We are home from a weekend escape in Abingdon, VA, a quick 28 hours away from regular life. We had tickets for the Saturday afternoon performance of “Always… Patsy Cline” at the Barter Theater, or is it Theatre (and just what is the difference). We had one little problem, I got my show times mixed up. This is unusual for a triple checker such as myself but as a result, we arrived 25 minutes late. Fortunately the play is more about the music and less about story line so we only missed a few songs.
After the play (which we highly recommend), we flirted with the idea of walking around town, but it the temp was at a record high, we have walked around Abingdon before and there really isn’t much to see. So we jumped in the car, grabbed some cheese and crackers at the store and returned to our very cool hotel room to watch the Kentucky Derby.
After the Derby, dinner. On the advice of friends Will and Kim, we decided to have dinner at the Harvest Table Restaurant in Meadowview, VA. Meadowview is a sleepy little farming town about 10 minutes outside of Abingdon. Rail tracks run through the edge of town, just down from the restaurant. While the rail station has long since closed up, the tracks remain pretty busy. We arrived around 7:00 PM. We were surprised to find the restaurant was only partially filled, we had expected a long wait. This restaurant is well know for miles around.
Harvest Table specializes in locally grown and raised meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, wines and more with a menu that changes frequently based on availability. We ordered pecan crusted trout with kale coleslaw and an incredible side of gnocchi and cheese (think mac and cheese). Dinner rolls were freshly made and the butter churned earlier in the day. If that wasn’t gluttony plus, we ordered dessert, hot fudge cake. This put our sugar levels over the top. Oh, we left around 8:30 PM, the restaurant had quite the wait, seems like others must have stayed at home to watch the Derby too.
The Harvest Table Restaurant and Meadowview Farmer’s Guild in Meadowview, VA.
Sunday morning we had a bit of a food hangover but headed to the Virginia Creeper Trail anyway. After a few months of slow down, I have been stepping up my run again and wanted to complete five miles on the Creeper. Several runners and walkers were out, but the bicyclers hadn’t had time to make their trek from White Top mountain so those of us on foot had the trail pretty much to ourselves. John, who doesn’t run, had decided against bringing his bike and was regretting it as he started walking on the trail. I took off at a slow pace.
It was warm and humid as I got into heavy foliage. A lot of area has been built up around the Creeper since my last visit, some 10 years ago. The trail was smooth and ever so slightly downhill. The running was pleasant and time slipped away quickly. I turned around at the 2.5 mile point and ran back toward the trail head, ever so slightly up hill.
We returned back to the hotel, showered and checked out. Next up, brunch at the White Flour Cafe in Damascus. Another incredible meal! We split orders of Pecan Pancakes with hot syrup, Applewood Bacon, Omelet with feta cheese, spinach and dill, stone ground cheese grits AND fried banana bread. My run was now canceled out. We were stuffed and it was time to go home. Another great weekend!
