2nd day Mount Airy NC-Meadows of Dan,Floyd NC

The weather in the area was unpredictable in the last few days,it was difficult to make plans for the day .

The evening before there were thunderstorms and Weather Alerts all over the news,at the end we decided to go ahead as planed and make changes if  necessary.

We left the A/C working in the trailer ,opened the drawers that hold dry food ,lowered the awning and hit the road.

First we drove to Meadows of Dan to visit the Beautiful Old General Store where we got some spicy jam (we love it),then continued to Mabry Mill a beautiful location that has been photographed and painted many times. Restored gristmill/sawmill/woodworking shop and blacksmith shop. Old time skills (basket weaving, seat caneing, spinning, and weaving) demonstrated.

We strolled the small restored village while the skies got darker and darker….hoped to make it before the flood starts (we barely made it to the truck before the rain).

     

                                 

                                                       MOONSHINING WHISKY

Chateau Morrosette near Floyd VA was our next stop,we took the tasting tour ,for $8 you got  to taste 10 different wines that came with a detailed  explanation about each one,but before that we had to show our ID (I love this part) to prove that we are over 21…LOL..

    After zipping all these wines we were ready to hit the sack…but then Jazz Music Live started in the garden and we enjoyed listening to it in the beautiful surroundings of the winery.

Floyd is a nice small town on the Crooked Road VA,a  General Store in down town offers ,cloths,souvenirs,food,ice cream and at the back on the stage –MUSIC-All in one…

So after Jazz in the winery we had a half an hour of Mountain Music while people wonder around the store shopping and eating..that was very interesting.

WE took beautiful back roads(some on the BRP) to get back to our C.G with closed windows,A/C and Tony Bennett singing the whole way.

What a day..Thank you for visiting.

 

3rd Day Piney Creek NC-Blue Ridge Music Center

WARNING-No Hiking or Waterfalls in this post ,sorry Jim and Sandie,but tomorrow we will compensate you for todays loss.

We took a scenic drive to visit the small towns in the area,starting from Sparta NC,a nice small pictures town,that can offer a visitor a good coffee in the local coffee shop with free internet and nice seating,a small produce shop that sells a variety of fruits,vegetables and Jams ,we did not get close to the avocado as they coast the same as gold…and a small theatre that is about to be opened to the public in 2 weeks and has maybe 30 chairs in it.

We then continued to The Blue Ridge Music Center and were lucky enough to meet Willard Gayheart & Scott Freeman that played and sang old mountain music,we enjoyed it so much that  we stayed and listened for 2 hours and took their music with us by buying their CD.

    

A busy  hamming bird was buzzing around the feeder and it took me 11 shots to catch a good one of this bird that can not stand still for one single moment…

Our next stop was Galax VA  located on the crooked road ,we strolled the downtown area that has many small nice shop and got directions to the New River Trail from the tourist information lady.

47 miles is the total length of the New River Trail  with many entering points,it is meant only for horses ,bikes and hikers,along the trail C.G and cabins can be found for those who like to stay overnight,we walked( not  hiked) along the trail for half an hour and returned to the truck.

On the way back to our C.G in Piney Creek we felt that we deserved a treat after this long “exhausting “ day so we stopped at the famous and the only  BBQ restaurant in the area and had the best BBQ chicken and BBQ Pork Chops you can imagine (while Clint Eastwood was watching our back…)

Good weather,great views,fantastic music and delicious food-what else one can ask for…

Thanks for visiting.

2nd day Piney Creek NC-Grayson Highlands S.P VA

Grayson Highlands is Virginia's third largest state park with just over 4500 acres of land and is located in Grayson County near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The elevation is higher than any other state park in Virginia and  best known for  beautiful vistas and the wild ponies that live in the highlands (we did not see any). Expect to see spectacular views from  many trails and overlooks, such as the famous Sugarlands Overlook on the main park road. On a clear day, you can see for 70 miles and in the fall the red leaves of the sugar maples create a beautiful sight.

We chose 2 hikes ,first- The Cabin Creek Trail ,2 miles round trip as the trail is a long a running Creek and a waterfall ,I must say that we expected the waterfall to be more with water but maybe at the end of June that’s what you get.

The second hike –Big&Small Pinnacle 1.6 miles R/T, it was very rewarding as you could see 360 from the highest point in this magnificent park.

       

      

After a picnic we decided to get “lost” on the way back and took the back roads from the park to our C.G ,the way to do it is you put your GPS on “Shortest” instead of “Fastest” (it is like this in my Tom Tom) and let the GPS lead to you through some stunning places you would never drive without this instrument,I tried to find a road without view but there was none ,all roads in this area are like taken from paradise.

