The second part of our Virginia Trip 2023

We arrived in Winchester, Virginia and the heat was a little less than oppressive - yay! We once visited Winchester to see Patsy Cline's house so we thought a few days there would be fun. It was!

We stayed in a very nice apartment near Old Town. We spent time walking and seeing things. There was also some driving but everything was close.

The Scrappy Apple Quilts and More is a great shop. When we walked in, we both thought it to be quite small but there was much more off to one side - it's not huge but it's mighty! The owner explained that she likes everything quilting and her inventory proves it. This is a fun, eclectic store. 

The owner and her helper chatted with us for a while and suggested places for lunch and things to see. They were so informative! With great restraint, I only purchased one piece - a backing that I need for a project which hasn't been started.

We headed to Old Town for lunch based on recommendations from the quilt shop. We found many restaurants and cafes. Before we left the area, we even returned for another meal.

Old Town Winchester is historic, interesting, and entertaining. This pedestrian mall is just one part. 

Beautiful floral gardens

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley was just a couple of miles from us and we spent hours there one day. This is the main building. We aren't into museums much anymore but we enjoyed the displays. And the gardens and grounds were fantastic.

Main building

Rose and Tulips Quilt
unknown maker
around 1880

There was a Legos display on the grounds with all of the beautiful flowers and landscaping. The artist of the Legos is Sean Kenney.

The Polar Bear exhibit was my favorite.

So many hours!

Cool zebra! 372.5 hours, 58139 bricks 

There were 14 sculptures and all were fantastic! Each was 'roped' in by fencing so they couldn't be touched.

I loved the flowers and of course, Ray loved photographing them. Today you get my photos.

Lego flowers for the Lego butterfly

The photographer in the family was taking this shot so I thought I would too. We were standing is a small building looking towards the family graveyard with the garden in-between.

I loved walking through the bamboo forest.

That's a lion statue at the corner

There were small structures.

This is one of the sculptured gardens with one of the outbuildings in the background. One of the outbuildings was a home (larger than the building you see below) for many years - it was gorgeous. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of the inside or the outside..

Shortly before we left, we saw these ducks. They were feeding and it was fun to watch them tip upside down. 

While in Winchester, we also visited Mount Hebron Cemetery, established in 1844. There are 4 cemeteries within Mount Hebron. 

Entrance to Mount Hebron Cemetery - it was a bit tight getting through that archway

We spent a little time in the Confederate Cemetery there. The tall markers in the background are for different states - they attempted to bury soldiers of the same state together. Many were buried at or near where they fell.

We also visited the Winchester National Cemetery, a Union cemetery, which was right next to Mount Hebron Cemetery.

The day we left Winchester and headed toward Basye, VA, to meet our son and his family, we continued on the back roads. We stopped in Stephens City at the Cloth Peddler.

We've visited this shop before and I found some nice fabrics again: a backing, a muted black stripe for bindings, and a very bright print that I think I'll use for binding but maybe not. They had a nice selection of wide backs. 

There were two ladies working; I think one was the owner. They were very helpful when we asked where to eat lunch and other questions about the area. 

In life, it's not where you go,

it's who you travel with.

~Charles Schulz