Happy new week, friends! I just returned from a wonderful press trip to Massanutten Resort in Virginia, which is about a 20 minute drive from where I went to college at James Madison. This trip was so much fun, not only because the resort itself is full of any and every activity you could ever want (more on that later), but also because I got to meet up with my dearest girlie bestie for it, and we were able to take a pit stop at JMU on the way to Massanutten, as well. Top on our list of places to hit for our quick college reunion were our old Mexican food fave, El Charro, as well as ice cream at Kline’s and a quick walk by the quad to visit the James Madison statue and the offices of our old college paper, The Breeze. Lisa and I could not stop talking about how our love for journalism began in those tiny Breeze offices … as well as our love for each other 😉
^^ This campus sure is glorious. I’m just sayin’, if either of my girls wanted to go to school here, I wouldn’t be too sad …
After our JMU visit it was on to Massanutten, where we were lucky enough to be put up in a Regal Vistas townhome for our three-night stay. The homes were so quaint and cozy, with electric garages, porches, full kitchens, fireplaces, jacuzzi tubs (you know I was all up in that), and a private pool and fitness center just for Regal Vistas guests.
We had quite the packed itinerary for this trip that included all the adventure you could want, topped off with a Signature Massage at their spa on Saturday before heading back to the airport.
I’ll get more into the amazing food and activities in a sec, but first I want to say a little something about Massanutten in general. I live in Colorado where the mountains are a plenty, right? But here’s thing thing — Colorado is an arid, desert climate, and the mountains, while glorious, sure, are rarely green.
Massanutten, however …. well it doesn’t get more gloriously green than those Massanutten mountains. Plus they aren’t as high as Colorado, so altitude wasn’t really an issue for me, either. The whole week just felt like the perfect mix of outdoor adventure and nature coupled with challenging activities, as well as the opportunity for relaxing respites and catch-ups with Lisa.
What I’m essentially saying is, I’m so sad I never knew this little oasis was only 20 minutes away when I went to school at JMU. They’ve actually added a lot on since I graduated, though, and the resort staff should be super proud of what they bring to the area, which includes:
^^ Amazing meals. During our stay we ate at Campfire Grill and Virginia BBQ & Pizza Co., as well as had a barbecue prepared for us by the chef and staff and had a private dinner with wine/beer/liquor pairings on our final night. The ceviche on our final night was probably my favorite seafood dish I’ve had in a long time, but really, everything was stellar.
^^ All the adventure. Our Thursday started with a trip to the Family Adventure Park right down the road, where we went summer tubing down the mountain, climbed rock walls and took a chance on the Mega Zip line. It was the. most. fun.
Our afternoon on Thursday consisted of a tour of some of the newly renovated facilities in other parts of the resort, as well as a trip up the mountain to see the views and mine and Lisa’s first ever experience with an escape room and virtual reality games (again … so. much. fun!) at Real Escapes, followed by ice cream at Fun Factory next door.
On Friday we got to check out three other huge draws in the area — the Water Park (I’m pretty great a lazy tubing, if you really want to know) with private cabanas, the petting farm and then mountain biking in the afternoon.
To be honest, Lisa and I didn’t really know we would be mountain biking when we went in for the activity. We were originally mean to be trying out their new e-bikes, but when one got a flat tire we were happy to use regular bikes. It didn’t occur to us that the regular bikes were mountain bikes and that we would be mountain biking up and down a hill.
But you know what … we ROCKED that mountain biking! It was definitely a little scary at first, but I gotta say, once you get the hang of it, I could totally see how that activity would be addicting.
^^ I mean … how can you not love him?!
^^Our private lunch back at the water park included the most amazing drinks, and even better tuna tacos. Tuna in tacos … who knew?!
^^ Big smiles because this was after our big mountain biking excursion, and we had made it out alive!
Our final dinner of the trip was a private event with the chef and some of the staff, and it was absolutely amazing. The bar tender served up some tasty drinks, and everything was just so delish.
And that was our trip in a nutshell, friends. I have to truly thank the fine folks at Massanutten for sponsoring this trip and really pulling out all the stops to make it as incredible as it was. If you’re ever in the area, I can honestly say that it doesn’t get much prettier than the Shenandoah area, and Massanutten has an activity for every level and age. It’s a no-brainer to stop here when you’re rolling through.
Our next trip will be the whole fam of four and it’s back to New York for a bunch of events — Lotte’s birthday, my cousin’s wedding, G’s first foray into New York City … it should be a pretty great time. But until then … bis bald, friends!