVE

No one ever really forgets love, do they? Not permanently, anyway.

Like when you eat a hot fudge sundae perched atop a freshly made funnel cake and LOVE it. How can you forget that?

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Funnel Cake Sundaes

Or, that time you not only enjoyed a moment with a special someone, but also managed to capture it perfectly on camera without really even trying.

Gaige jumping at Sunset Point
Gaige jumping at Sunset Point

Gaige is our middle grand child. During our visit to Washington in February 2014, we walked together to this little park called Sunset Point, hoping to see a sunset. What a LOVEly memory.

And what about faces? Who ever really forgets the faces of loved ones?

Nap, Disturbed
Nap, Disturbed

LOVE those expressions!

Or the excitement when your loved one, young or old, finally gets a toy they’ve been wanting for the longest time?

Hubby, shortly after arriving home with is brand-new Victory.
Hubby, shortly after arriving home with his brand-new Victory.

Why am I always taking pictures? Because capturing special moments is priceless. No matter how mundane those moments may seem to someone else.

I didn’t really forget this LOVE, either.

DuCard Vineyards' LOVEwork
DuCard Vineyards’ LOVEwork

I captured that one during our Mothers’ Day ride with Aunt Bertha. It’s at DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, Virginia.

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Interesting and artsy, but not a favorite.

 

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Blending In

The DuCard LOVEwork is artfully crafted, I’ll give it that. But it needs a stronger background. It sorta blends in. I’ll bet it looks awesome in Winter under a fresh blanket of clean, white snow.

I didn’t want it to get lost in the ride post. But then, I realized I don’t love it enough to give it a post of its own.

What I loved more was the vineyard’s location. Talk about stunning scenery on a gorgeous Spring day.

View from the Vineyard
View from the Vineyard

 

Pretty White Horse
Pretty White Horse

The few wineries we’ve visited in Virginia really are in gorgeous locations. Even if you’re not an oenophile  — yes, I had to Google “someone who loves wine” — some Virginia vineyards are worth a visit.

Of course, there’s a LOVE I’ll never forget. My Hubby. 🙂

Look what arrived yesterday.

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Flowers from MY Love

 

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How Sweet is That?

 

He is still having a fabulous time. 🙂

Double LOVE with Hubby

Yesterday was another picture-perfect, blue-sky day in Central Virginia. With temps forecast for the upper 70s (F), we HAD to get out and ride. Really.

Back in February, when I first mentioned my LOVEworks scavenger hunt, I revealed that there were a couple LOVEworks I had opted not to capture. Because they’re along an awesome motorcycle road, which I figured Hubby would probably enjoy.

Yesterday, that’s where we went.

Screen Capture of Our Approximate Route
Screen Capture of Our Approximate Route (ridden clockwise)

The first hour or so of the ride was on the highway. But, once we got off of I-64 southeast of Waynesboro, there were nothing but awesome motorcycle roads ahead of us. (If you’d like to see a Google map of our approximate route, CLICK HERE.)

Bothe of the LOVEworks were at wineries in Rockfish Valley.

First, there was Indoor LOVE at Veritas Vineyard & Winery.

Indoor LOVE
Indoor LOVE

It’s a nice piece, even if it did surprise me by being located indoors. But the winery? Oh. Em. Gee. What a gorgeous location.

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Yoga on the lawn at Veritas Vineyard & Winery.

 

Tiny little Share the LOVE sign.
Tiny little Share the LOVE sign.

The place was pretty crowded. Lucky for us, Hubby spotted the LOVEworks sign. I was not expecting the thing to be inside of the tasting room. But, it works well there.

The tasting room is housed in this building.
The tasting room is housed in this building.

Our next stop was mere minutes away at Cardinal Point Winery. Unfortunately, their parking lot was covered in river rock, and the surrounding ground was soft, so there was no safe place to plant a kickstand.

Broken LOVE at Cardinal Point Winery.

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Broken LOVE

Sadly, that LOVEwork needs a bit of repair. But it was still nice to see.

I rather like this next shot, which I captured while Hubby was in the process of getting out of my way (his words).

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Hubby LOVE

We didn’t really want to linger anyway, the road was calling both our names.

Shortly after leaving Cardinal Point, my odometer FINALLY clicked past 10,000 miles. Woo hoo! I’ve been saying for years that I haven’t been riding nearly as much as I should be. There’s your proof.

We accomplished something else, too. We tested a couple of the routes on one of the America Rides Maps I purchased recently. You know, to see if it’s worth using the maps to actually, say, plan an entire trip. Judging by our experience yesterday, it is. Although, to be honest, in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, there are so many good roads, it’s hard to go wrong. But, these maps will help us avoid riding the mediocre roads when we could be riding better ones. Know what I’m saying?

