Virginia

We always look forward to our trip to Roanoke.  Last year we were in Tuscany and were not able to join the group but we didn't miss the trip this year.  I got a chance to see the new building which will be the future home of the Art Museum of Western Virginia under construction.  It will open in late fall of 2008, so look for that, one other reason to visit Roanoke.  We did the Mill Mountain Star hike in a different way, coming back  up the mountain with the bikers on a paved private road.

 

2008

Marion	June 13-15th	I just finished reading her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and	on a vacation in Abingdon in May our B&B hostess recommended	that the best restaurant, 10 miles away, was sponsored by Barbara Kingsolver...	in nearby Meadowview, Harvest Table.	Read an interview or read about her new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.	About to enjoy our meal of locally grown produce.
		Happy gang!	Sam digging into a sundae.	Thanks to Mary Mudd for her pictures of me and Linda		I'm afraid the hat was too big for me.
		Next morning at Hungry Mother State Park		Our gang hikes from the visitor center.	the dam		Tom, Don, John
		Saturday night at the Lincoln Theater	PBS's Song of the Mountains	Thanks to Sam for his great images of the bands.	Celtic band, Naomi's Fancy	Gold Heart	Pine Mountain
		Cherryholmes	More on Cherryholmes, really exciting group.	Back at the General Francis Marion Hotel		We get to meet the fiddle player in Naomi's Fancy.	Nora Garver talking with our musician, Sam.
Roanoke	Mar. 21st	Two views of...	The Museum of Western Virginia	Dining at "50"	Gathering		Mill Mountain Star
	Mar. 22nd		Mary's photo of the first bloodroot		The climb back up	Cornerstone	Bar & Grill
		Thanks to Linda for the pictures of alfresco dining and the...	Easter Bunny parade	Our entertainment at Arzu was...	Heidi (1968) star Jack Crowley		Mary's picture of the post-Arzu party
	Mar. 23rd	Jane led us to the Roanoke River overlook.		Bungi jump anyone?		Group picture again

 

Earl finally came around to suggest the Dan River Trail during our usual meeting on Tuesday at the Franklin Street Pizza Shop in Chapel Hill.  This is a hike that we did way back on the 4th of July in 2004.  That is more than three years ago but Earl was sure it was more recent than that.   Any way, the rains during the preceding week made up for a couple months of severe drought in the Durham area.  But on Saturday, the rains stopped and a breeze blew in and we hiked.

 

2007

Danville, VA	Oct 27th	Read the sad tale of the Confederacy's RR blunder		The first bridge crossing	Norfolk and Southern engines crossing the swollen Dan	Lily and Nancy	Danville Tourism Site
		In case you didn't think the Dan was at full flow		Harvesting black walnuts			Lunch at Joe & Mimma's on Riverside Drive

We saw a riveting country music show on PBS called Song of the Mountains.  We knew that our hike leader, Earl, and friend Nancy had just visited MerleFest (a bluegrass music mecca) and wondered why they hadn't scheduled a trip to Marion.  Marion has two gems which were described on the Song of the Mountains: The newly renovated Lincoln Theater and the nearby General Francis Marion hotel.  Finally, we did go there and the show was an exciting part of our visit.  We also heard about Hungry Mother state park which is only 4 miles away which had the requisite hiking trails for our group.

 

Marion, VA	Oct 5th		Smyth County Courthouse	Dinner at Capers - Ted and Abbie Stuart	Interior	General Francis Marion Hotel at night	Mary and Bill
Hungry Mother State Park	Oct. 6th	Ted get's a map.	Visitor Center				Linda and Dave
Lincoln Theater		Judy, Earl, Tom, Nancy at Macado's			Preparing for the show	New murals in the Maya Revival style
		Night of the Banjo	#4 banjoist video #7 banjoist video	Butch Robbins and the World International Blue Grass Band Soloist from Sweden	16 year old Amber Collins Solo Encore	No Speed Limit video	Cleghorn video
Roanoke	April 7th, 2007	Pictures provided by Sam Weinstein		Now if we all hide behind one another...	Roanoke greenways
	April 8th	Construction site of the new Frank Gehry museum project.		Art Museum of Western Virginia.  See the progress on their AM-cam.	Bunny promotes the horse-drawn carriage.	Lovely dogwood	Thanks, Sam

