Oh, Shenandoah

You may remember when Rich and I went to the Library of Congress because it was pouring rain and we couldn't go apple picking. Being just a couple of weeks later we thought we'd give it another try. We (Mom, Tín, Rich and I) drove out to the Marker Miller Orchards in Winchester, VA. This wasn't all that far from where we'd gone three weeks earlier when we drove along Skyline Rd. It's about an hour and a half drive and while the leaves weren't quite as vibrant as before, they were beautiful nonetheless. I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing the autumn colors here.

It turns out that apple picking time was over. That didn't stop us from buying apples, apple cider, apple butter, apple dumplings, apple cider doughnuts and apple caramel cookies. We'd almost eaten all of the doughnuts before I remembered to snap this pic. I still have a little bit of apple butter left in my fridge and it is sooo good. I'm trying to ration it out so that it lasts a while. It's not easy.

On our way to the orchard we saw a sign for the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley . Since we hadn't spent any time apple picking and it was a slightly chilly but beautiful day, we decided to check it out. It's a fairly new museum having just opened three and a half years ago. It is dedicated to the art, history and culture of the Shenandoah Valley. The Glen Burnie Historic House is also on site as well as several acres of gardens. We toured the house and the museum.

We didn't spend much time in the gardens since it was a little chilly and not the best time of year for gardens. I'll bet they're beautiful in the spring and summer though. I thought this statue was, hmmm,  I don't know, whimsical?

Oh! I almost forgot to mention. There was a miniatures gallery in the museum. I didn't think we were ever going to see Mom again.