Love (and Black History). That’s what February is all about. At least, per general society’s thematic calendar. And since I dare not stray away from theme… This month, I thought I’d share what “love” (in its many various forms) looks and/or feels like through my perspective.
Starting with my girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrlfriends <- I always think of this theme song when I say “my girlfriends”.
Growing up the oldest and only girl with four brothers in my family (until my sister, Giney, was born when I was 23) meant the household was always on testosterone overdrive. This meant that as a teen and young adult, I had to find my estrogen filled connections outside of the house and find it I did.
In total, I’ve got 10 super close girlfriends who have stood the test of time and tribulations. Ironically, when I really think about it, I’ve also known them ALL for over 10 years now as well.
With the ever-evolving communication norms of present day, group texts help to maintain connection regardless of where we are in our lives but it will never replace that “in person energy” of a good ol’ human gathering.
Cue in last Fall with my Gotti girls: Camesha, Peach and Tia. From college roommates to forever friends, it had been a while since we had hung out with just the four of us. Not since this trip to NYC in 2017 and, even then, it was just three of us since Tia had just given birth to her beautiful daughter Gia and couldn’t make it.
One day, I shared the idea of doing a low-key, short distance retreat and we were all in consensus that some dedicated time without the hubbies and growing kids was much needed. What resulted was a weekend getaway with my girls in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia a.k.a. wine country because girl time and wine time go hand in hand.
^^ From Left to Right: Tia, Peach, Camesha and Myself
For our accommodations, we booked a tiny cabin in the Shenandoah area via Getaway (not sponsored). Complete with two queen size bunk beds, a bathroom, transitional kitchenette/common area and designated firepit, the small size was an adjustment but it provided just the intimate setting in nature that we were looking for. (Shoutout to Peach for letting us know about Getaway!)
One perk of our Getaway locale was its close proximity to Early Mountain Vineyard, about a 10 minute drive from our stay. On this particular weekend morning, we had initially planned to go on morning hike then stop by the winery… But we slept in (as you’re supposed to) and by the time we made breakfast and all got ready to head out, it was 1:00pm.
The website for Early Mountain said they were “open until 6pm” but we still called to confirm closing time. And luckily we called because lady who picked up informed us that they were going to close early at 4pm that day to prep for a wedding event.
Given the shorter of amount of time we had to decide… Hike or Winery? It was a no-brainer to skip the hike in favor of drinking some adult grape juice.
^^ Cheers to popping Camesha’s wine tasting cherry since she had never experienced one before this day. For $20, we did Early Mountain’s *cheers* tasting that included 8 wines. My favorite was their Pinot Grigio 2018.
After the wine tasting, we found a table, ordered some light bites, a few more glasses of vino and talked and listened and talked some more about any and everything that was going on in our lives.
I ordered the crostini and orange zest marinated olives as my sides.
Camesha ordered the foie gras and a poached pear. The poached pear was slam.
Next thing we knew, we were lounging on the lawn chairs in the back area and an employee approached to let us know that it was closing time.
But since it was early, we decided to keep the vibes going by driving down the road another 10 minutes to Revalation Vineyards that was open until 7pm. A little more rustic around edges, Revalation’s tasting room was a wooded, charming, intimate setting compared to Early Mountain’s spacious, polished farmhouse setting.
Personally, if I had to choose one over the other, I would pick Revalation Vineyard for the their wide open view of Shenandoah’s mountainous valley. After doing their tasting and purchasing wine jelly as souvenirs, we watched the sun go down while enjoying the quiet sounds of nature and snapped a few self-portraits before making our way back to the cabin.
^^ I love this photo set. Makes me feel warm and happy inside when I look at them together.
Back at the cabin, we made dinner, zonked out early, woke up and made s’mores around the firepit for breakfast. Then, after checking out, we did a little nature walk around the Getaway property and stopped by Popeyes for lunch before parting ways.
And that was that. A much needed getaway with my girls. The first of many, a new annual tradition we plan to uphold.
As the saying goes, “friends are the family you choose” and I am oh so thankful that the circle of female family I’ve chosen, chooses me right back.
When was the last time you went on a “friends retreat”?
xo, Setarra
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