While Barb was on a sojourn to Scottsdale with Betsy and Sara, I took a day trip drive to Shepherdstown, WV, the original Washington Monument and South Mountain Creamery. Normally, a little day trip like this might not warrant its own post but it was a pleasant little journey and sparked some thoughts about other trips close to home. So here goes.
Last year, I took a day to go to Harper’s Ferry and wander about on my own. I had thoughts of climbing the Maryland Heights but decided it was much easier to just walk around the national park, have lunch and take a drive in the countryside. I returned through Shepherdstown, WV, and noted the nice little main street with a cluster of restaurants and touristy shops. I decided that I’d like to spend some time exploring the cute little town at some point.
Barb and I had many years before visited the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown and had a good meal. The Inn and restaurant command the heights over the Potomac and have thrived for decades. I tried to tempt her back this year with wienerschnitzel and a getaway weekend, but so far to no avail.
I decided to go to Shepherdstown myself on a Wednesday while Barb was away in Scottsdale. I figured I would combine the journey with stops in a few other locations in the area and make a day of it. After a little research, I decided on seeing the original Washington Monument on South Mountain, MD, and the nearby South Mountain Creamery.
I wasn’t up for a big German meal at the Inn, so researched other offerings and decided to head for the Blue Moon Cafe. It took just a little more than an hour to drive from home, via Harper’s Ferry. I found the cafe easily enough but it took a few minutes to find parking in the tiny town, which was surprising. Shepherd University was in session and all the non-residential spots seemed full. I found a metered space being vacated and grabbed it, wondering what parking must be like on a touristy weekend (at least meters are not in effect on weekends, I learned).
There was a happy vibe in the cafe, filled mostly by ladies who were lunching. There’s an inviting outdoor patio that would be nice in warmer weather. My roast beef (Meato Escondido) sandwich was tasty and I would have liked to linger to try some other menu items (and beers) but that would have spelled a quick end to my day. Instead, I started to wander the town.
It turns out the cute historic part of town with restaurants and shops is only a couple of blocks along German Street (or Martinsburg Pike). I’m reminded there used to be another destination restaurant in town, the Yellow Brick Bank, but it closed in 2015. There remains a decent collection of alternatives that offer some prospect for a longer visit sometime. Similarly, the shops, representing a reasonable variety of arts, crafts, tourist knickknacks, books and toys seemed fit for a slightly longer round of windowshopping on some other occasion.
Shepherdstown has a fair bit of history for a little town, from both the colonial and civil war eras. It lays claim to being the oldest town in West Virginia, first settled in 1730 and designated a town in 1762, though the state wouldn’t be born for another century. George Washington surveyed in the area and the town was one of the earliest to send troops to join Washington’s colonial army. The town’s proximity to the civil war battle across the river at Antietam turned it into a hospital for Confederate troops. There is a museum on the main street that I decided to save for some other visit.
I learned from the sign above that Shepherdstown was a stop along the Washington Heritage Trail, a driving route through West Virginia sites associated with George himself. I hadn’t heard of this trail before, but it looks like an interesting 136-mile meander through the panhandle of the state. I smell another day trip or weekend sometime.
Shepherdstown hosts an impressive number of arts and other events through the year, highlighted by a Contemporary American Theater Festival of national renown. There’s also an active folk music society that puts on frequent shows of mountain, celtic and world music acts that I’d like. In all, it seems Shepherdstown is a tiny but progressive little corner of West Virginia, a miniature Asheville (in its dreams).
Being in a driving and exploring mood, I got back in the car with the idea of heading to my next destination, the original Washington Monument. Before leaving town, however, I wanted to get down to the riverfront. I first followed signs to a monument by the river dedicated to James Rumsey, whom I’d never heard of. Turns out he demonstrated the first steam powered river boat nearby in 1787, some 20 years before Robert Fulton (Rumsey died in 1792 before he could make the design commercially viable, dimming his place in history, but at least he has a monument!). The monument, however, was still up on the bluff overlooking the river. I poked along streets in town for a bit but kept bumping into either the University or Bavarian Inn.
I gave up and started to head out of town when I saw signs for a nature viewing area. Thinking that might offer views of the river, I followed the signs for about 6 miles to the Yankauer Nature Preserve. The drive was nice, but the preserve itself offered several miles of walking paths and no easy access to the river. Some other time, thanks.
I got back on the main roads, crossed the Potomac into Maryland and headed through Antietam to the Washington Monument at South Mountain. I had heard of this monument for many years and seen it a few times from the road, but had never actually been to it. The monument is just outside Boonsboro, a short jog off the Historic National Road, Route 40-Alt. There was only one other car in the parking lot on this chilly March day. The monument is a short hike up from the lot, just a few yards from the Appalachian Trail which I didn’t realize until I saw the sign.
I climbed to the top of the 40-foot monument but the view was not greatly rewarding on this overcast day. Still, it’s impressive to see West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania all in one sweep. It’s cool to soak in the history that the monument was originally built in one day on July 4, 1827, by the townspeople of Boonsboro and was the first monument to Washington completed. It also played a role as a lookout in the Civil War and has since been rebuilt, most recently by the CCC in 1936. I stayed for a while to appreciate the view and watch buzzards soar, hoping in vain for an eagle.