Abingdon, Virginia is a wonderful town; Linda's favorite town these days.  It combines the joy of being in the out of doors with entertainment and the expected creature comforts like a feather bed, fireplace and fine cuisine.  The dinners were at Wither's Hardware Restaurant and the Wildflour Bakery Restaurant; both provided excellent meals.  The Wildflour was new to us by virtue of the Tavern being booked.  Joan made reservations for our group and the herbed salmon was great.

The Abingdon Boarding House was convenient to the old town, the theater and the bike rental shop.  Arriving at the bike shop a little before 9, we were first to rent our bikes, pick up our helmets at the door.  The girls all rented the gel seat pads at Linda's high praise for them.  A short van ride gets us to the start of our 17 mile roller coaster ride, the Virginia Creeper Trail.  It was 22°F early that morning so we all were wearing our two or three layers of clothing.  But once you get rolling and taking in the mountains you don't notice the cold.  There was nary a spot where you can't hear the soothing sounds of waterfalls and rapids.  Mostly smooth, the trail had occasional patches of frozen, rocky washboard that gave you a jouncing and kept you alert to upcoming rocks, ditches and puddles.  The ride was quite enjoyable all the way down with a number of snack shops along the way.

 

Abingdon	Nov. 3rd	Interior of Starving Artist Cafe	Such fine sandwiches and wine followed by... shopping.	Linda and Joan	Linda and Joan go to buy tickets to "Green Gables"	You mustn't miss a play at the Barter Theater.	We stay at the Boarding House
Pecan Street	Nov. 4th		Virginia Creeper Trail Bike Shop	All dressed up for biking	They truck us up to White Top Station	Ready to roll!	17 miles downhill
White Top Station	11:16 am		Joan is just a blur...	Sam	Linda	Jane	Sadly, Green Cove Station was closed.
Rolling country side	11:47 am						Taking a break
Down to Damascus	12:17 pm	Sam takes my picture.		Lunch at Damascus			Interior of Abingdon Boarding House

Roanoke, April 14th, 2006 - We set off on another Easter trip to Roanoke.  What a fair city!  Linda and I start upon arrival on Friday before noon by dropping in on the Metro for a little sushi and wine, always a pleasure.  Three of us do the O. Winston Link museum, featuring his remarkable railroad images.  It is the only museum in the United States that is devoted to the work of a single photographer.  I had just seen a documentary titled "The Photographer, His Wife, and Her Lover", about Winston and really gave his work my full attention this trip.  That evening we join with the group and try a new restaurant - Billie's.  There many of us had the roast beef, which is their specialty.  Saturday morning we got off to a very late start, almost 11.  We do a free environmental trail along the Roanoke River, to the south of Virginia's Explore Park, a little village with admission $9.  Dinner is at Arzu, always a pleasure also.  Their menu of Mediterranean, Italian, Turkish cuisine is extensive, the service is prompt and intelligent, their price is reasonable.  I even had room for desert, the baklava.

