Vacation, 4th Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 10

When we left our motel this morning, we drove through the town of Buena Vista looking for a breakfast place. Of course it was 11:00 and there were no breakfast places still open, so.........guess what we had? Right, barbecue! I have had enough barbecue to last me a long time.

In this restaurant there were little bags of water with pennies in them hanging in different areas all around. My curiosity got the better of me and I just had to ask the waitress about them. She said that she had heard they kept the flies away.
She said there were so many flies that came in the restaurant and they just drove her nuts so she thought it was worth a try!

We got on the Parkway and drove all the way to the end, then got on the Skyline Drive and drove to Front Royal where our trip had started.

I was feeling a little sad that today was our last full day of vacation. Tomorrow is 10 hours of highway driving home.

Here are a few pictures of our drive back.









When we first saw this deer she was starting to cross the road right in front of the sign. By the time I got my camera out she had gotten to the other side of the road, still in view of the sign though. Cool, huh?



Such a fun 10 days. Maybe we'll do it again next year!

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 9

Today we spent most of the day at the Blue Ridge Music Center. When we got there, there was only one guy playing a fiddle. Throughout the afternoon more musicians came. I think some of them knew each other but they were all ages. They played fiddles, guitars, banjos, and some type of harp thing. They were really good. I just can't imagine how they all knew how to play together. One would start and then the others would gradually join in. It must be wonderful to live close to this music.

I spent some time today in the museum, but I kept being drawn outside to the music. It was so much fun to just watch them play together.

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 8

Today we took a detour off the Parkway to go to Rye Cove, VA.

Before we got started, we went out for breakfast. This was on the window of the restaurant. I guess fried pork chops are big down here. At least this said "breaded" pork chop, not fried. Breaded gives you a little clue as to what it will be like.




Anyhow, back to Rye Cove.

Last year we bought a CD of Old Time Country Music that had a song that captured our attention. It was called The Cyclone of Rye Cove. It was about a tornado that hit the schoolhouse in Rye Cove in 1929 and destroyed the school. Out of more than 150 grade school and high school children, 12 children and one teacher were killed, and 54 were injured, many seriously. When we got home last year we looked it upon the Internet. AP Carter of the famous Carter Family was in the next valley and heard about the tornado. He went there to help out and was so moved by the devastation that he wrote that song the next month. Last night we were somewhat in the vicinity so we decided to take a side trip off the Parkway and see if we could find the plaque that was supposed to have been put on the new school. Our Garmin found the school for us and we actually saw the plaque last night. It was about 9:30 so it was dark but Paul took some pictures. We headed out today to check it all out.



This is the bell that was in the old school. They incorporated it into this little memorium.





In one account of the disaster, the school principle stated "I was walking through the hall when I saw what looked like a whirwind coming up the hollow," Noblin said. "Trees were swaying. As it neared the school building it became a black cloud..I think I yelled. It struck the building. The next thing I remembered I was standing knee deep in a pond 75 feet from where the building stood before it was demonlished."

This is that pond.



We also saw the little log cabin that was built by the Red Cross to help with the disaster. It is beside the new intermediate school near the back. There was a sign on the door, a dedication in 2004 to the memory of the Rye Cove disaster.





We drove around lots of back mountain roads today. Beautiful country, lots of Appalachia scenes.





We were ultimately heading back to Galax to go to the Blue Ridge Music Center to go to an outdoor concert but the Garmin took us on a lot of beautiful back roads.





The concert was really a lot of fun. They have them every Saturday night in the summer.



Tonight they had Women of the Blue Ridge with Jeannette Williams and Heather Berry. So much fun!

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 7

As we were driving between mileposts 268 and 269 we passed a motel that looked familiar to me. I made Paul turn around and believe it or not it was the spooky Park Vista Motel that our Garmin lead us to that was closed last year. It was still for sale but somehow it didn't look as spooky as it did that stormy night.





Last year we had come to it via a long winding country road from another Parkway exit. It was getting dark, foggy, and raining and it looked so spooky. Now we know why there was a motel in the middle of the woods; it was really right next to the Parkway. That night we had gone back down that long winding road, crossed the Parkway at a different place and then went down a long descent on the other side of the mountains to Wilkesboro where we found the Addison Inn. We could have just gotten on the Parkway right by the Park Vista Motel!

After we passed the Linn Cove Viaduct it started raining and we decided to do a detour off the Parkway.



I'm not sure where we got off, but it was soon after the viaduct. More about that tomorrow!

