648 - Inn at Afton
Today we explored a motel from hell.
AKA… the Inn at Afton, overlooking Shenandoah Valley. If you’ve ever driven the Blue Ridge Parkway, you’ve probably seen it looming in the distance. It sits on top of a small hill, relishing in the days when it used to house guests from around the globe.
Today, it’s in rough shape. Tags, broken glass, and a drifter with varying reports of violence create an inhospitable environment, to say the least.
We showed up on a whim, as we were technically on our way to hike the Dragon’s Tooth when this place caught my eye for the last time.
I couldn’t keep driving by this place without at least seeing if it’s possible to go inside. And to our surprise, it was completely open. There wasn’t even a chain link fence up. You can quite simply park your car in the parking lot and walk in.
At your own risk, of course. Like I said before, there have been numerous reports online about a squatter living inside that has a gun and isn’t afraid to chase people off. But there were also reports online that the resident was super chill, so who knows.
It was a good ole’ game of Virginia Roulette. But when else do you get to see an abandoned motel complete with a pool? We decided to take our chances.
In order to avoid any potential confrontations that involved walking through a gun-tootin’ squatter’s front door, we approached from the back end. But in retrospect, was sneaking in from behind any better of an idea? I don’t know
But it was clear that someone was living here, because there was an RV parked next to the reception desk, and the generator was running its little booty off. I don’t blame 'em’. It was a Virginia summer.
As we creeped along the back end, I cringed at every piece of broken glass we stepped on. I half expected someone to hop out at any second, but no one did. Turns out, it was worth the trouble:
The pool was absolutely phenomenal. That dirty green told me the pool hadn’t been drained in years, and I couldn’t have loved it more. YOU KNOW I LOVE A GOOD URBAN DECAY. And the overgrown plants really put the place over the edge.
Check out this shot of the interior of the pool. A 90s computer monitor, dead rats, and bleach? The toxicity was simply out of control:
Although I still couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched. Every doorway felt like a tunnel into someone else’s life. But at the same time it felt so peaceful. The view overlooking Shenandoah Valley was gorgeous, birds were chirping, and squirrels were running amok.
Check out how overgrown some of the plants were:
God I love a creepy doorway. Also I don’t know what the deal was with the old monitors, but they were everywhere.
Eventually, we worked up the courage to go inside. Luckily the carpet was slushy and molded, so we were able to creep around like mice. It was pretty standard abandoned fare, but I snagged a couple good shots here and there:
“Take a Seat, Leave a Seat”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 1000 ~ 24mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/60s]
And just like that, we snuck out. I can’t say I’d recommend this place to anyone, because of the crazy drifter wildcard. Plus there’s a random report online that someone fell through the floor- which isn’t surprising given its mushy state.
But if you’re willing to roll the dice, have fun. Hell is what you make it.
