West Virginia Road Trip! Part 2: "Taking The Waters" at America's First Spa!

At Berkeley Springs Spa!

Live Music & Dinner!

West Virginia is open for business and #vacation #travel fun! Come on down!

NOTE: Due to possible COVID-19 restrictions, which seem to be changing daily, before you travel or book Anything, CALL every place you want to go and make SURE they are open and operating! I have included phone numbers for almost every place we went to and enjoyed in this post. Although I have also included website hotlinks, do NOT rely on websites and online reservation sites- they are often not kept up to date! Every place we stayed at was spotlessly clean, and we had NO negative issues whatsoever! Dan and I are not kids- he is 73, and I am 61- and we had a fabulous West Virginia getaway!

Part 2: "Taking the Waters" at America's First Spa in Berkeley Springs!

Our 9-night Road Trip loop thru West Virginia first took us from the Elkhorn Inn Theatre in the southern mountains of Landgraff, in McDowell County, up to Romney, in Hampshire County, to ride the Potomac Eagle Dinner Train (see this post: https://southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com/2020/07/west-virginia-road-trip-come-on-down.html). Then we drove a little farther north to Berkeley Springs, in Morgan County, to "take the waters" at America's First Spa!  Berkeley Springs is only about an hour north of Romney, and being a die-hard "spa babe", I have wanted to "take the waters" there Forever! Being history buffs, when Chef Dan and I do road trips we stop to read the historic signs we encounter along the way whenever we can, and we pulled over to see the cool 1932 Pinoak Fountain:

Pinoak Fountain

We also pulled over to see the gorgeous view looking down into the valley where the Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon took place in January, 1862:

Prospect Peak

Overlook of Cacapon Valley

Overlooking the site of the Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon

Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon

Berkeley Springs is known as "America's First Spa", as George Washington bathed there (as did we!), and it's the ONLY spa in a State Park! We stayed right next door to the spa- literally- at the historic, 1933 Country Inn of Berkeley Springs: https://www.thecountryinnwv.com/ Tel: (304) 258-1200, and it truly was one of the loveliest places we stayed on this trip. History buffs that we are, we chose to stay in their Queen Deluxe Room, which is pictured on their website: https://www.thecountryinnwv.com/queen-deluxe, in the historic main building, even though that meant walking upstairs; our room was lovely, I loved the old political cartoons they have framed in the hallway (which proved, conclusively, that nothing ever changes...), and I found an enjoyable 1930s book to read in their library: The Silver Flute, by Lida Larrimore... 

Our Queen Deluxe Room

The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs

Old political cartoon...

Old political cartoon...

Old political cartoon...

When I called to book and learned that they had live music the evening we arrived, I immediately made us reservations for 













dinner on their patio so we could enjoy the music- and it was great! The band was Matt Otis and the Sound www.mattotismusic.com from Pennsylvania, and it was standing room only, with every seat taken, as they have quite the fan base! They played a variety of music (the violinist is superb!), including covers of classic rock and their own songs, and they were so good that we bought two of their CDs! We had a great table outside right near the bandstand, and enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak and seared tuna, and several G&Ts, while listening to the music.

G&T  and Great Music!

YUM! Dinner and Music!

Music at night out on the Inn's Patio...

We went to the Berkeley Springs State Park https://wvstateparks.com/park/berkeley-springs-state-park/  Tel: (304) 258-2711 shortly after we arrived and checked into the hotel, literally walking next door, and it was SO cool! It was SO great to see families and children enjoying the waters, frolicking in the swimming pool, and taking in the historic sites, such as "George Washington's Bathtub", which I, of course, had to dip my feet in for a photo!

Roman Gath House at Berkeley Springs State Park

Berkeley Springs State Park

"Taking The Waters"!

At Berkeley Springs State Park

George Washington's Bathtub!

