Roanoke "Counterculture"

In honor of Elijah's last swimming lesson, another simple weekend in Roanoke was in store. We headed out to lunch in Grandin Village at The Isaacs, a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant. It's one of those places where the atmosphere is elegant but not stuffy--you can go in wearing jeans and feel like you must be wearing something nicer. Kim had a beautiful meze of smoked Gouda and eggplant, Justin and Don had gyros, and Elijah became a fan of the minestrone. If you go, don't miss the pita fries--they are healthy and delicious! The Isaacs is food you can feel good about: often organic, often local, healthful, reasonably priced, colorfully presented. Excellent! Also worth a stop in Grandin Village? The Grandin Theatre, a not-for-profit movie house often showing independent films; Too Many Books, an excellent used book store; the "Co-op", a locally-owned grocer; and Black Dog Salvage, a place for unique furniture finds. If you aren't familiar with Roanoke, you'll want to know that Grandin Village is a lively, diverse community.

By night, we headed to the Salem Civic Center for the Roanoke Symphony's now-annual rock symphony night, part of their Pops series and a fundraiser for the group. We've attended all three to date, and this year's A Night at Woodstock may be the best yet! (That's saying something for Kim, who has enjoyed the Cirque element of previous shows--absent this year--particularly.) Jeans 'n Classics, a tremendous band, played 60s genre hits with the symphony, and the RSO volunteers dressed as hippies to set the mood. Elijah loved it so much that the 2011 show may provide a venue for his second birthday party! Much to his parents' happiness, he can "rock," scooting about and clapping to Joe Cocker and Jefferson Airplane in particular. The annual fundraiser is a casual and lighthearted way to experience the symphony--highly recommended.

Elijah Meets TJ

Beautiful weather, beautiful house, beautiful friends. This weekend, we drove up to Charlottesville to take in Monticello with the Mejias. As always, Monticello is a little mountain with stunning views, making it easy for a novice like me to take some stunning photos. The house kitchen has been renovated recently and lots of folks were taking garden tours to enjoy the spring blooms. The new visitor's center there is spiffy and features an expanded museum shop, so Kim came home with two new Christmas ornaments. Justin also picked up at Thomas Jefferson doll for Elijah. They could have done a better job with accessibility, but the center "fits in" with the landscape and is a nice home to some amenities like a cafe, theater, and gallery.

Following our visit to Monticello, we drove to the University of Virginia's campus to walk the lawn. Folks were busy prepping for next weekend's graduation, and the "capitals" of the columns on the Rotunda were draped in black, presumably in memory of the recently murdered lacrosse player. Otherwise, the grounds were alive with a wedding and college kids entertaining their visiting parents. We ate lunch at an excellent deli in "the Corner," Little John's. The sandwiches were unique enough to be interesting and huge enough to be quite filling.

Justin and Kim usually find Charlottesville's atmosphere a bit pretentious, but today, that was eased by good company. If you go, we also recommend eating at The Virginian, also on the Corner, for a lighter lunch, but we do not recommend Bodo's Bagels, a UVa institution, for anything other than breakfast. The Charlottesville Downtown Pedestrian Mall is a fun stop for leisure shopping and has a Caspari store, something you can find only three places in the world, along with numerous unusual gift shops. You can take the trolley there from the campus area. The farmer's market is also worthwhile and sells some non-perishables routinely. At last check, UVa's bookstore still allows the browsing of the stacks--a shopping treat for academic book nerds like ourselves. You can also make a longer trip with historic homes, visiting Monroe's Ash Lawn as well.

On our drive back to Roanoke, we stopped by The Factory Antique Mall just outside Staunton in our second visit this year. The mall is big and full of non-pushy, interesting vendors on the weekends. It's a great place to find vintage toys, beads, postcards, documents, and books with a particularly good book stash near the back and two finely-organized, reasonable postcard outlets near the front. Highly recommended.

