Day 15 Tuesday August 10, 2021 We had planned an outing today near Strasburg but we got up late so decided to try for another day because we wanted to be there before the temperature got hot.
We took a walk to Main Street around 6PM to look at more of the old buildings along the street. We noticed that the few businesses along this section of Main Street usually are only open Thursday through Saturday. I guess they just don't get a lot of customers in this old part of town.
Well I figured out why the GPS took us to the wrong location on the way here. I did not make a mistake. When I brought up the address in Google Maps for the Sheetz Truck Stop it came up with 227 Conicville RD. The correct street is 227 Conicville BLVD. Big difference by about 20 miles out in the country not right off the Interstate.
Day 16 Wednesday August 11, 2021 We got a little earlier start this morning. On the way to the Strasburg area we stopped at McDonalds in Woodstock for breakfast. Our main destination of Belle Grove Plantation is actually nearer Middletown than Strasburg. It was the home of Major Isaac Hite, Jr and his first wife Nelly Conway Madison (sister of President James Madison) and his second wife Ann Maury Hite and their children.
It was originally the center of a 7,500 acre grain plantation. Today it is a 283 acre Historic Site. The first house on the grounds where Issac and Nelly live was called Old Hall and it is where future President Madison and his new wife Dolly Madison spent their honeymoon.
We paid our entrance fee at the visitor center which is housed in the 1918 Bank Barn that was restored in 2018-2019 to house the visitor center, gift shop, exhibits and meeting rooms. Our guide Barbara took us to the Manor House and gave us a hour long tour of the house and Winter Kitchen room in the basement. The exterior walls of the house are 13” thick and made from limestone that was mined on the property.
I thought the Ice House was interesting. Only the roof and small entry door is visible above the ground. Inside there is an 18 foot deep cylindrical pit with limestone walls. In 1992 a heritage orchard has been planted with 32 trees of seventeen old-variety apples popular in the 1800's. One of the enslaved burial grounds have been identified and with Ground Penetrating Radar 14 potential graves have been located. Plantation records indicate 45 enslaved individuals died while living at Belle Grove.
They have an Archaeologist that is still working around the grounds searching and documenting what is found. They were using a very expensive looking drone today looking around the grounds from the air.
The Manor House was used by both the Union and Confederate Armies at different times and one of the bloodiest battles of the Shenandoah Valley was fought on the grounds of the Plantation. Over 8,600 men were killed, wounded or captured during the battle.
We drove on North on Hwy 11 after leaving the plantation and then went to Front Royal. Many years ago when we lived in Chester VA we stayed one night in a Bed & Breakfast in Front Royal. We stopped on Main Street at a Coffee/Ice Cream/Sandwich Shop and got a really good lunch.
Then we headed back to Edinburg via some back roads. It rained on us part of the way and started raining again when we got to the motorhome. The last campground was a dry dust bowl and this one is turning into a mud hole. We have water standing in front of the motorhome and where we park the toad. I hope the New Market area is getting some of this rain because it was really dry there.
Day 17 Thursday August 12, 2021 We had a interesting day but we didn't do much and didn't go very far. At 11AM after a light breakfast of some very good peaches we walked up to Main Street to Penelope's Cafe Gallery to try their Lattes and pastries. We have been told they are good and also the sandwiches are supposed to be good. She has good reviews on Yelp. It doesn't look very fancy on the outside. It is located in a house built in 1879.
Penelope (Penny as she is called) runs it with her husband Ray and a friend named John. She has a small dining room with 4 square tables and several patio tables outside under the covered patio and some in a small garden area. It would be nice outside on a cooler day but it was too hot this morning to set outside and drink hot coffee. It is supposed to get to 97 degrees today. We ordered lattes and Lena got a raspberry scone with peaches, peach sauce and whip cream. I got a cinnamon bun. Lena said her scone was the best she has ever had and my cinnamon bun was also good. John told us the paintings on the wall was done by Penny and that she was also a retired Veterinarian. Penny, her husband and John had recently returned from a trip to France to visit Lavender Farms. John showed us some photos of large fields of Lavender that they visited.
bout the flavors she makes and they all sounded really good. John showed us a Tomato Pie that he said was kind of famous in the area. He told us the ingredients and it did sound good so we might also try that if we go back. She is only open Thursday through Saturday for three hours each day. She said even though she is only open 9 hours a week she works more hours than that doing the prep work before she opens.