Our Private Bath at Berkeley Springs

Berkeley Springs is a mineral spa that has been in use since before colonial times. It's renowned for its warm spring water, which flows at a constant temperature of 74.3 degrees, and the park’s Old Roman and Main Bathhouses offer a wide selection of spa services, 














including massages, saunas, baths, and showers. Dan and I took a private room in the Roman Bath House for a ½ hour bath, soaking in the warm, relaxing water, and then we filled a gallon jug with drinking water from the outside taps at the “Gentleman's Spring”, before I went to dip my toes in George Washington's Bathtub! From the Park website: "Long before the first Europeans discovered the warm waters of Berkeley Springs, it was already a famous health mecca which attracted Native Americans from the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada and the Great Lakes to the Carolinas. Those first settlers, who came in 1730, learned the uses and value of the springs from the Native Americans and began spreading the word of its benefits throughout the settlements of the east. Perhaps the most notable and influential advocate of the curative powers of the springs was George Washington, who, at 16, visited them as a member of a survey party. As the party, which was surveying the western limits of Thomas Lord Fairfax's lands, camped there for the night, young Washington noted in his diary: "March 18th, 1748, We this day called to see Ye Fam'd Warm Springs". For many years afterwards, George Washington visited the springs regularly, and it was largely through his efforts that its fame as a health spa grew throughout the colonies. At the urging of the Colony of Virginia and in the public interest, Lord Fairfax conveyed his land holdings at the springs and fifty adjacent acres to the Colony of Virginia in 1776. Shortly thereafter, the land was offered for public sale. George Washington, three signers of the Declaration of Independence, four signers of the Constitution, seven members of the Continental Congress and five Revolutionary generals were among the prominent colonists who made initial purchases there. Hence, the spring's reputation as a health resort became firmly established. Borrowing the name of a famous counterpart in England, the General Assembly of Virginia formed the town of Bath on this location in 1776 and created a board of trustees to govern the new town. James Rumsey, who later invented the first successful steamboat, was then contracted to construct five bathhouses and several other public buildings. This officially established the springs as a resort facility". More interesting historic info on Berkeley Springs: https://berkeleysprings.com/oddities-and-legends/secret-destiny-of-berkeley-springs/ The Inn and Park are right in the middle of the downtown Historic District, and after we "took the waters", we found a GREAT bar with yummy, small foodie plates: The Naked Olive Lounge! https://www.nakedolivelounge.com/  Tel: 304-500-2668 The Lounge is chic, friendly, lively, and fun, and Dan and I shared a delicious Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board made with locally-smoked salmons; he had a glass of wine, while I had a yummy Honey Ginger Bourbon Cocktail. They also have The Naked Olive Shop  https://www.thenakedolive.com/ right next door, which sells a variety of fine olive oils, Balsamic Vinegars from Modena, Italy, and condiments, so of course we had to go in and buy some to take home, including Truffle and Pepper Oils, and their Blackberry Ginger Balsamic for cocktails! (Unfortunately, they can't do tastings at this time).

Honey-Ginger Bourbon

Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board at The Naked Olive

At The Naked Olive

The next day we went "sightseeing", stopping first outside the Berkeley Castle, which Dan actually bid on many years ago when it came up for auction! (At that time, the bidding opened at $10,000, LOL, and the castle sold for about 100K; it recently sold for $1.4 million...) Closed now to the public, it has a very interesting history, and I would have loved to see it inside, as Dan had, when it was still filled with the original furnishings- it even has a dungeon! Berkeley Castle is perched on a hill overlooking the town of Berkeley Springs, and was built back when the town was called Bath, after the town of the same name in England also famed for its waters, the name given to it by George Washington and pals when they formed a town around the springs in 1776. Bath is still the official name of the tiny municipality that surrounds the mineral springs, as well as the Historic District, which was established in 2009. The castle was designed in the English-Norman architectural style and built by Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit, who was quite a guy: a successful whiskey distiller, Civil War Veteran, honorary Kentucky colonel, and a wealthy, well-connected landowner, businessman, and politician. He built it between 1885 and 1891, entirely for love... and then his widow partied hearty and lost it all... From https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/west-virginia/medieval-castle-wv/ :

“Suit, a veteran of the Civil War, met 17-year-old Rosa Pelham, the daughter of a congressman, when he was 46. He fell in love with her and proposed marriage. She refused, and the two parted ways. Five years later, the two ran into each other once again, and once again he proposed marriage. This time she accepted, perhaps due to his solemn pledge to build her a castle in the town of Bath. Later that day, the couple walked up the hill to Warm Springs Ridge and decided it was the perfect spot to build their castle. So, Suit purchased the land and married Rosa a few days later. Construction began in 1885 by 100 German masons. Each stone was hand cut from the silica sandstone mined in the area. It took them until 1891 to complete the castle. Unfortunately, Suit did not live to see his vision completed. He died just short of the castle's completion in 1891. As stipulated in his will, in order for Rosa to receive her inheritance, she must see the castle to completion. So that is exactly what she did. The elite of high society would come to the castle from D.C. and around the country. Each event had a full orchestra and catering. She would even rent entire train cars to bring people in, and further pay for hotels and spas in which they could stay, sometimes for longer than a week. This lavish spending eventually caught up with her, and she was broke by the time she was 50 years old. As a result, the castle was sold at a public auction in 1909, and Rosa moved to a small cottage to raise chickens”. You can't make this stuff, up, kids!    

