For Memorial Day weekend we decided to do a short road trip to the nearby Shenandoah Valley, a place knowing for its peacefulness and stunning vistas. We had the good fortune of getting a unique Airbnb place to stay in. The property was built in the 18th century and was formerly a grist mill (where grain was ground into flour). The tall structure below was the former grist mill and may be renovated someday.
We stayed in the adjacent space, in what was formerly the sawmill. Joan, the current owner (and our host) purchased the mill back in 1997 and set about renovating it by repurposing items salvaged from the mill–items like grain chutes, the mill auger, the flour packer, pulleys, and framing beams. Seeing those renovations in and of themselves would have been plenty, but the owner also had a flair for decorating and had filled every available space with fascinating treasures she’d gathered. The combined effect was equal parts historical and whimsical. We all loved it, but Nia particularly did, and I’m quite sure she examined every object in the place. :)
Joan had recently restored the water wheel to working condition and we fell asleep with our windows open to the sound of water trickling over the wheel. It was divine.
Holman’s Creek ran through the property and was the bathing spot for two of our favorite new friends . . .
Cheese & Quackers.
We got hours of fun out of watching these sweet ducks. Joan even had food for us to feed them which they’d eat right out of Nia’s hand. Particularly amusing was when the Rooster and hen would show up from next door and the ducks would try their best to chase them away before they nibbled up any residual food that had fallen to the ground.
The weather was near perfect–temps in the low 70’s during the day and around 50 at night. Great sleeping-with-the-windows open weather. The inside felt warm and cozy, like Grandma’s house or a place you’d been coming to all your life.
There were two bedrooms but Nia opted for the living room daybed instead. I think she liked all the twinkly lights strung up around the space.
I was amazed to learn that Joan had raised her daughter here while she was fixing it up and that for many years they made do without running water. The sink you see in the picture was an old German sitz bath. Joan and her daughter would heat water and bathe in this prior to getting plumbing. Crazy, huh?!
We were pretty content just hanging at the cabin, but we did fit in two outings. One morning we climbed 1000 ft up to the Mary’s Rock Summit in Shenandoah National Park. It was killer but worth it for the view that awaited us.
On Sunday we decided to check out Luray Caverns, the largest cavern in the Eastern United States. It did not disappoint.
There was over a mile of underground lit trail and caverns that reached up to 10 stories high. At no point was it claustrophobic, for which I was grateful.
The formations varied in size and shape and had been created over 400 million centuries! Now THAT’s old!
The Luray Caverns house the largest instrument in the world–the Stalacpipe Organ. In 1954, Leland W. Sprinkle (what an awesome name) figured out how to wire rubber mallets to tap various stalactites, each corresponding with a different note. The organ’s keys are connected to each of those various mallets. It was super cool, but hard to explain. You can read more here and here.
Highly recommend staying at Joan’s Gristmill Cabin and visiting Luray and Shenandoah if you’re in the D.C. area. More cave pictures can be found here!
