Visiting my brother along the Appalachian Trail
Since late March, my brother Patrick has been hiking Northbound on the Appalachian Trail! He started in Georgia and this past week we caught up with him all the way in Virginia (as of right now he’s already in Pennsylvania!!). It’s been really lucky that for most of his trek he’s had cell service throughout the towns he stops through, so we have been able to catch up now and then.
It was so much fun to hang with him during a few of his “zero days” (meaning zero miles were hiked!). A lot of people asked if we were planning on hiking with him, but I think the zero day activities (i.e. eating and drinking) were more up our alley!!! 🙂
First stop: Boulevard Burger & Brew! This place was so yummy! They had so many milkshakes (including vegan ones?! Why don’t they have those in Austin?)!! Plus it was so cute! A good first place to hit.
After picking up Patrick off the trail, AJ found a dinner spot that both served ramen and was open on Monday (surprisingly hard to find…), and right next door we stumbled upon Brusky Cider! Not pictured – the blue cider they had in honor of July 4th…we tasted it and it was good but none of us could get over the color. They had free hotdogs next door much to Patrick’s relief because dinner was too far away (re: 30 minutes). Also, please take a second to appreciate his trail outfit…he literally got compliments everywhere we went!
Dinner spot: Fat Dragon! It was sooooo good and soooo much food!!!
The next day after brunch at Kuba Kuba (the best huevos rancheros I thought we could ever find so far North!) we went to the Science Museum of Virginia! Full disclosure, it was definitely geared towards kiddos, but I think overall we got our $15 worth. It used to be a train station, and they had a steam train out back that was super neat! Plus the Magnolias out front were huge and so so pretty!
Next – more breweries! The Veil Brewing Co. literally had a line outside of people waiting to get inside. We were told they only sell cans there at the brewery, only on Tuesdays and there’s a per day, per person limit!! They knew how to hype it up. Luckily we didn’t have to wait in line just to drink!
Sidenote: does anyone know why they only serve out of wine glasses?? I’m still perplexed.
Patrick being a true McVeety-Mill.
Up next we walked to Ardent Craft Ales down the street! I loved their tap room so much, it was really cozy and had a cute outdoor area!
Late night stop at The Jasper! This spot was clearly too cool for us and we were okay with that…
Wednesday morning stopped at a full gluten-free menu spot called 521 Biscuits and Waffles! It was family run and they made everything fresh from scratch! AJ couldn’t remember the last time he had a waffle, so it was a pretty big moment for everyone.
Next we headed to Blue Bee Cider, which was nestled in a super cute cottage. They had so many different flavors, it was definitely the most unique cider experience we’ve ever had! We got to meet an adorable basset hound named Rupp who just made my day. They had frosé in honor of July 4th and it being hot as heck outside, which was super refreshing!
Pretty soon it was time to drop Patrick off at the trail again. We stopped right where he had left off, so no miles were missed. It was really cool to see exactly where he would be headed. It was sprinkling a little but not too hard.
The sunset on the drive home was so pretty! Patrick will be done at the end of September and I was super relieved to hear he still plans to come back to Austin! You can just never be certain with such a life changing experience, you know? These next three months will hopefully be quick until he comes back!!!
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