Sperryville is for lovers

To celebrate Ross' 30th birthday, I surprised him with an overnight trip to Sperryville, VA.  Why?!  Well, since you asked... 

A long time ago, in a Barnes & Noble far away, when Ross and I first became a couple, we had to keep our love semi-secret for a little while, for various reasons.  We were musing one day, imagining a magical place where we could escape to be a real, free couple, holding hands in public and shouting at the top of our lungs, "I LOVE YOU AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!!!"  (Really, this is literally all we wanted in life.  It was a simpler time.)

Anyway, somehow, somewhere, we saw the name "Sperryville" on a sign or a map, agreed it sounded completely mythical, and declared it was "our place."  And yet, we never actually went.  "Sperryville" for us was more like a state of mind, our inside joke.  If we could steal away together for a few hours, we were in Sperryville.

Over the years, we've both thought about surprising each other with a real Sperryville trip, but it's been nearly impossible to get away between our work schedules and having ALL the babies.  This year being a milestone birthday, I wanted to do something very special.  With help from Ross' folks, who agreed to babysit as a birthday gift, I secretly planned the ultimate trip of our destiny... to a tiny town that nobody's ever heard of. 

About two hours northwest of Richmond, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with a population of less than 350 and absolutely no cell service, we literally drove through the historic town in less than five minutes.  The surrounding area is mountainous countryside, fields dotted with farms; the shops and restaurants are all locally owned.  Everybody knows everybody in the community.  A less-freaky version of Twin Peaks... a less pretentious version of Portlandia... and yet somehow a magical mix of the two.

We were right at home.

In the Rosemary Room.

Our first stop (after "cruising Main Street to check out the town" and accidentally driving through it) was to check in at our bed & breakfast, Hopkins Ordinary.  The owners, Sherri and Kevin, instantly made us feel welcome, offering us delicious home-brewed beer, making our dinner reservations, and giving Ross a brief tutorial on using a real fireplace.

After settling in, we strolled across the street (to the right) to a pottery shop, where the owner was effortlessly shaping and assembling handmade coffee mugs, happy to make conversation with a couple of strangers - although I s'pose strangers don't stay strangers for very long in Sperryville.  We browsed her wares, and told her our story. 

As it turns out, she and her husband were once coworkers who escaped to Sperryville on secret romantic getaways, and loved it so much they decided to move there!  (Sherri and Kevin have a similar story.  I must admit, if Ross and I could find work there, we'd be tempted.)  We bought a couple of mugs, then went "home" to spruce up for dinner.

We strolled across the street (to the left) to Thornton River Grille, where we enjoyed delicious soup, seafood, and dessert.  After dinner we peeked in the Sperryville Corner Store, which sells just about every unique alcoholic drink you could imagine, and what appeared to be exclusively local produce and cheese.  

When we left, it was dark outside.  No, really.  It was dark.  No light pollution whatsoever, not even streetlamps - if it were a less cloudy evening, we'd have had an amazing view of the stars.  The Ordinary's lamps were burning brightly; we stopped in the front room to say goodnight to our hosts, then retired to our room, where Ross successfully lit a fire in the fireplace without setting off the house alarm!  We perused our eclectic bookshelf (choosing Capote and Twain) and settled into our bed, where it took... ohhh, maybe thirty minutes before we fell asleep.  

And slept.  

For almost ten hours.


You guys, it was glorious.


Breakfast was outstanding: fruit (kiwi, grapefruit, blood oranges), french toast with strawberries, bacon*, and locally brewed coffee.  We met another couple, in town from DC to do some hiking, and enjoyed good conversation until check-out time.  It was a lovely end to a peaceful, romantic, perfect trip.  Better than I could've possibly imagined.  We came home refreshed, recharged, and stress-free**.  

And now that we've finally been to Sperryville, all I can think about is going back.
 


*Yes, I ate the bacon.  It was heavenly.  No regrets. 
**So stress-free that my brain seems to have ceased it's normal functioning.  I was pretty much useless at work today.  No regrets.