VA Adventure Duo

09/12/2024

Hey friends! I haven’t been bugging you because your last votes kept me in the running for a lonnnng time. Tonight they cut to the final 5 for my group. I am number …. 5! So if you could go in and send me a vote, I’d be super grateful! Thank you!!!

Andrea Denton could win $10,000, embark on a personalized national park expedition in a Winnebago RV, and appear in Outside Magazine.

10/03/2023

I need a hero! I’m holding out for a conservation hero … OK that’s not the way the song goes but I do have some conservation heroes for you. Especially for those who love the Chesapeake Bay! Your vote could help bring $30,000 to help preserve the Bay. Or maybe you’ll see another cause dear to your heart. There are no losers here but take a minute and vote for your favorite conservation hero! But hurry! You only have until October 10 to get your vote in!

Vote

06/17/2021

Did y’all know Norton was a type of grape and that it’s the state grape of Missouri? Or that it makes a wine and it was first cultivated in Richmond, Va? Neither did we!!! But part of our adventures include visiting wineries across Virginia and we happened to come across Hammerstone Cellars in Orange, Va. We loved the whole vibe of the place. Family-owned, the owners’ son designed the logo based on the hammerstone found on the property. They also have arrowheads on display and beautiful cheese boards made from trees harvested on the property. And the wine is tasty too! We loved our visit and think you should too! 🍷
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06/14/2021

Road trips are SERIOUS business. Our Disney versions would agree.

06/13/2021

It’s been too long but the duo was back in action this weekend! Thanks to Andrea for supporting Heidi in her fourth event with Team In Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park!!! We trekked 9 miles from Big Meadow to Sky Land Camping & Resort… all for raising money and awareness in the fight against blood cancer. Our views at Hawksbill Overlook were obscured by thick clouds but we were treated to a phenomenal sunset view from our hotel room balcony later that evening. What a great day. What a great cause. Another fabulous memory for the books.
Get outside, move your body for a purpose, and appreciate the beauty that nature has to offer… best therapy ever!

05/17/2021

Happy one year anniversary VA Adventure Duo! It was one year ago today the crazy idea was hatched to visit all of Virginia’s state parks, while completing the 20-plus mile round trip hike through False Cape State Park all the way to the North Carolina border. Since that amazing day, we’ve visited about a third of the parks and we’ve made countless memories! Here’s to another year of adventure!!! 🥂 Woohoo!
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05/12/2021

Long time, no duo adventures! The duo has had opposing schedules of availability but still trying to get out there and explore our beautiful in the springtime! It was back to the for with some old friends to and on the ... chilly but beautiful sunny weather and flowers in bloom... this time heaving a 40 lb backpack to overnite camp at the Priest Shelter. Started a warming fire and listened to a Thru-hiker who strapped his guitar on his backpack and played some songs to lull us to sleep. Over a 3500 ft elevation gain and a couple of blisters later... the views were worth the weight. @ The Priest (mountain)

03/18/2021

“𝑨𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆.”
~𝑱𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒉 𝑩. 𝑾𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒏
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Three Ridges Loop is a beautiful 14.6 mile loop with more than 4,000 feet elevation gain and boy does it build character! We parked at Reid’s Gap at sunrise and got started ... up, up, up! Much of the hike is on the Appalachian Trail. We took the clockwise route and the best view comes pretty early on and wow is it breathtaking. The trail is all-around gorgeous. Despite it still being winter, there are many spots of lush, green foliage. For part of the hike, you’re on the Mau-Har Trail, and just when you’re completely beat down, around mile 10, you come across a beautiful section of waterfalls and water crossings before coming back to the Maupin Shelter and starting the final trek back on the AT.
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Most people split this hike up into two days as there is not only the Maupin Shelter but also Harper’s Creek Shelter along the way. We also saw people camping just off the trail. Doing it in one day is a challenge, but we finished up around 4 p.m., completely spent and yes, sore for the next couple days. Hello, glutes! Definitely recommend, especially if you wanna be like a butterfly and build character through adversity. 😉🦋
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03/16/2021

It’s not all about the hiking! was back on the road again to explore gorgeous and came upon Virginia’s oldest , ... a beautiful spot nestled in near the and is also a spot! Owner Al W**d was so hospitable and a wealth of information about the area’s history and its future. It’s so fabulous to hear the county is invested in maintaining its natural terrain and is pushing away from urban development. Virginia needs its beautiful landscape. We toast to that!!! @ Mountain Cove Vineyards

03/13/2021

Charlottesville

02/24/2021

Mission: To explore Chincoteague and Assateague Island …
Secondary mission: See wild ponies
Missions accepted and complete!
It’s an absolute beautiful place so we’ll let the pictures tell that story, but here are some fun facts about the area that will have you planning your trip:

- [ ] Assateague Island wasn’t always an island … in 1933 a storm blew through opening an inlet between the southern end of Ocean City and the new Assateague.
- [ ] There were plans in the 50s to create a resort area on the island called Ocean Beach. Development began but the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 destroyed all the structures on the island and made it pretty clear that developing the area was just a bad idea.
- [ ] Assateague Island is in two states. The northern two miles is in Maryland and was made Assateague National Seashore in 1965
- [ ] The southern part of the island is in Virginia and became Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in 1943.
- [ ] Assateague is famous for its wild ponies. There are differing stories about how the ponies got there … one stories say settlers brought them and let them roam free. The second theory is that the ponies are survivors of a Spanish galleon shipwreck. We like that one better.
- [ ] The area between Maryland and Virginia is separated by a fence. The Maryland herd is managed by the National Park Service, while the Virginia herd is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company (CVFC).
- [ ] While the Maryland Herd is population controlled using contraceptives, the Virginia herd is controlled by auction. The Fire Company holds the famous auction on the last Wednesday in July … Each year since 1925, the ponies are rounded up by Saltwater Cowboys and led across the channel for an auction to keep the numbers down.
- [ ] Besides the ponies, which are beautiful, the refuge is home to many kinds of wildlife … the snow geese are beautiful, and we may have had a little too much fun watching them take off … it’s magnificent

Overall … it was an amazing day, full of beauty and relaxation. The island has no residents but sees more than two million visitors a year, definitely more in the summer, but if you’re willing to put up with some cold, now is a beautiful time to make it out and have the place much to yourself!

02/16/2021

We’re still here! The winter weather has been DISMAL with days and days of cold rain and wind. But we still have big plans and they say “train for all conditions”... so we planned a 12 mile hike through our local to . The refuge trails with access to FCSP were closed to protect wildlife so we were rerouted onto the beach. The sea was pretty angry, kicking up the most sea foam we’ve ever seen! After trudging in the sand for a couple of miles we saw an odd shaped piece of driftwood with two big black eyes staring back at us... wait a minute... that’s a SEAL just laying there on a dune! He (or she, hard to tell) let us approach and we thought maybe he was injured. But after calling the stranding team he decided to waddle into the water and swim off. Such a cool sighting! As the hike went on the rain came down harder and the wind picked up and our bodies were numb and we were soaked and miserable. But WE MADE IT. Hot coffee, a Bloody Mary and brunch was well earned. Why do these crazy hikes? Well, because we got to see some really amazing things, have some great conversation (before our lips went numb), and created yet another unforgettable memory we can look back on and laugh (and cry) about. ALWAYS an adventure with my fellow crazy ... what will we come up with next?