Roanoke	April 14th, 2006	Mill Mountain as seen from the Roanoke Hotel	O. Winston Link Museum	Taking the walkway over the tracks to Billie's on Market Square	Saturday at the Farmer's Market after breakfast at Ernie's	Linda and Ann buy some breads.	Flags flapping in the wind
Blue Ridge Parkway near Virginia's Explore Park	April 15th	Waiting to get the hike going		John is full of energy this morning.	Richard with MATA rounding the bend	Good group shot above the Roanoke River	A cool, breezy day for a hike.
Mill Mountain	afternoon	Typical of Sam	Mill Mountain observation platform		Easter bunny in the lobby of the Hotel		Our waitress at Arzu was a gem.
Back at the Hotel Roanoke	evening	Having a few drinks on the deck outside the lobby	Judy and Tom	As usual, Mary does the unexpected.		Surprise! Mary hands out candy sacks for everyone.	Another marvelous outing to Roanoke

Abingdon, November, 2005 - Linda and her sister Sharon got together to enjoy the features of this quaint Virginia town.  This time however they stayed at B&B a few blocks from the Martha Washington Inn ($179/night).  The Abingdon Boarding House had many creature comforts to offer for just $149/night.  Eggs for breakfast?  You better say yes since they have their own coop and fresh eggs.  They had a chance to take in the play at the Barter Theater.  What a completely relaxing vacation this was for them.  This is now Linda's favorite town in Virginia.  The sisters will return to Abingdon and maybe bring Kay with them next time.  We've seen Abingdon now in three seasons, Winter, Summer and Fall.  I think Linda is getting pretty good with my Sony point-and-shoot.  I hope she will adopt it where e'er we go.

Abingdon	Nov. 3rd	Ordering their meal at Caroline's	Sharon		Hiking the Virginia Creeper Trail
The leaves are peaking out.	Nov. 4th		Linda does the artistic scene.		Flag in front of the boarding house
Linda and Sharon roll down the Creeper trail.	Nov. 5th, 11:44 pm	Sharon rides the rails.
3:21 pm	Nov. 5th		Good scenic, Linda.  But next time try not to get so many electric wires in the photo.		In Monet Garden behind the Abingdon Boarding House

Lynchburg, 2005 - Linda and I started out early on Friday.  We were able to preview the Depot restaurant for the group.  Basic burgers and chicken fingers are available.  This is quite a hilly town, more hilly than the trail that we hiked.  It certainly had a unique Rails-to-Trails conversion, the Creekside Trail being 5 miles in length, which was within the city but you'd never know it.  The Blackwater Creek Trail is paved for biking or hiking but you can go off the paving for many miles of bike-free running or hiking.  The restaurants were first rate, my personal preference the Main Street Eatery.  It is very popular and was full on Friday night.  They offered their regular menu or the Octoberfest menu.  Most of us ordered from the Octoberfest menu.  Enjoy!

Lynchburg	Oct. 28th	The Depot Grille next to the railroad tracks			just downhill from the court house	where the local patriots have supported our troops for 204 days.	Ordering at the Main Street Eatery
Lynchburg Community Market	Oct. 29th, 9:22 am			Hiking the Trails of Blackwater Creek Natural Area		Happy group starts at Langhorne Road.
Through some gorgeous ravines...	10:37 am			crossing the bridge at the 2.0 mile marker	We follow the Point of Honor Trail		and return on the Beaver Trail
altogether maybe we did 5 miles	11:48 am	we meet some of the wildlife - snake	After lunch at 2:33 pm	Enormous fountain creates a rainbow across from the Depot.		Earl leads an afternoon hike of the Diamond Hill area.

South Boston, 2005 - I was scheduled to take a course in Alternative Photographic Processes for this Saturday so Linda had to cover for me.  That means that I entrusted her with the Sony DSC-P150 point-and-shoot camera and assigned her to document their visit to South Boston.  This is one that Earl has been wanting to do and finally the time came and I couldn't make it.