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 6

Today we had planned to spend the afternoon at the Blue Ridge Parkway Music Center. They have local musicians that play from 1-4. What a fun time. When we got there there were three people playing; one on the banjo, one on fiddle, and the guy playing guitar had a Blue Ridge Parkway uniform on which I thought was a little strange.



Come to find out, one of the people in the group that was scheduled had had his appendix out so they called in someone last minute and two people that worked there helped out for part of the time. The girl on the fiddle was actually the music director. We really enjoyed it. We were there until it closed at 5 and still didn't see everything. On Saturday night they are having a big outdoor concert that I would love to go to; maybe on our way back.

When we left we were starving. Guess what Paul wanted? Actually, we decided to try the BBQ that we couldn't find last night but I decided that I couldn't take any more BBQ. So when we walked into the restaurant and I saw this sign, I thought...pork chops, that sounds good.



When the waitress brought it, I looked at it and said, "Is that a pork chop?" She said, "That is a pork chop." It was a FRIED pork chip. Not pan seared; deep fried. Yikes. That is a taste I have not developed. Luckily Paul ate it and shared his beef brisket. They eat weird down here!

As we were leaving the restaurant which was in downtown Galax loud sirens went off. At first I thought it was a fire truck or ambulance, but it was much louder, like on a loudspeaker. No firetruck or ambulance came. Then I thought it was a tornado warning system, as we had heard thunder when we left the restaurant. It kept going. Paul just started to drive off. I was incredulous. I told him we had to find out what that siren was, especially since we were headed back up into the mountains. There's no where to hide from a tornado up there! He finally called the Police Department and they said that a fire call had come in and the siren was to alert people that fire trucks were coming through. Yikes! That was another weird thing.

We got back on the Parkway but didn't get too far when we came to a Road Closed sign.





Back down the mountain, but the good thing is that we were close to a motel that we had stayed at in Wilkesboro last year, a really nice motel, The Addison. Back on the road tomorrow.

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 5

The bikers at our motel last night were very quiet. Even when they left this morning they were quiet.

We headed out this morning for Lexington, VA. This is a very historic town. Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University are here. We visited Lee Chapel where Robert E. Lee is buried. We decided that it was too hot to do anything else outside; it was very humid. We drove by Stonewall Jackson's house. It would be fun to come back to when it is cooler.

After that we headed back up on the Parkway. It wasn't too much cooler up there. There were supposed to be severe thunderstorms today but we kept missing them (thankfully).

Late in the afternoon we stopped at a picnic area/rest stop and this was the sign on the ladies room doorway. The door was open to the outside and the thought went through my head, what in the world would I do if I ran into a bear in here. Luckily, it was all clear! (Note - you can click on the picture to get a larger view)



We saw this mother and her little fawn at this same rest stop. So cute!





Tonight we are staying in Galax, VA because it is close to the Blueridge Music Center. We are going to spend the afternoon there tomorrow.

Vacation, 2nd Blue Ridge Parkway and Trip down South 2011 - Day 4

Today we left Charlottesville and headed out to do Walton stuff. We went to Scottsville where the Dew Drop Inn that Jason played piano supposedly was. It was in the historic part of Scottsville. This was what was at the address that we had; an empty building. There actually was a Dew Drop Inn in this building which had become somewhat of a tourist attraction because of the Walton TV show. We had heard that it closed a few years ago.



We parked the car and walked up and down the main street. There wasn't much open and it was VERY hot (we are in the South after all). No wonder everyone moves slower down here; it's too hot to move fast. Anyhow, we were starving and the only thing that was open was a sports bar, so we had lunch there. There was a Dew Drop Inn sign there. I'm not sure what that was all about.



Then we went back to Schuyler and stopped at Ike Godsey's General Store for ice cream and then went to the little store that sold Walton stuff. We bought the next season of the The Waltons, season 8 (there are 9). After riding around the back roads near Schuyler, we got on the Blue Ridge Parkway.



I started seeing the Monarch butterflies again. Not as many, but at least some. Last year they were our constant companions as we drove. They were everywhere.





We stopped at this old log cabin and farm. It was so neat. I wonder if I could have been a pioneer woman. I think it would be okay in the summer, but winter would be hard.





There were quite a few little doors on the barn and root cellar.







We drove on the Parkway until milepost 45 and then got off in Buena Vista. The motel we are staying at is full of bikers. I hope we get some sleep!


Here are a couple pretty pictures of the Blue Ridge Mountains.