&& B E S T I E S
Since COVID things have changed a little in my household, as I am sure it has for you. Grocery stores are a pain, planning date night is a real struggle , and home cooking has become an art form in our household. Especially spending quality time with friends and frailly. The most difficult time that my husband and I experienced was wanting to see his family and standing outside in the back garden and talking through the back doors while his parents were inside. It was strongly different and surprisingly the new normal. This of course was at the beginning of COVID, but the start of a whole new form of interaction.
We adapted to virtual happy hours, FaceTime game nights, and bedroom movie nights. Trying to find the new normal has become a quest I so eagerly want to conquer. As time progresses on we have slowly returned to face to face interactions. I DISLIKE that I use this term, but today that is where we are. We are fortunate to be healthy, to have each other, and that we are able to return to a new normal.
With that, I am so happy that my best chica and I put in the effort to plan and execute our first girls trip since last November. We have been ULTRA careful and mindful of our surroundings to have a wonderful experience outside of our home city. We have had a BLAST in the most unexpected of places, Crozet, Virginia is MAGICAL! Below you will see images and reviews of journey that took us to Crozet Virginia and what we enjoyed along the way.
FIRST STOP ON OUR ROAD TRIP:
DAY 1:
If you know me, and most of you do who are reading this, St. Augustine is my second home. Not literally, but one day very soon this statement will be a reality. We stopped here for a quick bite and coffee since we were taking I-95 on this trip. We stopped at this new place where my old FAVORITE coffee shops used to be:
SUN DAY | ST AUG
Just devious and fresh food! Everything was delicious, made in store and THE BREAD was everything and then some. The French Press coffee wasn’t my favorite, but I am an Espresso Snob so that explains that. Totally worth a try and super cute, chill vibes, and great atmosphere.
CHARLESTON | SC
We stopped here for the evening and arrived just in time for a late lunch. Arrived and stayed off of King Street and LOVED the proximity to everything the city has to offer. It did down pour on us while on a walk in the city to lunch, leaving us drenched! But it really was a hilarious time and so sad to see so many places we loved and visited frequently before now closed due to COVID. Below are out stops in SC before hitting the road again.
COFFEE
LA PATISSERIE, HOTEL BENNETT | SC
Yummy delicious cafe that is attached to the hotel; however, you do not need to be a guest to enjoy it’s deliciousness! The coffee is great, but it was the pastries that really got me. The dough is everything and then some. Stop in and enjoy a coffee and pastry, I promise you will not be disappointed by the food or the ambiance.
CHARLESTON, SC
The first time I came here was 3 years ago for Lara’s bachelorette party, and who would know that coming back here, caught in a rain storm, all other choices running dry, the darling oyster would provide us salvation. They accepted us in drenching wet, hair soaked through and through, and provided a save haven from the storm and the time we had walking up and down King Street. Everything here was a series of magical moments and dishes. I heavily enjoyed the SeaBass special and the delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. HIGHLY RECOMMEND !
DAY 2:
OH MY SOUL | NC
A delicious all VEGAN place in Charlotte, NC with a rhythm all of their own. I decided on the black bean burger and it was a SOLID choice I must say. The sweet potato fries it came with was everything I needed for this lunch in-between our destinations. This was a great outdoor vibe to enjoy and stretch our legs as we make our way to Virginia. If you have the time to make the stop I highly recommend. Very chill vibes and great food!
VIRGINA | USA
Ok, so before I talk about the amazing city of Crozet, I want to touch on the coolest Gas Station that I have ever stopped at in my history of road trips. This place was in Virginia on our way to Crozet and I was taken aback by it. The people were wonderful, the gas station was pump first pay second, and the gas station was also a PUB! I mean the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. If you are ever out here, stop by, sip a beer, enjoy the laid back vibes!
TWO SISTERS TAP ROOM AND DELI, ALTAVISTA, VIRGINIA
We arrived in Crozet, VA that evening around 5 PM and it was still light and beautiful outside! We decided to get pizza in town, but I am not going to share because that was NOT our favorite. Instead, I am going to share the best experience of that evening which was at Star Hill Brewery & Tap Room. We tried 6 beers and absolutely loved each one. The names for the beers were another treat, our FAVS were “The Love” and the “Double IPA”
STAR HILL BREWERY
DAY 3:
CROZET | VIRGINA | USA
But First, COFFEE
BUT FIRST, COFFEE
This amazing Coffee House that is Farm to Table was near where we were staying and truly appreciate this place and the quality of coffee. Just YUM! I came here each morning and sometimes twice to get that extra cup before the second half of the day.
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
This morning we woke up early and went to Charlottesville to enjoy coffee and walk the grounds of the school. I know this can be corny for some people, but I heavily enjoy walking the grounds of colleges and seeing how other campus look. I attended a fairly new school com aired to a school like University of Virginia and love seeing these buildings.
