Final Massanutten Report
Alas -- the promised snow was pretty much a no show, but apparently surrounding areas had a bad time with snow and ice. The news said that there was a 40 car pile up on I-64 near Richmond.
We got to Monticello and bought some native plants from their garden store. We usually go to the Williamsburg garden shop in late spring, when they would have different inventory, so it was hard to compare prices.
We used a restaurant.com coupon to eat at Miller's in Charlottesville -- First and Main. We thought the Mapquest directions looked a little convuluted, and we found out why when we missed a turn and could not get back to where we wanted to be. Main Street is a wonderful pedestrian mall -- but it sure does make it hard to get from point a to point b when you don't know that the street is closed off. Mapquest does not seem to know about the mall.
Miller's is in a wonderful old building (with a wonderful old restroom) and is a student hangout. We would go again, but it is not for a romantic dinner. Upstairs is much quieter. They have jazz several times a week, but we missed it. It is also a wifi hotspot. One group of students was having a grand old time looking at something on a laptop screen, so on the way out I angled around to see what was so funny. Somewhere between X and R.
On Thursday we spent the afternoon at the WaterPark and did the Winemaker's Dinner. I had to talk Ben into the WaterPark, but he ended up having fun. With his emphysema, it was a hard walk up to the tubing slide, so he only did that once -- I got in three times. We enjoyed the lazy river, the two hot tubs and the three inside body slides. I did not understand that there was not a full pool inside, so I was a bit dissapointed -- but that was my problem, not theirs. We spent a bit of time looking at the boogie board wave slide, and decided we weren't quite ready for it. It is great people watching. There was an about-six-year-old girl who knew what she was doing, and a twenty-something guy who lost the better part of his baggy swim suit.
The Winemaker's dinner was mostly ok. The winery was Rockledge and I thought the reds were very good and I was suprised that I liked the Reisling. I really enjoyed most of the meal -- but I don't like artichoke hearts, and they were the basis of the salad; and I don't like bananas, and they were the basis of the dessert. Others seemed to enjoy those courses and ate them right up. We sat with a very nice and interesting couple from PA. The experience is fun and I would suggest you try it.
Thanks to 1-in-4, our next trip to Massanutten will be a rental, but we can't wait to go back.