Skyline drive, Virginia

My husband and I explored Virginia via Skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park last fall.  Skyline Drive is the only public road in Shenandoah. The speed limit is 35 and you never see a sign, gas station, fast food, barely a building except maybe a farm in the distance and  the designated rest areas which are very nice. A beautiful view is around every bend.

It meanders at the top of the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles.  At the bottom, it meets with the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

We started at the northern entrance in Front Royal after staying at this beautiful place, the Inn at Little Washington and having a delicious dinner made by Chef Patrick O'Connell.

We highly recommend a stay or meal here for a  special celebration. The staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome and cared for.

It is a cozy and warm inn with inspiring flowers, gardens and interiors.  Each room is named for an accomplished award winning chef that has stayed there. Ours was named for this chef.

Our room had a balcony with a view of the tiny colonial town of Washington, VA.

 

A view out the bedside window over their patio.

The interiors are traditional, warm and layered.

 shhhh....

The flowers and vignettes are elegant.

The food is delicious, we enjoyed a dinner that we did not want to end, it was so fun to see what yummy dish would appear next.

The inn grows their own herbs and raises chickens and sheep.

The  patio is lovely.

Our next stop was Charlottesville, tucked into these mountains somewhere.

We stayed at this pretty place, the Clifton Inn, a colonial estate just outside the city.

 We toured fascinating Monticello in a misty fog.

 We enjoyed wine at this vineyard, one of many in the Charlottesville area.

We then journeyed on to North Carolina and The Blue Ridge Parkway...to be continued