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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The next few days we'll be in C&O railroad heritage town, Clifton Forge, where my companion has some family roots. Today we're going back west about ten miles to spend the day in Covington, perhaps best known for it's paper mill (currently a Westvaco plant). While you can go between the two towns via I-64, my companion likes taking the original roads that his ancestors would have used, enjoying the scenery along the way.
Covington, VA
Covington, like so many small towns, doesn't have much to offer in its downtown, but it's not run down dilapidated either, thank goodness. The library was well kept and we spent a good chunk of the day there given that it was near 100 degrees outside. But, we took time to walk back and forth on Main Street, looking for a shop my companion's grandfather used to own and run. We found what he was looking for based on the address he dug up, but learned the next day that it was not the location his grandfather had run, but where it had moved after his grandfather sold it to the next owner. Ah, well &ndash that's the way these things go.
On the way back to Clifton Forge, we stopped off at a restaurant we had visited in the past called Family Tree't's. They're a nice down home place with good country style food. We got the country fried steak with green beans and macaroni-and-cheese for me. The big black bear near the front doors is a nice touch, and she was gracious enough to pose for pictures with my friend Savannah the Fox. Note: since our visit, Family Tree'T's has moved to Douthat Road on the east side of Clifton Forge.
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!
Covington, like so many small towns, doesn't have much to offer in its downtown, but it's not run down dilapidated either, thank goodness. The library was well kept and we spent a good chunk of the day there given that it was near 100 degrees outside. But, we took time to walk back and forth on Main Street, looking for a shop my companion's grandfather used to own and run. We found what he was looking for based on the address he dug up, but learned the next day that it was not the location his grandfather had run, but where it had moved after his grandfather sold it to the next owner. Ah, well &ndash that's the way these things go.