Where to go for WINE in Crozet | VA
KING FAMILY VINEYARD
CROSE YA’LL!
This place is amazing and so open! The tables are first come first serve so get there early, or plan like we did and bring a blanket to sit in the lawn. I have always been a lawn girl: county concerts, outdoor chili festivals, Wine Down Wednesdays in the neighborhood, always good with sitting down in the lawn and enjoying the view. There were 3 wines that I heavily enjoyed while here so much so that I purchased the bottles to take home.
ROSELAND: Dry, light, and refreshing blend of Viognier. Chardonnay. Petit Manning.
CROSE: (the reason I picked this place) Dry, Merlot Rose with bright fruit characteristics.
PETIT VERDOT: From their harvest in Mendoza, Argentina. Rich and filled bodied.
DIN DIN:
Near where we were staying we went to Smoked Kitchen and Tap because we were hungry after a day of all the yummy wine. I have no pictures because that’s how hungry and how good the loaded brisket nachos were that they didn’t make it so that I could photograph them. I highly recommend this place in Crozet it’s devious and has outdoor seating which is a big thing for us while traveling and dinning out during COVID.
DAY 4:
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL STATE PARK | VA
I have always admired people who hiked, camped, and traveled the world. Mostly because of my upbringing and my immigrant parents being so afraid of me going anywhere outside of Orlando, FL. I have reached the time in my life where travel is possible, and now HIKING has become a big part of my WISH LIST. This park was wonderful, easy to navigate, and the rangers were so helpful and honest about what hikes would give us the biggest bang for our buck. So glad we chose the FILL IN NAME trail. It was about a mile hike up and a mile back. Total 2.0 miles and roughly took us an hour from start, pictures and seeing the views at the top, and the walk back. If you have time this is a great hike and moderate to easy, but has some real steep parts.
BREAK FOR COFFEE @MUDHOUSE. Y U M !
Evetime you see fall movies or shows apple picking is always something people go do. While we were here, we thought, why not? And it was truly fun, hot, and wonderful! There were so many families that were out picking, NOT PICTURED, and it was truly a gathering place. I image that it would a great place to get together, listen to bands play on their outdoor stage, and enjoy a good apple cider. That was not happening now, due to COVID, yet still families ordered the apple crisp donuts, got together, and picked apples.
Hands down my favorite Vineyard I have visited on the East Coast. I can’t forget my favorite in Napa Valley, but this place is AMAZING!
If today wasn’t fun filled enough, we also made it just in time to our LAST WINERY on the trial. I was all things excited about coming here when I saw images of the hydrangeas and all the beauty of this outdoor, porch sitting, wine sipping, easy vibes place. And it was everything I thought it would be and more. They have a full menu if you sit down inside or on the patio as well as light bites for outdoor seating. We sat outside and ordered off the bites menu; however, we devoured it and I totally forgot to take photos. There are rate occasions where that happens and this was one of them. Enjoy the photos of this magical place!
*** I HIGHLY recommend their Sauvignon Blanc. I am not a big Sauvignon Blanc person, but this wine is light, crispy, and delicious. I took home another two bottles after drinking there this afternoon all into the evening.
DAY 5:
The Journey Home: SOOO we selected this exact destination because we know we could stop along the way at other awesome cities and states that would give us the biggest bang for our buck! First stop on the road South, was
RICHMOND, VA
This cute little place was everything we needed for our first leg home. The coffee amazing, the atmosphere; wonderful, and everything in between. I even got myself a shirt and sticker. Just perfect! Did I mention the coffee??!
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
When we thought of what town we wanted to stay in inbetween home and Crozet, Hilton Head literally sounded like a dream.
This area was way more Beach Vibes then anything we expected. We ate at a place across the street from the hotel we were staying at that had the best reviews and LOTS of outdoor seating. I wish I took more photos but this trip was alot more in the moment than anything else. Believe me everything was totally worth it and YUM! I did catch a photo of my Miami Vice that we ordered at The Porch, the bar at the hotel and the views were everything!
DAY 6:
FLORIDA HERE WE COME!
BUT FIRST
ST AUGUSTINE | FL
Our last leg of the trip included lunch in my favorite city in the entire US, St. Augustine Florida. We did find many snags on this lovely day because it was a Tuesday and I never knew this before, but almost EVERYTHING was closed. But no worries, we did what we always do, found somewhere new to try. I am VERY happy we did because we found a WHOLE NEW LEVEL of goodness and another reason to always come back to ST. AUG. The Forgotten Tonic, used to be Celler 6, now converted into this sweet iconic restaurant and bar. Specializing in fresh food and amazing cocktails! If you haven’t been, go!
HYPPO: MY FAVORITE ENDING
Love that they have rotating flavors and I never get bored! A MUST!