South Boston	Sept. 9th	Gathering at Riverview Furniture on Roxboro Road		Staunton River State Park, 1.2 miles on RR bed		Gamboling with the Reb	Iron Bridge
Our Fearless Leader, Earl	12:01 pm		Lunch at the Vintner's Cellar		Bistro 1888		Linda thinks we should return for a romantic Saturday.
Riding the carousel in antique shop	2:06 pm		P.M. Bank 1891		South Boston Town Hall		Ben Franklin aphorism

ABINGDON, August, 2005 - This was a cool place to spend an extended weekend.  We celebrated Linda's birthday by having the complete Abingdon experience.  We did the four best restaurants in town; a play at the Barter Theater (Virginia's State Theater); the annual Arts/Crafts Festival; a bike ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail.  The bicycle rental shop offers the rental with a van ride to the top of the trail 25 miles away.  We opted for the 17 mile half trip since we had things to do in the afternoon.  For the first 15 miles it was downhill (2% grade of a railroad bed) and required no pedaling.  The trail was shaded for most of its length with waterfalls to be heard all along the way.  Beware of careening teenagers.  They could cut you down if you don't watch out.  I know from personal experience.  I had a close encounter.  Your trip to Abingdon should be as full of activities as ours.

Abingdon	Aug. 11th	Our first lunch at The Starving Artist Cafe	134 Wall St.		Federal Courthouse	Caroline's for dinner - 301 E. Main St.	Look at the food shoot!  Delicious pictures on smugsmug
The Barter Theater	with minutes to spare		Feeding on Mulberry Leaves	August 12th - Weaving an honest basket		Lunch at Wither's Hardware restaurant
	Friday, 12:06pm		Enjoying leisurely tea at 4:00pm		Time for the carriage tour, a very reasonable $5.00		The Tavern dates to 1779
Made reservations for the bike ride	Saturday, 8:00am	Virginia Creeper Trail Bike Shop			Linda got to try the new Canon Rebel XT camera		Getting ready for the ride downhill
Virginia Creeper Trail Club maintains it.	9:43am					Our ride detailed in GORP
My surreal picture of a yearling	10:43am		The poor deer is soon surrounded by a dozen bikers.	The Iron Bridge at 15.9 miles		White's Mill soon to be restored

ROANOKE, 2005 - Easter weekend this year was a quite early.  The weather reports were depressing as a last cold blast of winter was quickly moving into our area.  March was about to go out like a lion.  We drove up to Roanoke on Friday morning anticipating the worst.  We parked in a triple decker parking lot but found that there were 2 spots just after we entered that were marked "For Hybrid Vehicles Only".  Wow, we jumped for that since our car was the Toyota Prius.  I hope we see more of this consideration for the energy-conserving hybrids.

We strolled around town looking for a restaurant with the special character that makes it memorable.  The Metro restaurant, avant garde decor with an extensive wine cellar visible from Campbell Avenue, looked inviting.  We enjoyed our favorite wines with miso soup, seaweed salad and a spicy sushi roll.  Then we drove over to the Hotel Roanoke to check in.  We met our friends, John and Ann, and walked around the Market area and up to Elmwood Park which was a bright spot in the setting sun.  We found that the bare broken back of the Blue Ridge mountains was peeking through the turf at the highest point of Elmwood Park.  We enjoyed the conventional fare at Macado's.  Those who came late on Friday missed Roanoke at it's sunniest.  You can read about each restaurant by clicking on the underlined links.

Roanoke	March 25th, 2005	Lunch at The Metro		Checking in at the Hotel Roanoke		The hotel was brilliant in the Good Friday sun.
City Market		Elmwood Park				Macado's
Setting up shop in the Market	March 26th		Convenient breakfast - Ernie's		Meeting in the elegant lobby
Jill and Jane setting off on a misty hike		Group picture at mid-point		Earl and Jane ascending up into the fog		Ann and Linda
Sam logs our hike on his Garmin GPL		Nick pushes upwards	We reach the summit!		The world's largest man-made star in heavy fog.
Altitude - 902 feet	We can only hope that no one gets lost in the fog.		A short visit to the visitor's center		and we hike the 2 miles down to...dinner at	Arzu

As always we gamely mounted the Mill Mountain Star Trail in an unseasonable drizzle.  As we approached the summit the fog became quite thick.  We were able to see the star but the city was lost somewhere down below.  At 7:00pm we sought out the Arzu restaurant to see if it remained as sweet as it was on our last visit (2004).  Their menu is amazingly extensive with many dishes even including venizen and duck.  Earl's cousin Tom and wife Judy sat near us at Arzu and we finally had a chance to chat with them.  Back in 2002 they hosted a memorable MATA trip to Valdese which you can still find on the index page at the bottom left.  Coming attraction - Linda's video footage will appear on this page when I finish processing it.  Come on back!