The Castle on the hill!

Berkeley Castle

The Gate of Berkeley Castle

Outside Berkeley Castle

The original Gate Post, now in the valley below

Dan at the castle he once bid on!

We then Had to go to the Berkeley Springs Brewery: https://www.berkeleyspringsbrewingcompany.com/  Tel: (304) 258-3369 for a beer sampler, as all their beers are made with that special Berkeley Springs spa water, and I just Had to try them! All the beers we tried were tasty, and some of the names were hilarious- such as "Her Dirty Bathwater"! If we can get back, I would Really like to try their Boozy Brisket on a Brioche Bun, and Beer Cocktails! 

Berkeley Springs Brewery

Berkeley Springs Brewery Beer Sampler

We then discovered a winery- the Cold Run Valley Winery- which makes fruit wines from fruits grown on their farm: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cold-Run-Valley-Winery-104159694368012  Tel: (304) 258-2828 Dale Carlisle, the owner, gave us a tasting of all their wines, and we bought their yummy Strawberry, Blueberry, and Apple-Blueberry-Strawberry wines to take home! 

At Cold Run Winery

Cold Run Winery

Sir John's Run

overs Leap!

Next: WV Road Trip, Part 3: To Shinnston, to meet Punjab the Camel!  West Virginia is open for business-, and #vacation #travel fun! Come on down!

Ultimate Virginia Getaway- Thank you Wind & Weather!

Last year, a home decor store I seriously love- Wind & Weather - hosted a contest called "Share the Love". I covet basically everything in their catalog, and at Hanukkah I bought several of their things for the Inn (see photos below), so with great hope I submitted the story of how my husband and I met- we met while we were both working for FEMA in New York City following the 9/11 terrorist attack- and I won!

Our Wind & Weather Koi...

Our Wind & Weather octopus...

Our Wind & Weather goat table...

The Prize- and why I knocked myself out to get my Facebook friends to vote for our story- was a two-night getaway in Virginia at the gorgeous Inn at Willow Grove, and a selection of fun excursions and activities, including a hot air balloon ride, which I have wanted to do with Dan for YEARS!  We added two nights to the trip make it feel like a "real" holiday, and just came back from what really was THE best Virginia vacation- full of so many of the things that make Virginia great: vineyards that make truly great wine, seriously fine food, American history and historic accommodations, adventures like hot air ballooning and horseback riding, and shopping! :-)
Thank you Wind & Weather!

Dancin' the Love at Wind & Weather HQ!

We drove to Virginia a day early, and started our getaway in Charlottesville, Virginia which has a lovely Downtown Mall pedestrian area chock full of great restaurants, cafes, music venues, and shops. We had a delicious dinner at Hamilton's, a Virginia farm-to-table restaurant, enjoying a variety of delicious dishes including scallop ceviche, accompanied by Virginia wine, and a Great cocktail of Virginia hard cider, bourbon, a twist of scented orange peel and a sugar cube to make it fizz! Chef Dan only gets to do this kind of "foodie" eating and discovery when we travel, so we make it a point to seek out places like this!

After dinner we "followed the music" around downtown Charlottesville, which led us to a great live band playing on a gallery rooftop & kegs of beer, and then to Fellini's #9 a really excellent live-band karaoke bar with everyone from 20-somethings to 60-somethings singing the hits of the 60s! The next day we began our Wind & Weather getaway with a morning wine-tasting at Reynard Florence Vineyard, a real "hidden gem"! Reynard Florence is a beautiful, family-owned, boutique winery, and of all the wineries we visited on this trip, this was our favorite! And a 9a.m. wine-tasting is Definitely THE perfect way to start your day! The wine we loved the best was their Petit Manseg  2012 and 2013, which we bought to take home, and then learned that the famous Boars Head Inn carries it, too!

Dan, at Reynard Florence Vineyard

Wine- it's not just for breakfast! :-)

A Wine-Tasting Breakfast! Woo-hoo!

LOVE this!

 Our next stop was at the Barboursville Vineyards, for a truly scrumptious gourmet, wine-paired lunch at Palladio, which Wind & Weather had arranged, followed by a Very enjoyable apres-lunch wine-tasting!