'Round Town

Elijah's swimming lessons are wonderful--and they have encouraged us to enjoy half-Saturday trips in our own backyard. Today, Kim headed to the Salem Postcard Show. If you've never been to a postcard show, it's a great place to start an inexpensive and addictive collection. The clientele is largely serious, older collectors--and it's a lot quieter and cleaner smelling than a comic book show. This year's show "graduated" to a spiffier location at the Quality Inn. Kim spent over an hour looking at just two tables, coming away with a few nifty treats, including some rare Busch Gardens the Old Country cards from when Loch Ness was one of the world's most modern coasters (at 31, it's still a goodie). Also found: a folio from Michigan's Wooden Shoe Factory, old shots of "motor inns" in Gettysburg and Williamsburg, and a night view from atop the NYC Twin Towers (only $0.25!).

After that, it was time for a little shopping at Salem's Nancy's Candy Co., a store branch of the Meadows of Dan factory with Lakeside memorabilia on the walls. We must visit that factory sometime. There was also a quick trip to Buy the Season, an antique/secondhand collectible/consignment store, where some additional Americana was found, includng a tiny Myrtle Beach Pavillion tin plate.

Our day was not complete without a meal out. Kim picked Red Jasmine, a Thai place hidden in Vinton. It's a restaurant full of fresh, flavorful, and healthy food. Kim recommends red curry with tofu and anything containing duck. Justin enjoyed his second Thai experience ever--particularly the mango and sticky rice dessert--but for Father's Day, we will probably go somewhere that sells cheeseburgers.

A Buchanan Festival Weekend

Again this weekend, we sought a "quick trip" from Roanoke following Elijah's swimming lesson at Green Ridge. We headed off to Buchanan, realizing there was a Civil War re-enactment and a small festival going on today. We drive through Buchanan often when returning from other places on the I-81 corridor--but it had been several years since we'd bummed around there.

We began with lunch at the Greenwood, Troutville's landmark home cookin' restaurant. It's a great place for things like country fried steak and chocolate malts, the Botetourt County version of Road Food. It's another place Elijah enjoys the mashed potatoes.

Next, it was off to Buchanan's simple downtown, a good place for casual antiquing. Several shops are within easy walking distance of each other, and the proprietors and the people you pass on the street are relaxed and friendly. There was a fabulous selection of postcards at James River Antiques, and Eagles Wings Antiques and Uniques is a beautiful-yet-unpretentious store. My description would not be complete without giving credit to Justin's favorite, Fireside Books. Fireside is a crowded used bookstore with good deals--and lots of old magazines to comb if you are interested. On the way out of town, we also stopped at Kelly's Real Deals (Troutville), an antique and curiosity shop with an exterior to behold.

No trip to Buchanan would be complete without a walk across the swinging bridge. Water plays a lively role in this town's history--ask any native about the Flood of '85.

There's a new German restaurant in Buchanan--in an old funeral home, I think. We're going to have to go back and eat there! If you go, also consider visiting the restored drug store (complete with a soda fountain) and the inexpensive movies at the Buchanan Theater. If driving via Troutville, stop at the Apple Barn II, one of the nation's most popular Cat's Meow dealers, and browse an extensive collection of local sites in wooden shelf sitters.

Simplicity for a Change

Much of our time this weekend was devoted to good times with friends: TexMex burgers on Friday night prepared by a better cook than me, Elijah's first swimming lesson, a wedding shower for folks from church. We took in a relaxing, nostalgic adventure to match to complete the "good times with good people" vibe, heading to Central United Methodist's Anniversary celebration.

The historic church in Clifton Forge, VA, marked 100 years with a nice event, complete with souvenir tack pins and a mini church history book David Baber wrote for the occasion. Video footage from the church's 1949 fire--shot by the operator of the nearby Masonic Theater--was shown, and many artifacts had been hung on the walls, including a listing of the chruch's active duty military from a previous war, giant Sunday School class pictures with a flood of faces, and the like. The most interesting were photos of the ironic church sign from the day of the fire: The sermon was to be titled "It is Finished," and there was an upcoming lesson on the "importance of prophecy."

