My 2024 Virginia / Blue Ridge Parkway Adventure

This is a retrospective blog of my seven-week exploration of Virginia along with a journey through the Shenandoah National Park and on down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Cherokee, North Carolina. 'Retrospective' means simply that it wasn't written during the trip, but is being written in hindsight a little over a year later. Baaswell Sheep accompanied me and is writing the blog in the way he's done my later blogs, since he's so good with the color commentary. Unfortunately, since I didn't plan for this blog back them, my pictures are limited to the major attractions, but I'll try to make those galleries a little bigger than I do in my later blogs.

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Day Six: Salem / Roanoke

Frank's at Brambleton, Roanoke, VA

Spotted this place on the way to the library and decided to give it a try, getting some stuffed shells and garlic bread. Not bad, and its always nice eating local instead of going to chain restaurants all the time.

Too Many Books, Roanoke, VA

After lunch, we went by an interesting bookstore just a few blocks from the library my companion was going to work in today. The store is in an old Victorian style house, and really does live up to its name. You wind back through the main level to the back of the house, then go down into the basement for more books, winding your way back towards the front of the house. Thus, it's quite an adventure finding your way back to the front door. My companion found a good handful of books, some of which he hopes to read while away on this trip. We went on from here to the nearby library and spent the rest of the afternoon there.

Fishburn Park, Roanoke, VA

Lovely little nature park not far from the library, we spent a good couple of hours here once my companion finished his work. There's a nice loop trail along with a greenway that connects to a couple of other nearby parks.

       

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, Roanoke, VA

We'd seen this name before, but had never had a chance to try one. We settled on getting a Balsamic Chicken Salad, which was pretty good, and we loved the sign beside the restroom door.



Please note that all restaurant and product names are used simply for referential purposes and links provided as a courtesy. Reviews are the sole opinions of the reviewer: no restaurant has paid to be listed here, and no restaurant is being explicitly endorsed. In other words, go out there, try them all, and form your own opinions!

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