A delicious assortment of
Palladio's house-cured meats...

Barbourville Vineyards & Palladio Restaurant

Wine for Lunch!

Wine- it's for After Lunch, too!

Cheers!

The Ruins at Barbourville

Dan & a Very old boxwood!

After lunch we toured the 1884 Ruins at Barboursville of a Jefferson-designed home built for VA Governor James Barbour (who was also a US Senator and Secretary of War), and found some Very old boxwood!

Swingin' the Love! At Wind & Weather HQ

Last Wine Tasting of the day! With the
Wind & Weather team, at Early Mountain Vineyards

Arriving at The Inn at Willow Grove...

Some of the lovely Wind & Weather
surprise gifts waiting for us in our cottage... including
their adorable solar dragon, yummy spice rubs for Chef Dan,
and a "Love" sign to plant in our Elkhorn Inn garden! 

Our next stop was at Wind & Weather headquarters, where we got to meet their great team, and the folks who planned our trip, and ham it up, swing dancing in front of their great "Love" sign! We then went to Early Mountain Vineyards with them all, to enjoy our last wine tasting of the day, some seriously yummy meats and cheeses, and live music- and dance a little more! :-) Dan and I have been lucky enough to do some great wine tastings in many places- notably Israel and Chile- but we have NEVER had a tasting that went from 9a.m. to 7p.m.! This was truly the Ultimate Wine & Foodie Day!  

We bought some wine and wine jelly from Early Mountain Vineyards, as well as an intriguing "wildcrafted" local hickory syrup, and then checked into our truly beautiful, romantic "Weaver's Cottage" at The Inn at Willow Grove. As many of you know, Dan and I are not only in the hospitality business, having the Elkhorn Inn & Theatre in West Virginia, but we have been "road warriors" for most of our lives, and so have stayed in a LOT of hotels, motels, and other lodging- good, bad, fabulous, and awful! And we both agree that The Inn at Willow Grove has THE BEST SERVICE WE HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN THE USA! If you are looking for a wonderful romantic getaway in Virginia wine country, THIS IS THE PLACE! Our cottage was beautiful, the down comforter and pillows awesome, the bath fabulous, the handmade soaps and L'Occitane toiletries delightful, but it was the absolutely charming and splendid  service- including our very own butler (!) who brought us hot beignets and French Press Coffee at 5a.m. before our balloon ride- that made it totally marvelous! 

Our beautiful, romantic "Weaver's Cottage"
at the Inn at Willow Grove...

The evening's delightful surprise at
The Inn at Willow Grove...

Dan, livin' large, on our cottage's porch
at the Inn at Willow Grove!

 The next day we had the true highlight of our trip- a totally enchanting hot-air balloon ride with Monticello Country Ballooning!

That's us!

Pilot Mandy, inflating the balloon with, yes, REALLY hot air!

Soaring over the beautiful Virginia countryside
in our beautiful balloon...

Up, up in the air, in our beautiful balloon!

I have so far managed to find- and do- with my US Army Retired Aviation husband, the only two things I know of that he had never done in the sky: fly the Wright "B" Flyer in Ohio (which we did last fall- see my post from our road trip to Canada Sept-Oct 2013), and take a hot air balloon ride! I have wanted to do this for Years, so this was Truly the highlight of our trip! Throughout the entire ride I imagined myself in a long gown with a bustle, and Dan wearing tails and a monocle- tres "Around the World in 80 Days"!

Living out my fantasy!

This is truly an enchanting way to see the beautiful Virginia countryside in early morning sunshine, watching the deer run through the forests, with our balloon casting shadows on the shimmering, velvety green fields... and our pilot, Mandy, was Excellent! Knowledgeable, experienced, and fun, she made the trip an interesting as well as enjoyable experience, letting us help unfold and inflate the balloon, and deflate and wrap it up after we landed! She made us feel safe, too, as she REALLY knows her stuff!

Our balloon, shadowed on the countryside...

 

Mandy, preparing our apres-ballooning
champagne toast & Mimosas!

Sharing the Love- with each other! :-)

Then off we went for our horseback ride through the apple orchards at Graves Mountain Lodge!

Dan on his spirited steed!

