Hello friends – Matt and I are back in DC as of last night after a lovely mini-moon! Our only complaint was that it went by way too quickly, as vacations always seem to. 🙂
On Sunday morning after breakfast with our families and some close friends, Matt and I left straight from our wedding venue (Rosemont Manor in Berryville, VA) and headed out to Fort Lewis Lodge in the mountains of Virginia!
This place was pretty much paradise. Rustic but romantic. Casual and cute. In the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and enjoy the great outdoors. Perfect for a little getaway for a few days before returning to reality!
Fort Lewis Lodge is nestled in the middle of George Washington National Forest about 4 hours south west of DC. We first heard about it because a friend of a friend is the son of the owners. Matt met him out in DC one night and was saying how we were looking into mini-moon spots; he recommended his parent’s place. The reviews online were amazing and we were sold!
The drive to the lodge was gorgeous. Lots of winding country roads, farms, and big open space. The inn is owned by a husband and wife team; when we arrived, John, one of the owners, was hanging out outside. We chatted with him for a little while and then asked where to check in. “You just did!” was his reply. And we knew this was going to be an awesome trip. 🙂
We spent Sunday relaxing and recovering. We were so wiped out from our exciting weekend! We took some time exploring the property and strolling around. So beautiful out there.
One of the most awesome things about the lodge is that they feed you both breakfast and dinner every day – it’s included in the room charge. Breakfast was at 9 a.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m.; every night from 6:30 to 7:30 there was a happy hour at “Buck’s Bar”, which is an adorable little room next to the main dining room at the lodge.
John served as the bartender while his wife, Caryl, cooked the food. We were definitely the youngest people there this week by about 30 years, but we had a great time chatting and making new friends every night. We quickly became known around the lodge as “the newlyweds”!
Here’s the main dining room building next to the bar – so adorable!
And here’s the dining room where we all ate! You can see the big kitchen in the back of the photo – Caryl was always found bustling around in there.
Dinner and breakfast were both served on the breakfast bar in the dining room, buffet-style; when it was ready they rang this bell outside to alert everyone. 🙂
The food at the lodge was AWESOME. Delicious home cooked meals. My favorite meal was dinner the first night – sadly I didn’t get a photo, but it was a really good pork chop, a barley salad, various veggies, etc. Delicious! Another night we enjoyed grilled steak and crab cakes. YUM.
In addition to eating and resting, Matt and I also got in a lot of outdoor time! We were lucky that the weather was amazing and the fall foliage was stunning. Stay tuned – I’ll share some more pictures and adventures in part 2, coming soon! 🙂
I hope you’re all having great weeks!
