Staunton and Old Friends

Staunton, VA

This past Saturday, I drove up I-81 to Staunton to visit with my two college roommates who I've known for a longgggggggggggggggg time.  We had such a great afternoon!!  One of my former roommates lives on the West Coast so it's not often that we get to hang out in person and enjoy a cup of coffee with our conversation.  The three of us hanging out was a really fun way to spend a sunny day and since we probably won't have this opportunity again for several years I'm so glad that I had a chance to make it so that the three of us could hang out.  We all saw each other last year for my wedding but before that it had been several years.  Way too long!

I had never been to Staunton before so it was fun to explore the city and I wish I had more time to look in some of the stores and wander down some more streets.  The four of us (we had a fun-loving four year old little boy along for the journey) went to a really well known local park called Gypsy Hill.  First of all, what a great name!  The park is large, was full of families, and you could tell the grounds are well cared for.  After the park, we had lunch at a pizzeria, visited several stores, and then had a cup of coffee before I headed home.

Barking Dog Charcuterie on Beverley Street sells wine, cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and various condiments like high end olive oil, pickles, and specialty peanut butter.  I'm not one for cheese or wine (I know...) but the place smelled wonderful and it was decorated like a high-end bar.  It was PACKED full of people. Made is a cute store a few doors down that sells housewares, clothing, jewelry, and fun knickknacks.  I bought a book on how to make healthier school lunches for myself because I have been trying to pack lunches for work and am in a rut.  Wish me luck.  We also went to a great corner bookstore called Black Swan (no Natalie Portman there) that sells lots of older and used books.  Normally, I don't like going in bookstores that carries a lot of older books because of the dust that seems to cover everything and the old nasty book smell.  What was awesome was this store has a lot of natural light, high ceilings, is painted bright white all over, and I didn't detect any bad smell.  It was a really great treat and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The best part was I found a great Civil War book as a gift for my husband and it was less than $10!

We didn't get a chance to check out Rule Forty-Two which apparently sells furniture, paper goods, and other housewares.  I saw a really awesome sewing table in Made and the owner told me that it came from Rule Forty-Two.  Maybe I'll make it there next time I'm in Staunton.  I'd like to go back and explore a bit more.

Shenandoah Pizza was delicious.  The three gals ordered a large pizza that was half meat and half Blue Ridge with red sauce.  Yum, yum, yum....I can't remember the name of the coffee shop we visited.  It was really good and they had sugar water to put in your coffee as an option which one of us found really fantastic. All I know was that it was near Shenandoah Pizza and on our way to an Amtrak station stop.

Well, hope your week goes well and that you have a fabulous weekend coming up!

P.S. - My husband and I looked at cats to adopt this past weekend and tonight.  I'll keep you posted on that adventure...