Skyline Drive

Last night, I didn't sleep well. I couldn't fall asleep, and I think it was close to 1 before I did. The dog came and woke me up (he slept in the guest room by himself!) at 5:30 which was probably the longest he'd ever gone. But I had barely fallen asleep. Doug got up at 6, and went in the living room, but let me sleep until 9. We got out of the house rather early, not as early as I thought we would but still. Doug wanted to try the new used Mini Cooper on the road and what better road than the famous Skyline Drive. 

Before we left I told Doug we should pack an overnight bag, you know, just in case. Like. If we're having too much fun out there and we want to stay over. Doug wanted to get home tonight to avoid the memorial day traffic coming back tomorrow. I felt I had a good point, he had a good point. 

We got out to the area after an uneventful ride with only a little traffic. Everyone probably went where they were going Friday or yesterday. We had intended to stop and get sandwiches on Rte 29 in Madison, but we missed the turn we wanted to take, and the next turn brought us through foothill homes and no food or gas. We stopped in Stanardsville for gas and a stretch, and went over to the pizza parlor to see about subs or slices or something, but they weren't open until 2pm. Over to the grocery store, where we hoped they'd have subs wrapped in plastic wrap or something but no. I suggested we could just get deli meat and cheeses, and bread and I could make sandwiches for us, but we opted to just get snacks and water. We entered the drive at Swift Run Gap to drive north. It was a beautiful day, great weather, the trailheads were all very crowded, but the overlooks were alright. We stopped frequently and soaked it in. 

We ate "lunch snack" relatively early after getting on the drive. Why wait!

We've done the whole ride, but entering at Swift Gap is a good spot.  By the time we get to about 20 miles from the end I felt like it was more than enough Skyline Drive for me. 

Front Royal is the town at the northern terminus of the drive. We were last there in April 2019, I do believe, even though I didn't blog about it at the time. 

It's a cute town, they do a lot of Appalachian Trail stuff and people stay there when they get off the trail. My friend Kim told me about her time there when she hiked through twice. 

There is a brewery and restaurant there, we ate there in the past but they've since changed names. The beer was good and the food was great. Service was a little slow, but our waiter was incredibly friendly and gave us tips for things to see because we told him we were going for a little walk around town to play Pokemon. 

We made it a block or so away and found the Meadery. I didn't think we were going to go in, but we did. And of course we made instant friends. A guy who grew up in Rhode Island and his wife who grew up very close to where we live right now. They are regulars there, so they helped guide our choices because mead can be weird. I brought up another mead that is made in the area and they agreed with us that it is no good. This mead was exceptionally good. 

We had a great time, and the trip home was fast. Front Royal to Front Door in an hour and a quarter. Doug says it takes him that long to get home from Fairfax some evenings. 

I kind of wish we stayed out there and enjoyed some more Front Royal Area fun. We discussed a trip out there, without a Skyline Drive ride, in the future. 

Digits below, I didn't have my dinner time metformin with me so the digits are a little messed up post-dinner and mead and stuff. 

digits:

exercise: 11/12 hours of 250 steps. Missed 10am in the car. Little hikes and strolls around the overlooks and downtown Front Royal

blood glucose:

9am: 183
9pm: 234   

food:

coffee, water
10am: protein shake
1pm: metformin. Sliced cheese, pork rinds (carb free!) pepperoni slices, mixed nuts
5pm: burger, onion rings, 2 beers 
6pm: mead flight
9pm: metformin+jardiance
9:30pm: 2 good yogurt, 6 slices of snack cheese, mixed nuts, 2 good yogurt, another beer