Pictures of Beautiful Things: Luray, VA: Shenandoah Moon, Festival of the Arts, Uncle Buck’s Restaurant, and Rainbow Hill Gift Shop

          “Hooray for Luray!”  

          That’s what my dad always said and that was just about the extent of my knowledge of the nearby town of Luray until I visited it today for the first time.  It brings me joy that I saved the experience until now!  What a treasure of a village hidden up in the Northeastern foothills of the Shenandoah Valley - only about 40 minutes from where I live in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

          Luray is known for its tour cave, Luray Caverns, (check it out here:  https://www.luraycaverns.com/), but the town has much more to offer and is very much worth a visit.  I certainty can't wait to get back there! This here is a map of the Shenandoah Valley with Harrisonburg circled in red to the South and a red circle over Luray in the North:

Map 2016 Center for the Study of Place.  I added red circles for ease of understanding

          My friend Taylor is a local, and she had invited my attorney and me to visit Luray this weekend, specifically for the annual Festival of the Arts:  

https://shenandoahmoon.com/arts-in-luray-va/festival-of-the-arts/

          I like art and it was looking to be a beautiful early spring day, so we decided to go for it!  You know what they say, fortune favors the brave, and we were about to get fortunate.  We would learn homesteading skills, meet local craftspeople, drink a Bud Light, get chased down a country road, listen to ol Mother River, and explore the biggest head shop in Virginia before heading home in the evening.  It was a great day.  Let me tell you what happened.

          The drive north through the Valley was so true and comforting that we had one of those discussions that is so good you wish you had recorded it.  You know the ones I mean.  The kind of talk that’s so deep-diving, vulnerable, and clear that you drive 20 miles too far north before you start to think that maybe Luray isn’t that far away and so then you just casually make a U-turn and thank God you're in a hybrid.  
          We talked about turning over a new leaf, which seemed like an appropriate theme for Palm Sunday, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the mountains.  There was still snow clinging to the high places and it highlighted the hills, respectfully showcasing their delicate, ancient wrinkles to even the interstate drivers.

          We parked downtown.  The first building that caught my attention was Shenandoah Moon, a bead and gift shop.

          Because the shop lives on a half level, we entered it after descending a few steps down, down into the subterranean palace of colors and textures . . .

          Shenandoah Moon carries hand-crafted fair-trade items, the likes of which you don’t see for sale in other places, and more beads than I would ever be willing to organize, on account, of course, of my nervous composition. 

        There is a great work-space for making jewelry; check out their website here:  https://shenandoahmoon.com/wp-content/cache/all//index.html.
          I adored this beaded necklace from Indonesia - 

          Just look at these pairs of earrings in the shapes of insect wings - inspired by native bugs of the Shenandoah, I presume.

          Shenandoah Moon is a lovely store with a welcoming atmosphere.  You really should stop by if you need to make a bracelette or pick up a thoughtful gift for someone you cherish.

          We continued walking on our way down the main drag in Luray.  I liked the feel of the town.  Integrating artfully with the land, it seemed both feminine and free.  But maybe that was just my reflection in the small river that splits the energy of downtown Luray half in two. 

          The train shop was closed but there were some sweet miniatures in the window, reminding me of my family friend Donnie's unbelievable crafting of tiny towns, my photography of which can be viewed here:  

https://steemit.com/art/@amandafreemanda/check-out-this-old-west-town-made-out-of-matchsticks

        

          A sign up ahead!  A Festival of the Arts location: the Performing Arts Center.  Little did we know then, but we were about to learn a thing or two in there.  

Local Photography on display in the Performing Arts Center

          First, we met Susan Rocke.  Turns out she's the owner of Shenandoah Moon, the iridescently decorated bead store we had just come from.  She was designing stunning jewelry while at the same time serving as the one-woman-welcome-committee into the huge community room.  An eclectic medley of local artisans' tables composed the perimeter of the space.  We got lucky enough to talk to almost all of them.

             There was Frank Filipy, or as he introduced himself to me, Mr. Catfish, tying flies and shooting the breeze.  I've always enjoyed spectating the art of fly tying.  It is such a delicate craft with such a masculine reputation, which I suppose comes from being so intertwined with death.  Rarrr!  Truly, there's nothing like being out on the river;  Mr Catfish and I agreed on that!

          Julia Verba sat at the next table weaving the most artistic baskets you ever saw.  Get a load of these!

          Aaron Bogner was working on his original designs in stained glass.  Here is his contact information if you are looking for the perfect custom piece for your home:

          He is planning to start teaching workshops soon, and he gave us a little lesson for free, explaining how the plates of colored glass are scored and sanded into the perfect shape and how the copper is simply wrapped around each individual piece by hand before it is smoothed and soldered.  I learned so much in just five minutes with Mr. Bogner.  All of the artisans were a joy to talk to and were more than happy to share their knowledge of their creative trades/hobbies.

