Leaving Bristol we continued a northeastern trek on Interstate 81 toward Christiansburg, Virginia. There really weren’t many parks near Blacksburg and Roanoke, Virginia. We only planned to stay a day or two but wanted to see Virginia Tech University. The park we found was called Interstate Overnight Park.
Interstate Overnight Park didn't have a whole lot of information online but what little was there suggested it would be a below average park. When we pulled off the highway and into the park it didn’t really look too bad. It is a no frills park but had 30 amp as well as water and sewer connections. It abuts a mobile home park and with few amenities it was definitely overpriced at $30.00 per night. However, the park was just fine to meet our needs for exploring the area for a few nights.
Nearby in Blacksburg Virginia is the campus of Virginia Tech University, originally known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Architecture on the campus is a bit gothic and the way all the buildings look we felt at times like we were back in medieval times. The Torgersen Hall bridge over the Alumni Mall was being renovated but it typical of many of the buildings using Hokie Stone on the exterior. Hokie Stone is dolomite (limestone) that is mostly gray but closer up, hues of brown and pink can been seen. Nearly every building on campus is constructed with it.
After touring the campus we strolled around the neat and tidy little town of Blacksburg. I was looking for a small off campus bar called the Rivermill Bar and Grill. A very good friend of mine from Texas who has since passed away built this little bar. I helped him build a bar in Fort Collins Colorado and he built several others all over the USA. I have visited all of them but this one so we stopped in to toast our good friend's success in life…
The next day we drove over to Roanoke Virginia to do a walking tour around the town. However, our main purpose was to stop and see Sharon’s Aunt Geri. We drove out to the nearby town of Salem to find her house. One of the beauties of living this lifestyle is the ability to reconnect with old friends and family! We had a great visit with Aunt Geri. Before we left she showed us a picture of 5 generations of women in the family...she is the baby in the pic along with her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother! How cool is that!
The picture she first showed (picture is above and right) was actually a painting but she also showed us the original black and white photograph. In the photograph her grandfather who wanted to be included stood in the middle behind the seated ladies. The ladies, however, really did not want him in it so when they had the painting done, they painted him out and he became greenery (ha!)
After our visit we stopped to check out one of Roanoke's Breweries and found the Parkway Brewing Company. We couldn’t believe the line to get beer so figured it had to be pretty good.... and it was. There was a band playing and along with the frosty beverage it just made a great ending to a another great day…
Next up we head to Harrisonburg, VA where Katie (our daughter) will meet us…
Another brewery to log. Too many brews, so little time. What a great pic of five generations. There has to be a good story behind the painting out of grampa. Just wonderin'. Have a fab visit with Katie.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a beer in almost three months. All of this talk about breweries and beer is making me thirsty!
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So nice to reconnect with friends and family, just keep enjoying.
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