Elisse on Cheyenne- the horse who would not let ANYONE get in front! LOL

 After our ride we got to enjoy a bit of the Graves Mountain Lodge Peach Festival, having BBQ sandwiches and fresh peach ice cream for lunch with a live Bluegrass band, and discovering the excellent By The Bees  natural, handcrafted products for the bath, skin care, aromatherapy, and pain relief. Their "Deep Tissue Pain Relief Formula with Wintergreen & Cayenne" really helped Dan's arthritis pain- he got to try it at their festival booth- so we were delighted to be able to buy some to take home!

REALLY good music at the Peach Festival!

BBQ & peach ice cream lunch at the Peach Festival

That night we had a wonderful dinner at Vintages, the restaurant at The Inn at Willow Grove. We especially loved the house-cured salmon with bits of crispy, chewy bacon and a whole grain mustard vinaigrette, the braised local rabbit, and the house-made corn ice cream (yes, really!), and a wonderfully rich and intense house-made blueberry sorbet!

Yes, the Nexus7 takes lousy photos,
but we had a wonderful diner at Vintages!

The next day we had an excellent private tour of President James and Dolly Madison's Montpelier Our guide was really splendid- knowledgeable and learned, and she made the tour fascinating! Dan is US Army Ret., and a history buff of the first stripe, which made this a truly great experience, and one of the highlights of our trip! It was fascinating to see the ongoing archaeology and restorations that are making Montpelier truly a living museum...

Our Private Tour of James and Dolly Madison's Montpelier

Montpelier

Railfanning the Norfolk Southern at Montpelier Station!

The exhibition at Montpelier Station:
The Montpellier Train Depot in the Time of Segregation

Then Dan and I did a little "ralfanning", happily catching the Norfolk Southern (the same train that runs past our inn, the Elkhorn Inn in West Virginia) go by the historic (and still operational) Montpelier Station!

The segregated waiting room at Montpelier Station

Gilmore Farm - Freedman's House

Cool stuff along the way...

Our last day in Virginia we went to Jefferson's Monticello, and got to see some of Jefferson's extraordinary inventions and accomplishments, and the ongoing archaeological discoveries that are continuing to change Monticello, similar to the way they way they are changing Montpelier. Having been to Montpelier made it our time here all the more interesting, as the Madisons were friends with Jefferson, & Dolly was Jefferson's hostess. We took a regular tour at Monticello, which made us TRULY appreciate the private tour we'd had at Montpelier! :-) We were hoping to be able to buy some Monticello grape vines, which they sell periodically, but as they didn't have any left, we bought two flowering vines instead, one for our inn/pet sitters, and one for us, so we can have at least a bit of Jeffersonian flora at the Elkhorn Inn & Theatre! 

Jefferson's Monticello

Chef Dan in the kitchen at Monticello!

Jefferson's grave at Monticello

Elisse, sharing the love with Thom!

Because we added on a day at the end of our trip, we spent the last night of our Virginia getaway at the Boars Head Inn, having a really fabulous dinner at the Old Mill Room: seared foie gras with blueberry sauce, a tomato tarte with blue cheese ice cream served in a delectable little Parmesan basket, honey-thyme infused watermelon, pan-seared trout with a brandy lobster sauce, filet mignon with shallot jam and a sherry jus, and a GREAT Viognier wine from Jefferson Vineyards! As I mentioned above, Chef Dan only gets to sample foods like this, experience new dishes, shmooze chefs, learn new techniques, and think about adding new dishes to the Elkhorn Inn menu when we travel, which is why we make it a point to have "foodie" trips, and this dinner was divine!
Before we drove home, Dan indulged me in One Last Wine Tasting at Jefferson Vineyards, as we'd so enjoyed their Viognier wine at dinner the night before!

One final Virginia wine tasting at Jefferson Vineyards!

 My wonderful Wind & Weather prize included a gift certificate for the Barracks Road Shopping Mall, and although I'm sure everyone expected I'd spend it on shoes (LOL), we spent it instead at  The Happy Cook so Chef Dan could get two foodie "toys" he'd been wanting (and his birthday is Aug. 4...): a Breville Juicer and a Cuisinart Sorbet Maker- so we (he) can make Wild Blackberry Sorbet from the blackberries we pick on our ATVs all July and August!

And then we drove home, tired & happy, with our little, old convertible packed like a drum with all the fab stuff- wine, plants, Wind & Weather gifts- from our wonderful trip! THANK YOU Wind & Weather for an incredible trip we NEVER would have even Dreamed about, if not for you! And yes, we're Sharing the Love, too- the contest runner-ups are coming for a holiday (on us) at the Elkhorn Inn! :-)

Some of the wonderful souvenirs of out Virginia trip!