Summer in SW Virginia

The summer is quickly coming to an end. The daylight hours are starting to decline and the leaves are beginning their evolving into a fall spectacular. Pat and I both really enjoyed being back in a “sticks and bricks” home for the summer. We split our time between working on the place and getting out and seeing some local attractions. I will review our summer outings in today’s blog update. I was going to name this update “What I Did on My Summer Vacation,” but decided that since retirement, I’m always on vacation! Except for all those chores that arrive with owning a home again…yikes!

Let me start with the Summer in southwest Virginia has been great! Sure, we missed the summer RV travels exploring new adventures as we did the first three and a half years. But, we will soon be off in the RV again for a month long trip and then make our way south for the winter. We are now blessed with the best of both worlds.

So, here is a brief summary of some of our summer exploring our local area. We were very fortunate to have family accompany us on many of these outings. Our daughter, both sons, and Pat’s brother Mike and his wife Lorna were able to spend some time with us as we explored SW Virginia.

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge is a geological formation in Rockbridge County, Virginia, comprising a 215-foot-high natural arch with a span of 90 feet. There is also Hwy 11 right over the top of the rock arch. This place has a lot of history back to the mid-1700’s including being surveyed by a young George Washington and being owned by Thomas Jefferson.

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Mountain Lake Lodge

With a rich history going back to 1751, the lodge has been a stage coach stopover during the Civil War and the location for filming of the movie “Dirty Dancing.” It is a beautiful stone lodge with a good restaurant and many rooms in the lodge plus many cabins, a pool, trails, and an event barn. Click here for more on its history.

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Transportation Museum

If you are a train or car buff, this museum is always interesting. Located in a 45,000 square foot building that is a 1918 vintage N&W freight station. They have 50 rail cars and many displays focused on telling the story of Roanoke’s rich rail heritage. More info.

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Floyd Country Store

This iconic music oriented country store is the heart of Floyd Virginia that is an attraction in and of itself. Pat and I used to go to the store on Saturday afternoons to listen to the Americana music and have a lunch. And just in time for our arriving back, they have reopened and have returned the music.

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Wineries/Breweries

There are more of these popping up every few months. It seems the trend has fully arrived in SW Virginia. We did sample a few over the summer. You know to help the economy.

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Mabry Mill

This mill was built on the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1905 and then acquired by the National Park Service in 1938. Today, it has been restored to the original operating condition. The mill is the most photographed scene on the Parkway. LINK

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Appomattox

The McLean house in Appomattox is where the surrender documents were signed by Generals Grant and Lee to end the Civil War. The small community is surrounded by battlefields. This is about a two hour drive from our home. LINK

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Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theater

Just down I-81 in Wytheville is a very nice German themed dinner theater. Their dinner is actually very good and the musical production is usually top notch as well. We saw “Oh Happy Day,” a gospel music show that we highly enjoyed. I believe they rotate shows every month or two and always have a Christmas show in December. LINK

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Palisade’s Restaurant/Pat’s Birthday

Pat’s favorite local restaurant located in Eggleston was the recent scene of her birthday celebration with our family. Located in a tiny unincorporated community of Eggleston. This area was featured in this write up about Lost Communities of Virginia.

The Palisades restaurant was once the local general store in a building that is a hundred years old. They specialize in local farm to table foods.

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Wrap Up

Thanks for following along. Take care and God Bless.