On one hand, I wish I had more images to share with y’all. On the other hand, I’m not sorry. Yesterday was just one of those days that I was so “in the moment,” enjoying the smooth, leisurely ride through a fabulous mix of mountainous and valley terrain, that I didn’t want to stop. It sorta felt like stopping might break the spell somehow. So one we rode. You’ll just have to trust me when I say the scenery was spectacular.

Honestly, a couple of times I felt as if I were driving into and through scenes depicted on a calendar, or in a book highlighting breathtaking farmland views. The road that parallels 252 west and south of Staunton, which is a route recommended on the America Rides Map, was the most-scenic of the day, in that regard.

I’m really, really looking forward to further testing of those maps. Although I still haven’t defined the scope of my upcoming solo adventure, I’m pretty sure those maps will play a role to some degree.

I hope you’re all finally able to enjoy some Spring weather, too.

A Weird Kind of Day

Saturday was chore day, so Sunday was supposed to be fun day.

Not only did I plot a route to a lovely destination, I even included a quick stop at a highly rated BBQ place for lunch.

It was a picture-perfect Spring day here in Virginia. Really.

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I did say picture-perfect, right?

It felt great being out on the road. It’s amazing what a little sunshine, fresh air, and motorcycle ride can do for one’s spirits.

Despite a little glitch in the GPS software, and a slightly circuitous detour, we managed to reach Purcellville. Can you guess what’s there? Besides the BBQ place?

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LOVEworks in Purcellville

Another LOVE sign. The sixth one I have visited. Sadly, it’s the least attractive sign I’ve seen yet. It’s very thin, and not very nicely decorated either. But it’s right around the corner from that BBQ joint that was supposed to be so good. So, after snagging a pic or two, we walked to the restaurant.

Monk’s BBQ is about two blocks from the heart of downtown Purcellville. They have an outdoor seating area, which was full, as well as a dining room and bar. We had a little trouble getting through the door. A local girls softball organization, which was holding a fundraiser at the restaurant, had a big table set up very close to the front door, causing a bit of a road block. We managed to make our way to the counter and place an order — pulled pork for Mike and brisket for me — then grabbed a table to wait.

It wasn’t a full-service restaurant. It was essentially a sandwich place where you place your order at one counter, wait, then pick it up at another spot.

I am sensitive to noise. Loud noise overwhelms me. Mike doesn’t like noise, or being surrounded by a lot of people, but noise and being surrounded by a crowd makes me crazy. In a nutshell, anxiety sets in first, then irritation.

Loud restaurants are the worst for me. What with all the food prep noises, multiple conversations at varying volumes, loud music, close-quarters, shrieking children, jostling, etc. And Monk’s was very loud. Thanks to the aforementioned fundraiser, it was full of families. And there were lots of children cavorting about. There was a band, too. Picture ZZ Top playing very upbeat country music.

It was all quite chaotic, to say the least. I steeled myself, I did. I mean, I know it’s my issue. But the longer we waited, the more uncomfortable I became. And the guy behind, goofing around with his kid, kept bumping into me.

I am usually far more patient than Mike, who was actually waiting calmly. But the cacophony was slowly, but surely, pushing me toward the edge.

We’d ordered two BBQ sandwiches. Pre-cooked meat that just had to be placed on buns then served. How long could it take, right?

After enduring 25 minutes of madness, I asked that our order be made to go. Fifteen minutes after that, we STILL hadn’t been served. So we asked for a refund and left. There was no push-back from the staff, but there were also no apologies. Something is seriously wrong at that place…

We were both pretty hungry by that point, so we walked down the street to the White Palace, a cute little restaurant billed as a burger joint that also served Mexican food. The quiet of the place was a very welcome change from the Hell we’d endured (yes, noise bothers me that badly).

We were served drinks quickly, which was nice. I ordered nachos and Mike ordered a burger. Simple enough.

Minutes after the drinks arrived, a young guy who was circulating among the tables — only one other table was occupied — stopped by to see if all was well, everything was okay, and ask if we needed anything.

We only had drinks at that point, which made it even weirder when he seemed to linger an extra moment after we’d said all was well.

Minutes later, my nachos arrived. After I’d taken one bite, maybe two, the “everything okay” guy showed up again.

He was getting annoying. Realizing we were pre-irritated after our Monk’s experience, we tried to remain calm.

Mike’s burger showed up about five minutes later. He hadn’t even taken a bite when a woman we suspect may have been the cook, appeared, asking how everything was. I mean, he obviously hadn’t even finished adding his mayo and assembling the thing.

We said the food had just arrived. She stood there as if she wanted to hear more.

We told her we’d just gotten the food. She seemed confused.

The woman kept standing there, waiting, mumbling as if trying to apologize for something.

Mike said, “I haven’t even taken a bite yet. I don’t know how it is.”

“Oh, okay,” she said then walked away.

We didn’t see her again, but the young guy stopped past at least two more times. Maybe three.