I'm beginning to think of Roanoke as a city which ranks up there with Asheville, NC as a place to retire to.  It has so many attractions and the city fathers have done a fine job of creating a civilized and inviting place for visitors.

ABINGDON - Linda and I needed a break from the daily tribulations of our lives and we had heard of the Virginia Creeper Trail from a number of the members of the Morrisville Ale & Trail Association.  It was reported to be the most beautiful of the Rail-To-Trail conversions in Virginia and we wanted to preview it for our hiking group.  I chose to direct Linda up route 77 to route 58 which was unfortunate since we arrived on the Blue Ridge Parkway just as the predicted snowfall was at its peak.  The winding road into Abingdon was treacherous but we got through alright.

The bitter weather kept us from hiking very far along the Virginia Creeper Trail but we wandered around Abingdon and did a little shopping for crafts and wines.  They had a well stocked wine/coffee shop but it opened at 10am and we are early risers and need the coffee early.  Caroline's Restaurant was country fare (low country shrimp, German style mashed potatoes with bacon and red skins left in) but prepared well.  I had the trout which was just right.  By morning Linda had us moving on to...surprise, Blowing Rock.  That is always a favorite of ours and it is a much easier route out of Abingdon.  It passes through maybe 20 miles of the Cherokee National Forest.

Abingdon	March 11th, 2005	The Martha Washington Inn		At the trailhead of the Virginia Creeper		Yep, that's also the name of the engine in the barn.
Evening	The Barter Theater			Interior of Caroline's, really fine dining		Return to the Martha Washington
Morning, March 12th	Railroad Stations, recent and 19th century			MW Inn from another angle		A little hike at the trail head
Cherokee National Forest	March 13th	The river was swollen with recent rainfall.		The shortest tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway			A natural rock wall cut through for the roadway.

LEXINGTON - We revisited Lexington again on Halloween weekend.  We drove up on Friday the 29th and spent a mystical morning driving along the Blue Ridge Highway draped in fog.  The deer did not seem afraid of me as I approached them.  The leaves were well past their peak but the views were magnificent.  We wandered around the town looking at the menus at various restaurants and waited for the hiking group to arrive.  Many of Earl's friends turned up as usual with the added pleasure of seeing cousin Don and his other cousin Tom and his wife Judy again.  A small group of early arrivals set out at 7:00 for dinner at the Willson-Walker House and we were delighted to sit on the veranda enjoying the cool evening air and the passers-by.  I hope that everyone enjoyed their meal but the breast of duck that was served me was fatty and grizzly.

Next morning after a brief breakfast we loosely planned our hikes of the Chessie Nature Trail.  One group of us who were more ambitious decided to do the whole 7 miles starting from the east end in Buena Vista.  Our group didn't want to undergo the shuttle complication that limited parking at the other end required.

Soo...we started from the west, near the Law School of W&L University.  We were to discover that the Chessie trail begins maybe a mile and a half away.  And we were also to discover with the help of another walker with his wife and baby that the pedestrian bridge had washed away a long time ago and that the way to proceed was to cross highway 11.  We walked until we reached a large moss covered boulder where I set up a group picture.  Feeling our legs had had enough we turned back towards the Law School and a restful lunch at The Palms restaurant in downtown Lexington.  This was just our kind of restaurant with quick service; a selection of nice sandwiches and...BEER.