That’s it for today ,we try to hike every day to keep the doctor away……

5th Day Bluff City-Abingdon VA

Just opposite our C.G in Bluff City is a huge Flea Market operating only on weekends,not that we needed or wanted anything to buy but could not resist  the temptation of poking around  the endless stands loaded with tools,toys,dolls,and all other kind of unidentified stuff…..so we spent 2 hours in the heat looking around and you know what we came back with STUFF….don’t we always?

After lunch and a snooze we drove to Abingdon VA located on the music trail so called the Crooked Road  .

At first we hit the Barter Theatre on the main street ,a very known old establishment and found out that at 8:30PM a musical named Legally Blond is on stage and there are still tickets left.

We were asked our address,telephone number,E-mail address –I thought we came to buy tickets for the show I said to the nice lady in the ticket boot and not get a citizenship…yes she said but this is the procedure…well now after you explained it so nicely it makes sense   it is clear it is the PROCEDURE..OK we got 2 tickets’ it was only 5:30 so  went to kill some time by driving down the road to a Blues Festival in Latture Field behind the Police HQ and next to a huge grave yard (don’t the tenants there deserve some music too. .)

It was really fun,but people at the Theatre did not know about it and there was no notice anywhere in the streets or even near the park about the event,so we were lucky to read about it on one of the local newspapers.

In the park there was a Beer section -a beer tank some tables and chairs surrounded with a fence,at the entrance were sited 2 people  and their job was to allow into the “Beer section” only people over the age of 18,so here we go and they ask us to show an ID,very flattering but  we do not look like anything close to 18 or even 50….OK we show our ID (a law is a law) so after they searched very seriously for the birthdate on our DL and made the math they put a band on our hand with 3 stripes on it meaning we can get  only 3 drinks per person,each time you take a beer they rip off a strip-we were very impressed…

     

Of course if you wanted to cheat it was easy ,go out and come back again and get a new band or drink your wife’s beer…but no one does that-so why bother with the band???? Just a thought.

I almost forgot,the play in the Baker theatre was FANTASTIC,we even got a present for being the ones that came all the way from Israel ,further than anyone in the audience.

Important Remark-all that is written here is in no way meant to criticize it was all done in good humor-thank you.

4th day Bluff City TN-Natural Tunnel S.P VA

Just an easy hour drive North to our C.G is located the so called “Eight Wonder of the World” and its official name Natural Tunnel S.P VA  http://www.virginiaoutdoors.com/parks/details/natural-tunnel-state-park.

It is a large park with a huge cliff where the water has made a tunnel and later on a railroad was put through it,now days coal trains are still making there way through this Tunnel.

                     

 

 

The S.P is equipped with a Rv C.G,swimming pool ,play grounds for kids,picnic area,hiking trails and a block house from the good old days when the Indians were still a threat.

                  

The weather was fine and we hiked around the park to the lookout points and down the creek to the tunnel,along one of the hikes we saw these beautiful flowers surrounded by the green vegetation-it seemed very nice to us and I am glad to share with you all.

We took the back roads (marked the shortest on my GPS) back “home” through Kingsport ,grabbed an ice-cream and was in the trailer before the rain.

Luray Caverns VA

Yes I know that I already posted a post about Endless Caverns but I must add that Luray Caverns are outstanding from all Caverns we saw and we did see some.
So with out any more words here are some selected pictures.

Shenandoah N.P Virginia

Shenandoah N.P is located on the North part of the Blue Ridge PWY and is a like a cherry on top of a cake,anywhere you hike,drive or have a picnic is beautiful and you can not go wrong.

The only “problem” we had is to choose from a long list what  hikes to take ,but we managed…

As the park is located in the North part of the BRP we decided to move our rig to a C.G close to it,driving with the trailer ON the BRP and the Shenandoah N.P is possible but not wise,the road is curvy and narrow so stopping or turning around is almost impossible, the best solution was leaving the trailer at the foot of the mountain and making side trips with the truck alone-it worked just fine.

We found out that beside the vistas,hike and falls there is also night life in one of the resorts,so surly after a long day we enjoyed local dances and music with food and beverages.

I add some pictures for you to enjoy.

Life is good.

Technorati Tags: Shanandoah N.P

Endless Cavers VA

Near New Market at the foot of the Shenandoah N.P and the Blue Ridge PWY many cavers can be found, we have visited the Endless Caverns and used their C.G for 4 days to explore this fantastic area.

