It had been years since I visited Staunton (pronounced Stan-ton) after a hiking trip with a local outdoor group. Even then, we only stopped at the Depot and an antique shop before heading back home. So this past weekend I made this quaint town one of several locations I visited before attending a photography event at the Swannanoa Mansion in Afton, Virginia. More on that in my next post.
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| East end of Beverley Street in Historic Old Town Staunton. |
My trip to Staunton began early Friday morning. The second half of the 135-mile excursion was literally clouded by a dense fog. It seemed to hang around forever. After about 60 miles and around 10:30 a.m. when I arrived, the sun finally broke through.
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| The Fog on I-81 South for 60 miles. |
The first thing I did upon entering town, after checking my hotel, was a photo op by the giant watering can and pot in the middle of the intersection of Greenville Avenue and South Coalter Street. Here you can see me mid-air, realizing at that precise moment that the ankle injury I had two weeks prior had not fully healed. Nothing like injuring yourself at the beginning of the trip. But I stuck it out and continued on. The pain was minimal.
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| Don't jump up in the air if you've recently twisted your ankle. |
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| The other side of the median also had another giant pot tipped on its side. |
Staunton is a railroad town, and next to the Depot Grille you can climb up steps to get a good view of the city.
The central road of the historic Old Town is Beverley Street. This is where you'll find most of the restaurants and shops, and it has a wonderful mix of both. Here are photos of the many places I visited that afternoon with captions.
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| Burrow and Vine. I was delightfully surprised to come across a houseplant store. |
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| The Staunton Antiques Center had three floors to peruse. |
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| Top floor of the Antique Center with views of the downtown area. |
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| The name of this store escapes me, but it had an eclectic mix of Scottish decor and trinkets. |
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| Remedy Burger was my lunchtime hangout for a burger and a cold Sprite. They also serve spirits. |
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| Burners Blue Burger: 1/4 lb. Patty, Blue Cheese, Mango Chutney, & Arugula. |
The town has many interesting architectural features at every turn.
After my afternoon trip in the historic Old Town, I checked out The Factory Antique Mall a few miles up the street. This place is humongous.
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| I love tribal masks, but I talked myself out of buying a scary $195 piece with hair. |
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| Taxidermied animals could be seen throughout, including a giant alligator. |
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| The aisles went on and on and on. Surely a day to see it all. |
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| I was wonderfully surprised to see a booth dedicated to houseplants. |
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| If you need to rest, the Mall has a café called Tasty Bites to wet your appetite. |
But the day wasn't over! After checking in at the Red Roof Inn (just $79 for the night) for a short nap and a shower, I made my way back to downtown Staunton to experience the nightlife.
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| Red Roof Inn north of Staunton sits up on a hill. You need to travel up a back road to get to it. |
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| Every Friday and Saturday after 4 p.m. they close off Beverley Street to patrons only. |
My first stop was The Green Room, where I indulged in some fine wine and a charcuterie board of delicious cheeses and spreads. Total cost for this indulgence: $32.
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| White wine with and a board of truffle cheddar, smoked chèvre, spreads, and crackers. |
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| Young servers kept me company and filled me in on some of the best Staunton hangouts. |
Me originating from a small rural town, I find it comforting to hang around, well, rednecks. So I asked the locals to point me to the redneckiest establishments. They did not disappoint. First stop was Baja Bean.
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| Bottle beers were only $2.25, and the food looked terrific. This is a bar I really enjoyed. |
Next stop was Tempest on the opposite side of the block. This was the first time I was ever checked over with a metal wand before entering, so you know this is where things go down sometimes. They even had a metal pee trough in the men's bathroom.
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| The view from the second floor to the bottom of this spacious venue with a performance stage. |
We were soon serenaded by a folk band from Philadelphia named
Darlingtyn. You can listen to a short clip below as they sing "Shoo Fly Pie."
I soon acquired a very nice gang of interesting and kind people to hang with for the night.
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| This was the only picture where I didn't smile, but everyone else looks great. |
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| Okay, much better. |
The night was still young, and so I wanted to make it to one more bar before I went back to the hotel. Mind you, I'd only had two small glasses of wine and one beer at this point. So point me, I asked my newfound friends, to the roughest toughest redneck place in town. They sent me to Rackem Smacken four miles north in Verona, Virginia, with a fair warning.
Now this is what I'm used to: great people having a great time in a bar with pool tables and ribs. Aside from the one tipsy woman who came crashing down off her table stool, bottle and all, I enjoyed my few minutes there. How bad can a place be when one of the tough guys sings "Easy" by the Commodores for karaoke? After one beer I headed back to the nearby hotel and called it a night.
Here are a few more pictures from my day in Staunton, Virginia:
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| It was nice to see how inclusive the downtown area was. |
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| Queen City Barbershop on 115 Greenville Avenue, Staunton, Virginia. |
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| R.R. Smith Center for History and Art. |
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| I so wanted to buy this model RV camper at Frontline Model Kits and Hobbies. |