It was the most weirdly surreal experience ever. I swear, it felt like they’d read a how-to manual for running a restaurant, but had absolutely no practical experience. Checking in on diners does not mean interrupting their conversation repeatedly.

To make matters worse, the more I dug around in my nachos, the more turned off I became. The tablespoon or so of guacamole looked a bit brown, which meant it wasn’t very fresh. And they were oozing grease. How much grease?

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Greasy Nachos

See the grease on the side of the plate? That’s from where I’d poured off a bunch of excess that had collected at the bottom of my plate.

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That’s a LOT of grease.

We couldn’t wait to get out of there, which is why I wasn’t going to bother complaining about my food. But, as I was paying the check, a man, perhaps the owner, asked if everything was okay.

“It was okay,” I said, stressing the okay part, “but the nachos were very greasy.”

“Greasy?” he said, surprised. “There must have been too much meat.”

“No,” I said, “it was just very greasy.”

“Yes, yes,” he nodded knowingly, “from too much meat.”

“There was not too much meat. The meat was just very greasy,” I tried again.

“Oh, okay,” he nodded smiling, still mumbling under his breath about too much meat.

Argh!

After spending almost two hours in Purcellville, we finally got back on the road.

Then, surprise, surprise for Northern Virginia, we encountered traffic. Lots of it. The pretty scenery made it slightly more tolerable, but still, traffic is traffic. And we were both in sorta crappy moods after enduring Hell at Mack’s and that whole weird White Palace experience, so we just headed home.

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I love Virginia’s back roads.

Things did get better once we got further west, and the weather was superb, but what a weird experience.

I guess we can’t always expect a perfect riding day.

One More Capture

Since I had to be in Staunton mid-day on Saturday, I planned a slightly divergent route through Harrisonburg.

What’s there? A good lunch spot for me. Y’all know how much I like Hardee’s, right? Did you know that affinity is primarily because of their breakfast biscuits? With an emphasis on the biscuit.

Well, there’s another fast food joint I really, REALLY enjoy. They have even better biscuits than Hardee’s and serve breakfast 24 hours a day. PLUS, they have to-die-for fried chicken.

Bojangle's!
Bojangles’!

 

Sadly, there are even fewer of those around than Hardee’s, so when I see a Bojangles’ I am very happy.

Oddly, the weather was exactly the same as it was on my last two trips to Staunton.

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Gray and dreary on the eastern side of the mountains.

 

The cloud ceiling was really low, too. Wanna know how low?

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Fogged in mountain pass.

 

I told you it was low. But, about a mile later, it cleared. And skies to the west were blue.

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Blue skies on the horizon.

 

Weird, right?

There was something else in downtown Harrisonburg I wanted to see, too.

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Nice mosaic wall.

 

The wall wasn’t it, but isn’t that cute? I just wish that guy hadn’t been lurking around to mess up my shot.

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Downtown Harrisonburg

 

The traffic light wasn’t what I was looking for either.

I was in Harrisonburg looking for LOVE.

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Harrisonburg, Virginia LOVEworks

 

Not nearly as cute as some of the others I’ve seen, is it? Still, I’m glad to have checked it off of my list.

I wonder if there’s any more LOVE in my near future?

That’s a rhetorical question, not a teaser. Sadly, I don’t have any more trips planned. Yet.

LOVEly Day to Visit Manassas

On Saturday, for most of the day, temps were in the 20s (F), or below. And we got about 10 inches of snow. Around dusk, temps started to climb, and the snow turned to sleet, and then freezing rain. Temperatures continued their upward swing through evening and into the next day.

Sunday was downright warm. Highs topped out in the mid-40s, and there was lots of sun. People were shoveling snow from sidewalks and driveways while wearing t-shirts without jackets.

It was weird, but I’ll take it.

Look at that gorgeous blue sky.

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Caboose in Oldtown Manassas

 

I’d planned to go to Costco in Manassas on Saturday, but canceled due to the snow. I went on Sunday instead.

I don’t really like going to Manassas. It’s essentially the outer ring of Northern Virginia. Crowded, full of traffic, LOTS of people, and did I mention the crowds? But there’s no Costco in Warrenton. No PetsMart, either. And no big beer and wine superstores.

Since I only go to Manassas if I have to, and it wouldn’t make for a very nice motorcycle journey, I decided I should swing by the Manassas LOVEwork on my way to the store today.

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LOVEwork in Manassas, Virginia

 

If you missed my original post about the Virginia LOVEworks, CLICK HERE.

I’m hoping to snag pics of all 40 this year. They won’t all be reached by motorcycle, but that’s okay. I enjoy road trips on four wheels, too.

The Manassas piece is the fourth one I captured. That means I’ve captured 10% of them and it’s only February. Can you tell I’m in business development? 🙂

Manassas LOVEwork
Manassas LOVEwork

 

It’s a rather plain piece. But it’s still a big ole hunka LOVE.

I hope y’all enjoy the final week of February. Spring is right around the corner. Yippee!!!