Coffee Road Trip: The Seminole Trail (Route 29)

CoffeeCat and MochaMutt like to travel off the beaten path. We took well-worn paths, I-85 and I-95, to our destination of Fairfax, Virginia, so of course we had to take the James Monroe Highway and Seminole Trail back home.

Like most off-the-beaten-path travelers, we took a few detours for those tantalizing road signs that promised tourist attractions, both those created by Mother Nature and others by humans. After stopping in Madison, Va., to see a quilt shop (though neither of us quilt!), we decided to have lunch at the Piedmont Deli.

We found locally roasted coffee beans from Central Coffee and a pot of hot coffee that customers could help themselves to. We gobbled down the homemade chicken salad sandwiches before we could snap a photo, so here’s a photo of the delightful window display. It promotes all the made-in-Virginia goodies they offer, including pork, wine, and preserves. There’s also a good selection of local wine. Route 29 passes by more vineyards and wineries than we could count!

We didn’t feel the need for caffeine until further down the road. Fortunately, just north of Charlottesville we saw a drive-through coffee hut in the middle of a strip mall parking lot. CoffeeCat had yummy iced mocha and MochaMutt went for the iced tea. The drinks were great, and so was the coffee shop art. We had to get a picture!

Still buzzed from the iced treats in Charlottesville, we didn’t need any more caffeine when we saw Joe Beans in Lynchburg, but who could pass up a logo featuring a coffee bean driving a convertible Beetle? Joe Beans offers shade grown, environmentally friendly coffee, so we’ll check that out next time we find ourselves in Lynchburg. The way we end up in the most unlikely of places, it probably won’t be long.

So Virginia & Hokie fans, did we miss any coffee house treats along the way? Share your coffee road trip with us!