          Continuing around the room, we were lucky enough to meet Debbie Forrest, who is the kind of teacher all students deserve:  knowledgeable, patient, and passionate.  First, she showed off her small inkle loom and talked to us about wool dying techniques.

                                     

                                     

          She plays around with both natural and synthetic dyes, including Kool Aid, which she says is the only good use for the popular powder.  I concur.  

          Debbie kindly offered to explain how to weave with a loom and she even let us try on her traveling set-up!  Her full size loom apparently has its own room at home.

       Here is a short video of Debbie sending the shuttle through the loom and controlling the stretched yarn with foot pedals.  Her smooth moves prove she's been at it a while.

                

                                       

          Here's me, getting the hang of it -

          There are foot pedals that control which layers of yarn are raised or lowered, and choices made there set up the pattern for the scarf design.  I believed her when she said that the toughest part is setting up the loom.  I can envision myself attempting to sort out the long strings solo and ending up with an I-Love-Lucy-style-fiasco.  "Manda, you got some 'spaining to do,"  I would say to myself from a mirror, smiling and shaking my head, before trying to reach the scissors and falling to the floor like Houdini in his lamest hour.  Looks a little tricky to me.

         

          While I was learning to work the shuttle, my homie Taylor showed up!  She had an hour or two to spend with us and as it was our first time in her neck of the woods, she wanted to show us around!
         We were hungry and asked if there were any vegan options in Luray.  She suggested Gathering Grounds Patisserie and Cafe.  Unfortunately, it was closed already.  I think it's the nice kind of quaint the way small towns close early on Sunday afternoons, so employees can enjoy one last cup of tea before another long week at work.  Anyway, Uncle Buck's Restaurant and Bar seemed like the happening spot, so we decided to eat what we could find.  You know the old saying, when in Page County . . . 

Uncle Buck's is located right in the center of town, from what I could tell at least

                                      

          We ate the flesh pictured here:

          Not too bad at all, but the stars of the lunch hour were Taylor,

          and this Australian Shepard at the bar:

Dawww look at that cutie patootie just begging to be featured in a blog!

        

          I can see why Uncle Buck's is so busy.  Great location, big menu, night life right on the main street, and they allow sweethearted doggies!  Great lunch, but it was time to explore the more rural area for a little while.  

          Something that "they" might not tell you, but that I will let you in on here, is that you can't expect to get through your first trip to Luray without a backroads car chase.  We sure didn't.  Stay tuned for what happened next and for snapshots of the one of a kind Rainbow Hill!

The View from Every Car Window in Virginia

          We wanted to drive the country roads a little to compare them to our own and then maybe sit for a spell down by the river.  Simple enough, or so we thought.  We got a bit turned around trying to find the perfect water spot and my attorney asked me to pull off the road so he could load his GPS map.  I saw a rickety farm house with no cars in the drive and backed in off the road, with no opposition from my passengers, might I add.  As we sat there trying to get service, I noticed the large chimney-ed smoker in the yard.  Out loud I laughed at how it reminded me of the film, "Jeepers Creepers."  Just then, a huge black pick-up slowed down in front of the house and began turning into the drive, right where we were parked.  The old man pulled up a foot or two from my driver's side window and yelled, "HEY!" in a menacing voice.  

          "Go go go!"  I heard, either out loud or in my head.  I slammed on the accelerator and spun gravel out of there!  I looked up to the rear view mirror and saw the truck backing out fast and starting to follow us!  I'd never driven that windy road before but I was zooming as fast as I could as the old man's speed increased until he was right on our bumper.  All I saw in the mirror were his shoulder-height headlights and this image from my imagination:  

I just hope my attorney got that licence plate

          Our adrenaline glands were pumping hard and fast, even though we knew nothing could come of him catching us.  Could it?  We should have just explained that we were poor dumb lost city slickers out of our element, but he freaked out and we panicked, so here we were, barreling down a gravel road in a fuel-efficient vehicle getting full-speed tailgated by a hillbilly with who knows what on his mind.  It was a mile or two later before I saw him slow to a stop and turn back around.  I guess he couldn't think of anything worth doing if he caught up with us either.

          Whooo-eee!  What an adventure that was.  We soon found the river spot which calmed our nerves as river spots always seem to do.

          This boat-landing river-access area had a foot bridge all the way across the familiar waters of the Shenandoah.  I'd never been on a foot bridge like that before.  It was spectacular!  We dangled bare feet over the middle of the river, still quite high from last week's snow melt, and enjoyed the view of the mountains and the trees and the running water.  Nothing beats a view of mountains, trees, and running water, in my opinion.  Taylor nailed it, taking us to that location, and I made us some time getting there.

           Miss Taylor had to say her goodbyes and get on with her day, but before parting ways, she led our car to the entrance of Rainbow Hill.  We beeped tootaloo and waved as she continued on down the road and we tried to imagine what we were in store for next.