The Appalachian Trail is another landmark I’d long known about but never actually saw or hiked. Now I can saw I’ve hiked it, for about 50 feet, roundtrip. I think that’s about all of the Trail I’d care to hike. The idea of lugging around a pack for miles up and down hills, much less actually camping out at night, does not appeal. But more power to them that do hike some or all of the Trail from Maine to Georgia. I’m glad it’s there and I’m glad I have a car.
My next stop, South Mountain Creamery, was just a few miles away on the east side of the mountain. The Creamery’s trucks, milk and ice cream have become fixtures at local farmers markets, and I’d heard the farm operations were a popular attraction for the public. Sure enough, there’s a little store, a self-guided tour and a lot of play areas for kids. I watched the cows being milked, lingered near them for a while by the “Cow Comfort” area, and checked out the calf barn. I’ve never spent much time on a farm and, rather like hiking the Appalachian Trail, have little desire to. Frankly, the less I know about where my food comes from, the happier I am (though now I know the difference between a Holstein (black and white) and Jersey (brown)). I know that’s a poor attitude, but being around cows, even allegedly happy ones, is for me creepy, intimidating and somewhat sad. I was, however, happy to stop back in the store and buy some cheese made from the local milk.
Milking shed 
Milking machinery 
Cow Comfort area 
Comfortable cows 
Holstein calf 
Jersey calf 
I got back on Route 40-Alt, the Historic National Road toward Frederick. I thought this was synonymous with the National Road (or Pike), America’s first major highway started in 1811, but I’ve now learned that the National Road proper started in Cumberland, MD, and headed west into the Ohio Valley and eventually to Illinois. The section east toward Baltimore was a series of privately built toll roads and turnpikes, including the section of Route 144 about a mile from our home. I decided to follow this road home, rather than hopping onto I-70 which is the much faster, more normal route.
The Historic National Road is, if you will, an east-west equivalent of US Route 1 that travels from the Canadian border in Maine all the way to Key West. I used to live near Route 1 in Miami and it is the Overseas Highway that traverses the Keys. As a kid, I had fantasies of driving the whole route someday, an Appalachian Trail dream for a child of the automobile. That dream evaporated once I began to understand the headaches of stop-and-go traffic through the seedy side of every town up the Atlantic seaboard. But for a few miles on a leisurely Wednesday, I thought it would be a minor adventure.
The road went through Middletown and was soon into the outskirts of Frederick. I explored Frederick a little even though it was getting crowded with rush hour. Frederick, the largest town in the area, has partly gentrified as it’s become an outer suburb of the DC metro area, but it still has a long way to go, in my opinion. The old town is indeed old and congested, but not very quaint. There are an increasing number of things to do and some good restaurants, starting with Volt, but the town has yet to work its magic on me. This little drive through didn’t persuade me otherwise.
I headed further east on the historic road, avoiding I-70, as it went through New Market. This is another town, just to our west, that reputedly has an active antiques scene (the “Antiques Capital of Maryland”?) and some good restaurants. Both were in scant evidence as I drove down the couple of blocks of Main Street. Maybe there’s more somewhere, or maybe I need to come back on a nice spring or summer day.
I went a bit further east and stopped for dinner at Bolder. This restaurant has gone through several owners and menus over the years. The current incarnation has a good selection of burgers, sandwiches and few upscale entrees. And lots of beers, wine and drinks. I had a Boldersarus burger that was indeed pretty massive and a nice Irish whiskey, still on sale from St. Paddy’s Day. From there it was an easy few minutes drive home.
This little adventure was a reminder that simple, low key day trips can well serve as mini vacations. One can assume the attitude of an exploring tourist and revisit or seek out new locations in the area and get nearly as much benefit as taking a much longer trip.
There are a wealth of locations in the region, just a few hours from home, including Annapolis, Eastern Shore North, Eastern Shore South, Chesapeake Bay islands, Northern Neck, St. Mary’s, Canaan Valley, Washington Heritage Trail, Gettysburg, Hanover/Dutch country, Brandywine Valley, Havre de Grace, Baltimore museums and neighborhoods, DC museums and neighborhoods, Northern Virginia, and much more. It’s a target-rich environment.
This is my reminder to schedule more of these day trips in the coming years, with or without Barb.
February 2020
Barb and I realized we weren’t doing anything this President’s Day weekend so we planned a couple of lunch outings. On Saturday, we went to Manalu in Frederick where she got her favorite veal francese. I got a pretty good white pizza with sausage and we shared an appetizer of garlicky shrimp.
For Monday, we ventured to Shepherdstown and the Bavarian Inn for some wienerschnitzel for her. I got appetizers of spaetzel and sausages and a shepherds pie, with the idea of bringing things home for dinner. Nothing warms my heart more than driving a couple of hours round trip only to have Barb wrinkle her nose in disappointment over a meal. That’s what happened with the wienerschnitzel. She said it was too thick, the breading was wrong and she suspected it was pork. I ended up bringing it home, so more food for me. I guess we won’t be making any more pilgrimages to the Bavarian Inn for a long time. I will say, they’ve invested a lot in the restaurant and new brewery and tap house. Regardless, it was a nice, sunny day and the drive was pleasant. And at least Barb got one decent veal this weekend.
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