My legs had about as much as they could take but we pushed them on to Washington & Lee University where they stumbled around back to Robert E. Lee's office and museum which was in the basement of Lee's Chapel.  Ted and I examined the Lee family's many oil paintings in the museum and came across the family tree which removed any doubt as to whether Washington and Lee were related.  They weren't.  Lee married Mary Anne Randolph Custis who was the granddaughter of GW.  Thus, Lee's seven children were related to GW.  We returned to find our group lolling in the fallen leaves in front of the collonade.

That evening at 6:30 while our group was discussing where to eat, Ted and I drove across the highway to obtain the menu of a what looked like a fine restaurant, Sweet Magnolia's.  We brought the menu back to the discussion and maybe twenty of us wound up going there.  The restaurant had only opened about a month ago.  The service was quick and accurate and the meals were delicious.  I had a crispy house salad with blue cheese dressing, stuffed flounder with mixed vegetables and of course we passed around some of their superb deserts, chocolate cake and pecan pie.  The cuisine was excellent.  And they gave us individual checks.  All in all, an enjoyable meal was had by all.  Read this review by someone at W&L Law School who had gone there for lunch and concluded that Sweet Magnolia's is on their way to becoming a fine restaurant.  My fellow diner's may agree with me that it already has become fine.  Thanks to the desk clerk at the Holiday Inn Express for recommending it.

Lexington	Oct. 29th, 2004	The animals were not afraid.		Mountains lost in the mist		Lee's Chapel at Washington & Lee University
Washington & Lee's Law School	Oct. 30th	Abbie-Stuart, Linda and Ted		Crossing route 11		Finally got to the Chessie Nature Trail, Mary and Linda
Chessie Nature Trail	10:41	The group shot		Pedestrian bridge was out.		Carriage approaching Ted
Washington and Lee University	13:04			Roy Orbison checking out of the Holiday Inn Express		The Halloween gang and cousin Don

DANVILLE - This year we did not do our usual 4th of July trip to Milton.  Instead, after visiting Shangri-la and Yoder's Mennonite store in Blanch we continued along Blanch Road into Danville.  John and Ann surprised us by arriving at Yoder's at the moment we arrived from Hillsborough.  It is an exciting experience for those who have not visited Yoder's to see the well-stocked shelves, buy some yummies and set a spell on the cedar chairs and swings under the eaves.  It was a refreshing to drive the Blanch Road through tobacco fields and rolling hills which were lush and bright green due to our recent heavy rainfall.  We visited the classic Dutch-style railroad station now museum and butterfly house, hiked along the Dan River until we reached the dam, and turned back.  The heat gave me a little headache but we refreshed ourselves at Ruby Tuesdays.  We really hadn't done this trail until now and it would have been a great hike on a cooler day.  Now for the photojournal.

Yanceyville, NC area	Fourth of July, 2004	Shangri-La		Yoder's Mennonite store			Stuart and Fiora smiling for their portrait
Danville, VA	Crossing the old RR bridge		Dan River Trail				Dan dam

ROANOKE, 2004 - Our trip for Easter this year was to Roanoke, Star City of the South.  Linda and I drove up on Friday and went north of Roanoke on the Blue Ridge Parkway and found an overlook where we had our lunch, very pleasant.  Returning to the city we were surprised by a vibrant downtown section which was just across the railroad tracks from the Hotel Roanoke.  This was a wonderful hotel with all of the amenities and a favorable price tag for our hiking group.  It is a venerable, stately simulated Tudor structure.  The original hotel was built on the site back in 1882.  The hotel is the Convention Center for the City of Roanoke and is connected to the Market Square by a glassed-in walkway with escalators.

Roanoke, Virginia at Easter	April 9th, 2004, Good Friday	Venerable Hotel Roanoke	Built in 1882		Market Square	The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center website
Evening in the Market Square, Roanoke		A fine Mediterranean meal was had at ARZU