         More than one reliable hippie friend had smilingly recommended that we browse Rainbow Hill Gift Shop if we ever got the chance.  A nonconformist's haven, it sits alone but certainly not empty atop a knoll off the highway.  It gives me the impression of a spirited oasis for the differently oriented who might, for thousands of possible reasons, live here where the traditional mountain mores can fit Souls a little too tight sometimes.   We finally had our chance to see the legend for ourselves.

Rainbow Hill Gift Shop 

          You are not going to believe the stuff we saw in this place.  There are so many wild images coming up, you'll be like, "what!" and you'll be right.  I am going to take you through it on a virtual tour, but don't let this spoil your appetite as I highly recommend visiting in person at your earliest convenience.  After you rent a kayak and spend a nice day in the quiet region, perhaps.  Taylor says the land is Magical. Could be all those crystals up in Rainbow Hill.

          Back to the entryway.  This is looking out through the front window:

     

          The owner, George, told me they don't do internet, but someone must do it for them because they have both a website:

http://www.rainbow-hill.com/,

and a Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/Rainbow-Hill-and-Parkhurst-Wine-Shop-265476483494231/.

          Both sites are worth checking out if you're interested.

          

          Upon entering, baboom!  

Forgot to buckle up, didn't you?  Hang on tight, my friend for this shit remains legit.

          Is that George, the owner, in the traditional garb of his ancestors about to give you a rockin' deal, or is it merely a figurine atop a glass shelf, keeping watch over the stock by night?  Hard to tell.  And are you a tiny humanoid or are you now a giant, those hand-carved mushrooms keep asking as they sway in some kind of weird dance party over there by the window.

                                     

          Here's a little taste of the merchandise, first in poem form, then in full color photographs:

Cleopatra Betty Boop,

Bowling frogs and 

Idol Frogs.

If you dig

the female form,

come check out the peacock

lamp or a dish to hold 

some soap;

Unicorn-ish cloud

will keep your ashes clean -

only one left in stock.

One whole room

 is only incense.

                               

                                

  

          I hope I didn't lose you in there, or even worse, make you question your existence all over again.  That's the worst.  But just in case you do happen to want some guidance at this time, we got options:

Pedulums for Muscle Testing
(hhttp://www.creativepathwaysinc.com/inspirit/pendulums/#pendulums)

          "Voila!  Les secrets de votre subconscient reveles!"  

          Too dubious of a method for you, Mr. Left Brain Dwayne?  Well, I think they got just the thing:

          Never again worry about what your future holds.  For a discounted price you, yes even you, could be watching the mysteries of the Universe reveal themselves day after day, but no, you'd rather be on your phone, would you not?  Sad!

          Crazy people stressing you out?  Make a chill pill!  Grind yourself up some healing herbage in one of these babies. Mortar and pestle!  

                                        

          You don't have to remember exactly what the herbalist said, that is if you had simply remembered to write it all down in your leather bound spell book.  I have several at home.  Everybody who's anybody does these days.

          "Ahhh!  What's that?!  Oh, it's just you, bird head on a stick.  Mary Poppins' little friend.  Stop poking me, man, I am being cool!"

          After all this, if anyone asks me if I've seen a whole case of thimbles to be honest, I'll have to say yes because I have.

          

          Ooh, here's something interesting!  LOVE IS IN THE EARTH:  THE CRYSTAL AND MINERAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.  No longer in print.  Rare book.  Mucho denero.  Amazon agrees:  (amazon.com/love+is+in+the+earth)

                        

          I asked George who Melody, the author, was and he said "She's . . . Melody!"  He asked if I was into stones and I said no, that I was into books.

          Here are a few other books they had that I'd really love to sink my teeth into:

                                     

And imagine the wisdom you'd gain if you read these three at the same time:

  

Exciting, I know.  So many good books in this world, so few thimbles.

So Rainbow Hill is not only all this.  It also, and perhaps mainly, functions as a cafe and vendor of local wines and beers.  That's where the money's at, food and drink, not wind chimes and fairy hats, I guess.  The cafe was already closed for the day when we were there, so no report to share with you on that, but here's some wine and beer to cheer you up:

                                        

          As I hope I have proven to you in this little write-up as was my honest intention to do all along, there's an abundance of eye-catching, love-smuggling, mystical items up there in Rainbow Hill and you simply must make the time.

Go see it for yourself!  

I told George and Nita that I'd be back one day with more spending money.  I did go home with a few candles, some Indian Temple incense, a gem encyclopedic reference for my neighbor and a postcard of Rainbow Hill for myself because I'm that freaking meta.  Look how happy after a single day spent in Luray.  Luray + me = happy.  What do we say?!  Hooray for Luray! 

And dem Shenandoah 

Valley views

you know can't be beat,

except only

by themselves 

in any other season

but this one.

What a day!  What a trip!  Thanks for joining me again. I hope I did the town justice.  We will meet again, Page County; we will certainly meet again.  That's all for now.  God bless!   Amanda out!