John and a lady that came in after us told us about a good restaurant in Woodstock named Patty's Place that has good country cooking. John is retired Navy and worked on ships as the Supply Chief and worked for the Government 20 years after he retired in a similar occupation.
About 2 PM we started having low voltage issues on Leg 2 of our incoming power from the power pedestal. I notified the office and the maintenance guys were here in a few minutes. They checked and verified what I was saying was correct, so they changed out the 50AMP breaker but that didn't solve the issue. So he checked the main line that feeds our side of the campground and he said it was the supply power feed coming into the campground. It is getting rather hot so there is a lot of power demand on the supply lines. About 30 minutes later is was getting a little better so we could turn two of the air conditioners on. Lena was beginning to fix lunch when the power issue started but we decided not to run the cooktop as it also draws quit a bit of power There is a BBQ business on Main Street that is grilling pork BBQ today so I went and got a pound of pulled pork BBQ. We have been told that is was good and it was very good.
Day 18 Friday August 13, 2021 We visited The Edinburg Mill this morning. It is a short distance from the campground on Main Street. It was built in 1848 (One hundred years before we were born) by Major George Grandstaff. At one time in American history there were over 100,000 grist mills in operation but today there are only about 1,000 still standing and most have been converted to museums, restaurants, gift shops, etc. Many of the mills in the South were destroyed during the Civil War by General Sherman by orders from General Grant to cut off the food supply to the Confederate Army.
This mill was set on fire also by General Sherman's men but the owner's two granddaughters begged the General to spare the mill. The General was moved by Major Grandstaff's military service prior to the Civil War so he wrote the girls a note to have them give it to his men to not burn the mill. The family was able to put the fire out and only one large beam was destroyed. During our tour of the mill we could see one place that showed where the fire had blacked the wood.
We watched a movie after we went in called The Burning. It told the story of the Civil War events in the area and about all the buildings that were burned. Supposedly General Grant did not order the southern houses to be burned, just all the buildings that in any way would help the Confederate cause. But some of the houses were burned anyway. Also all livestock and chickens were killed or carried away and all the gardens were destroyed. But strangely enough none of the whiskey distilleries were destroyed and there were about 23 in the Shenandoah Valley. Wonder why??
The Mill was a working mill from 1848 to 1978. It got its power from two water wheels turned by the water from Stony Creek which runs behind our motorhome. It was converted to a restaurant in 1979 and finally closed in 1998. The town and the Edinburg Historical Foundation purchased the building in 2000 and started a project called “Save the Mill”. Today is it full of lots of historical items, most from the town and surrounding area. There is also a gift shop and restaurant on the first level. The mill has been an economic boost to the Edinburg town.
There is also a reported ghost of a 11 year old boy in the mill. He and his two brother were trying to sharpen an axe using one of the stones turned by the water. The 11 year got his clothing caught in the mechanism and was fatally wounded. Some ghosts hunters came in and stayed in the mill one night and laid a small flashlight down and called the boy's name and told him he could have the light if he would turn it on and off. Supposedly the flashlight was turned on and off without any assistance from the ghost hunters. BOO!!
Today is the first day of the “Yard Crawl” on route 11 all the way from New Market to Strasburg (about 40 miles). There were several tents setup in the Mill parking lot and the yard in front of the Mill House.
And lots more down Main Street.
We were getting hungry so we went back to Penelope's for lunch. I got a blueberry crepe and Lena got the raspberry crepe and we shared a piece of the Tomato Pie. The crepes were delicious and the tomato pie was good but not something I would want regularly.
We drove down route 11 to Woodstock to see if there were a lot more people with yard sale tents up. There were LOTS of them. We didn't stop to look at anything because we have enough “dust collectors” at home and we don't need any more junk.
We usually set by the creek in the late evening and watch the ducks feed and play in the water. Today I had some popcorn I didn't eat so I feed it to the ducks. There was a lot of quacking and pushing going on to get every tidbit.
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