The New Happyness of Moffett: Valentine's Clue Mystery Revealed

This weekend was so much fun! We left on Saturday and as the day progressed, Mark found out what more and more of his clues meant.

First stop was Naked Mountain Vineyard & Winery in Markham, VA.

Clue #2 (the wine dossier) and Clue #5 (the picture of the naked woman silhouette in front of a mountain) should have tipped Mark off to this part of the weekend! I have been there once before and I knew that not only is the setting beautiful but the wine is delicious as well! We did a tasting and tried all of the different types of wines - our favorites were the 2008 Chardonnay-Riesling and the 2008 Cabernet Franc Rose. We also liked their Merlot. We decided to each buy a glass of the Chardonnay-Riesling and some brie cheese and crackers and stay for awhile. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside for a bit...but it was still chilly (the photo to the right is of our delicious wine out on the porch!). Much better inside by the fire! We bought two bottles for later - the Chardonnay-Riesling and the Merlot. It was a wonderful afternoon and a nice little detour into the country.

Then we headed to our next destination: The Apple Blossom Inn in New Market, VA! It is a really sweet bed and breakfast that was built in 1806! When you rent it, you get the entire inn to yourself... two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, kitchen, dining area, formal living room with a grand piano! That took care of most of the other clues... Clue #1 (apple/apple blossom), Clue #4 (piano sheet music folio - for the piano!), and Clue #6 (the German food...according to the web site the house was built in German architectural style.)

After we met our hosts (they live in a separate house further back on the property and we only saw them when we checked in and then again when they served us breakfast in the morning), we settled in and then went in search of a place for dinner. I didn't make any reservations anywhere because I wasn't sure what we would be up for. We ended up heading down the road

to Luray (only a ten minute drive) and going to local-favorite, Dan's Steak House. The wait was an hour and a half! Every couple in Luray and the surrounding area was trying to eat there for Valentine's Day! We put our name on the list and then drove around downtown Luray, which is actually quite a nice town. The atmosphere in Dan's was casual, to say the least (think everyone in the waiting room dressed in camo, sweatjackets, work boots)... it looked more like a country cafeteria/diner than a steak house but the food was delicious and we had a good time!

The next day, we got up early - breakfast was served at 8:30am! It was well worth it, however, because the food was delicious. After breakfast and packing up, we decided to go and check out the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park & Hall of Valor Civil War Museum. The museum was really great and I definitely learned a few things I'd never known about Virginia's role in the Civil War. We walked around the battlefield a little bit and visited the Bushong farm - where the battle took place and what later became the field hospital for all of the men wounded in the fight. After exploring the museum and park (Pictures of breakfast and the museum/park below) we headed home! It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to spend Valentine's Day!