I order a chocolate malt milkshake at Wright’s and head to Lexington for the night, moving into a 1901 house called A Secret Garden on Jackson. Golden oldies blast on the jukebox at this frozen-in-time ice cream stand. And I take a right at Wright’s Dairy Rite, a Staunton landmark along Route 11 since 1952. Where Wilson lived for the first few months of his life is preserved along Route 11-just like the birthplace of his second wife, I shall find, many miles down the line.īut, first, it’s time for an ice cream break. It was 125 years old.”ĭown in Staunton, I explore the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States and a guiding force during World War I. “It was going to be destroyed, and I just hated that. “One of the biggest draws that we have is just the building and the warmth of the building,” says owner David Gardner. Housed inside a “bank barn,” relocated to the Weyers Cave community, the Valley Pike Farm Market faces Route 11, midway between Harrisonburg and Staunton. Or you can make Route 11 a journey of wine, wild honey and a school bus turned into a food truck at the Valley Pike Farm Market. And you could spend days reading about long-gone battles and pioneers. Historical markers line Route 11 from Glade Spring to Greenville. Still, says owner Richard Yancey, this Melrose place is sometimes shown to curious wedding parties. Also, just north of Harrisonburg, where Route 11 resembles a country road, you’ll see a wedding venue called Melrose Caverns-the site of a cavern that’s been closed to the general public for more than 50 years. Route 11 remains a gateway to subterranean treasures called Dixie Caverns, Shenandoah Caverns, Endless Caverns, Grand Caverns and the Caverns at Natural Bridge. Until I-81 came on the scene in the 1960s, this was the main north-south route through the Valley of Virginia, cutting past the campuses of James Madison University, Radford University, Mary Baldwin University, Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee University and Hollins University-to name a few. Through most of its journey, Route 11 is a connector of colleges, caverns and courthouses. Natural Bridge Dinosaur Land Colleges and Caverns All chips are kettle-cooked, says clerk Freda Sigler. Originally established at Middletown, in 2008, this company since moved to its present location at Quicksburg, where the business now handles 14,000 pounds of potatoes per day. Just beyond, Strasburg signals the start of Route 11’s gorgeously green “Scenic Road” status, which rolls south for more than 30 miles to New Market, passing through Woodstock, Edinburg and Mount Jackson in Shenandoah County.Ī quick detour off the highway finds the factory of Route 11 Potato Chips. Near this small town’s center stands a movie theater transformed into the Box Office Brewery. Next, I find Strasburg, where Route 11 makes a hard right beside buildings boasting murals. And barbecue is sort of timeless in that sense, as well.”įor lunch, I sample Shaffer’s most popular items-a chopped pork barbecue sandwich with a side of broccoli salad. “Route 11 used to be, before the interstate, the only way to get around. “We’re a Route 11 barbecue joint,” says storeowner Matt Shaffer. 277 to discover Dinosaur Land, where timeless replicas of reptiles stand with frozen ferociousness alongside educational explanations.īack on Route 11, I meander into Middletown and stop at Shaffer’s BBQ & Market it sports a funky collection of rehabbed furnishings inside what was once a service station. ![]() Heading south, I soon slip into Stephens City, checking out the Newtown History Center. I visit monuments to both individuals in Winchester and take a stroll at the handsome pedestrian mall of “Old Town Winchester,” just off U.S. Winchester is the hometown of country crooner Patsy Cline, as well as where George Washington established a surveying office in 1755, long before the Revolutionary War. 11 enters Virginia at Berkeley County, W. Winchester sits near the top, little more than a dozen miles from where U.S. It’s a road that runs more than 339 miles in Virginia, north to south, slipping in and out of Staunton and Salem, Roanoke and Radford, yet always staying close to I-81. This highway grew from the Native American Warriors Path to the Great Stage Road and the Valley Turnpike. Route 11 parallels I-81 like a neighborly older sibling, taking you from the scenic Shenandoah Valley to the majestic mountains of Southwest Virginia. ![]() ![]() A Colorful Voyage on Virginia’s “Valley” Road
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