This past weekend we took a little trip out to the mountains in Virginia. It’s also their wine country, but we never quite made it out to any vineyards. Here is what we DID do and whether I recommend any of it.

First, we went to the town of Stauntan (pronounced, apparently, ‘stan-ten’) to board the Blue Ridge Flyer of the Virginia Scenic Railway. This train departs every Thursday through Sunday at 15:30. My partner and I ordered a charcuterie box and a couple drinks for the excursion and set out in our glass dome ceiling car for a three hour round-trip adventure.

My thoughts? First, there are three different options for travel on the scenic railway: regular seating (coach), dining cart, and a single, small glass dome area, upstairs on one of the cars that had about 32 seats or so, total (this is where we sat). The dome rested above a lounge and a bar.

Fun fact: Our car host, who brought us drinks and snacks, mentioned the car once belonged to the old country singer, Merle Haggard. He pointed out to me that some locked doors in the bar area, above the table, revealed his old fold-out bed, which our host indicated was laden with dusty debauchery and the crew agreed to never open the doors to the bed again.

The ride was comfortable, but there was a slight musty smell in the dome area, as though moisture had infiltrated the space on more than one occasion and the tray tables were really only good for a single drink, as any second glass would sort of slide around on the slick surface.

Having driven through the European countryside, I was less than enamored with the Americana suburbs we rode through, which left more of a “oh, yay. Houses…” feel than a “what a quaint village” vibe, but once away from the homes and deeper into the forest, it made for some beautiful scenery. These are photos captured on a moving train through old and slightly hazy windows.

I would go again, for sure, but I’d probably try the dining car – although, my preference is to snag some tickets for the wine tasting train or the murder-mystery excursion.

Next, we checked into our European (Bavarian-inspired) hotel called the Fenton Inn. A couple who fell in love with Germany built their very own village in the Blue Ridge mountains and opened up this boutique hotel and the craftsmanship and quality of every last square inch was incredible. He told us he was never much into art before this project (despite being an architect), but something about the wood inspired his creative brain and he hand-carved every door, himself. I wasn’t able to capture every door, but I took as many photos as I could (see at the bottom of this article). I wish I could come back and stay an entire week at this hotel.

We hiked to humpback rock which was a fairly moderate hike, but gets a bit more challenging near the top. It was definitely worth the climb.

We hit up Silverback Distillery (I enjoyed the gin enough to bring a bottle home) and Wild Man Dan‘s to try some local spirits and the next day we trekked back home. It’s definitely worth the visit. The people are friendly, the food was all good, and the views are spectacular. I would come back again, perhaps in the fall to see some beautiful autumn colors.

Now, here are some doors….