I have completed #67 on my list, to take a mini-break on a whim. Last weekend, the hubs and I headed out to celebrate our second anniversary. (Because, as Bridget Jones says, a mini-break means true love.)
We decided to take a trip over to Staunton, Virginia. We planned and booked everything in the week before, so it was a nice treat to get out there and get away. We got up early on Saturday so that we could arrive around 9:30, well in time for a free walking tour of the town at 10:00. The tour was given by the historic preservation society, Historic Staunton Foundation, and we ended up being the only participants that morning. Had there been other people, we would have missed half the tour, as we had an appointment for another tour at 11. The guide took us around the downtown area and talked a bit about the history and more about the buildings, doing most of the normally two-hour tour in one hour for us. It was interesting. The buildings are much more varied than in Fredericksburg, where we went to school. He even let us in one of the churches to see the Tiffany windows.
We only had an hour because we took the tour of the Blackfriars Playhouse, which was probably my favorite part of the weekend. It is a replica of the real Blackfriars Playhouse, Shakespeare’s company’s indoor theatre. (Sort of a replica, anyway, since they don’t actually have plans and it burned in the Great Fire. But this is a combination of surviving accounts and other indoor spaces, so is as good as they can get.) We didn’t go see a show, but they preform on a thrust stage with the lights up on the audience. They have people sit on the stage and in the balcony behind the stage. I think it would be really interesting to see, but possibly very uncomfortable to sit through. There are some concessions to modern audiences: you get a cushion at no extra cost and they are allowed to pack in about half the audience size because of fire codes. We got to go out on the stage, backstage, under the stage to the trap, see the dressing rooms and everything. We got to see the tiny costume shop, where they make all the costumes for the shows they play in repertory (up to five at a time in any season!) The guide also talked about the history of plays of the time and the switch from traveling players that Shakespeare wrote into his plays and the resident troupes that he performed in.
We had a nice sandwich kind of lunch in the downtown area, and then followed a self-guided walking tour of more historic houses. We did a few shops, but didn’t spend too much time. We checked in at the hotel and came back out for a fancy Italian dinner.
Then we took a walking ghost tour (which was the hubs’ favorite part of the weekend.) It was interesting because it was put on by the Shenandoah Paranormal Society. So it wasn’t very good on the stories of why things were “haunted” but focused on the things people have claimed to have seen. It was about two hours long.
We had breakfast at the hotel in the morning and went out and did another walking tour of a different historic district. Then we toured the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and museum. They have a new exhibit in the basement on World War I with a recreated trench which was well done. The photo above is in front of the birthplace house, taken by the gift shop attendant.
We also went out to a glassblowing shop. Unfortunately, they weren’t having demonstrations that day, but we got a nice Christmas ornament. Then we walked around town one more time and headed out to a German restaurant for lunch. My parents directed us towards that one, and we really enjoyed the food.
All in all, it was a lovely weekend. We got away from home for a bit and felt like we celebrated our anniversary with a bit of fanfare without breaking the bank. It was exciting to plan everything in the week before — we were still in the initial excitement phase when we got to see everything. Definitely a fun goal to have completed. Only 77 days to go until my time on my list is up!
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