We arrived at 2PM to the C.G ,got hook upped eat some snack and walked to the Caverns just next to the registration office of the C.G  

According to the tour operators, the cave was discovered by two boys in October 1879, while hunting rabbits on the property of Ruben Zirkle. The boys cornered a rabbit behind an outcropping of limestone rocks, and began moving some of the loose stones to flush the rabbit from his hiding place. After doing this they discovered a hole in the ground and ran back to the house to grab some ropes and candles. After going into the hole the boys found that there were many chambers and rooms. Not long after the discovery, the Zirkles began doing candle lit tours through the cave. In 1919, the cave was bought by Colonel Brown. Brown had the cave fully wired and lights were installed. Endless Caverns was allegedly the first cave ever to have electrical lighting.

Endless is home to colonies of bats, primarily little brown bats, that are visible on the tour route

Technorati Tags: Endless Caverns VA

Blue Ridge Parkway VA

Technorati Tags: Blue Ridge Virginia

We did a long drive (our standards) from Virginia Beach to West VA and settled down for 5 days along the South part of the BRP of Virginia.

Virginia Beach called also called Hampton Roads area is land and waters waved in a way that you do not know where is the ocean,where are the inlets and it reminds an octopus legs with waters in between them.

The city itself reminds Miami Beach with a long boardwalk (made from concrete) along the Ocean when restaurants,hotels and shops on the West side of it, different all together from West of Virginia.

It was 230 Milles long and took us around 6 hours with 3 stops,one of the stops we have done was next to a dinner recommended to us by a friend, “when you pass Wakefield on HWY 460 do not forget to stop at the dinner to taste their peanut pie” and so we did and never regretted it as it was delicious.

The C.G in Greenville has a swimming pool,a lake surrounded with grass ,Wi-Fi , full hook-ups and located comfortably to the BRP.

On our second day we headed towards the Natural Bridge using the BRP going South with many out looks towards beautiful vistas.

The Natural Bridge is a huge rock with a big hole in the middle of it,all made by nature,it is a beautiful sight and the only thing that I dislike about it is that it is private owned and became a tourist trap…

On the next day we headed to Shenandoah Valley C.G near Verona, it has a beautiful Waterfall on the grounds with a running river attached to it,we stopped and had some  branch facing the falls.

From there we took HWY 11 towards Stevens Tavern and crossed the BRP on HWY 56 towards the trailhead to Crabtree Falls,4 Mile hike roundtrip with high elevation we reached the lower and the upper falls, the vistas on the way were breathtaking but the falls at this time of the year were not at full stream,never the less the Autumn colors and the hike were great.

Fish,wine,salad made by the Chief Chef Shula Oren was a great treat to complete another wonderful day.

On the third day we took a ride towards the Allegheny Mountains through the small country roads,our first stop was at the old town of Raphine there in a pastoralists views people renewed old house to look as they did many years ago instead of replacing them,this only added to the whole ambiance of this beautiful place.

We continued West seeing from far the BRP as we came to Warm Springs and found two old round white big huts that are used today for Hot Baths with water that runs under them,it appeared to be the oldest Warm Springs in the US,great place to take a dip for an hour ,only 18$ per person.

Further down the road lays Homestead a hug beautiful hotel that has it all,Tennis courts,Golf Course,Swimming Pools,Restaurants,Shops and VIEW,I imagine that for few thousand $ you can have a room there…

On the way back we stopped to see a huge Falling Spring falling from a large rock with the Appalachian Mountains are seen behind it…what a view.

At the end of the day I smile  to myself when some asks me “Again you are off to see another fall,mountain or sunset”…..What can I answer to that “it makes my heart beat differently…”

Rosh Hashana,Williamsburg,Jamestown&Yorktown VA

Rosh Hashana , for those who do not know the meaning of these two words –it means in Hebrew “New Year” and as our calendar is accordingly to the Moon rather than the Sun it happens each year on a different date in the Christian calendar.

This year we celebrated Rosh Hashanah on 8 September while camping in Williamsburg,Rosh Hashana is a family Holiday and therefore it was a Holiday with a touch of sadness as at the table were only Shula and myself with all the family in our hearts…although we took advantage of the high-tech Skype system to talk and see the family.

While in Williamsburg we have visited and learned about the early history and battles of this area,we visited the landing sites , the ships that brought the first settlers,the museums and the restored villages in Jamestown and in Yorktown.

Talking with the people that played the role in the sites you start to wonder what on earth brings a person to fight ,risking his life,having close to nothing for food,slipping on the floor and if he makes the day with out a bullet he gets fever from almost anything…well it must be the will for freedom and a better life for himself and for the future generation DON’T WE ALL…

Here are some selected pictures from our visit.

Technorati Tags: williamsburg va