If you go to Clifton Forge, you may miss the celebration--but we recommend this church for a visit. It's folksy yet relatively liturgical, often has puppet performances, and features announcements that evoke jolly laughs every Sunday. At Christmas, there is a very impressive nativity on the lawn, too.

Kitsch City, USA

Where can you go to experience such fun as riding down a hill in a big plastic ball? Gatlinburg (and the surrounding area), of course! We retooled our spring break after Justin was scheduled to work two days of it, heading to Tennessee instead of Charleston, SC. We had fun keeping roadside America alive. The mountains were pretty, too, but we think one comes here for the tourist trappiness.

Kim went Zorbing! There are just two places in the world to go right now--Rotura and the Smokies. It makes one feel pretty loopy but is a terrific experience, complete with a friendly staff and AAA discounts. Justin and Elijah hung out on the ground.

In other thrills, Kim rode the Gatlinburg Sky Lift. This ride scared her more than Zorbing but provided detailed views of the town and excellent conditions for people watching. Riding at dusk showed tourist civilization in its best light. Justin and Elijah again hung out on the ground.

Then, there were also tourist attractions that did not require release of liability forms or a willingness to catch a moving chair. We took in Christ in the Smokies, the "new" Christus Gardens. We're very glad the museum has reopened, enjoying the finely-lit nativity scene and the informal exhibit of Jesus movie memorabilia the most. The gift shop is still sparse, but the museum is worthy of your support. Justin can tell you all about its history--we've ebayed for old pamplets and guidebooks from it, and he can explain the symbolism in the scenes and can even point out the "recycled" wax figures now included.

We also visited World of Illusions museum which Kim had last visited at the age of 10 with her dad. It looked old then--and still does today--but is pretty fascinating despite its simplicity and its pre-CGI inception. If you are willing to read the descriptions on the walls, you can learn a bit of magic whiling away 30 minutes. We worry that boardwalk museums--especially those that aren't part of a chain--will become a thing of the past and support them every chance we get. World of Illusions was open "until 10 or 11 [PM] or so" according to the ticket agent when we were there. Sounds like it's going strong.

For a truly trippy putt putt experience, we did Circus Blacklight Mini Golf. It's pretty spectacular low budget fun. We didn't pay extra for the 3-D glasses: it's a good thing--there were many abandoned pairs throughout the course. With glasses, this place would be downright disorienting, but without them, it was an unusual break from the heat of the day. Justin and Kim had one hole-in-one each.

On the Gatlinburg Craft Loop, we saw many non-crafts (manufactured items) but also picked up some great woodworking, particularly at Tim Weberding Woodworking. Justin is very impressed by the shaped candles at Village Candles, and we all enjoyed the welcoming attitude of Alewine Pottery.

If you go, we recommend Alamo steakhouse (particularly the Gatlinburg location) for yummy steaks and the Donut Friar in Gatlinburg's Village for delicious breakfast. The Brookside is a reasonable, family-oriented place to stay. We also get a kick out of the Hollywood Wax Museum--not Madame Tussaud's, but fun and interactive nonetheless. The best place to buy local books seems to be the National Park bookstores. For shopping, there is cheap, interesting jewelry at Earthbound and unique perfume in Scents of Gatlinburg's Southern Rain. Pigeon Forge's Christmas Place is worth a stop, too--but is better stocked summer and fall than spring. If coming from the north, it's an easy visit on the way in, as is Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World--a great place for taxidermy and many flavors of moonpies.

There's plenty of odd things to do here, making it an interesting mecca for us. The Titanic museum, a new construction with a lifesize grand staircase, opened the day we returned home, so we must go back. Someday, we'll go on the Jurassic Boat Ride, too, and I'll take Justin on that spectacular American "nature" trek that is Clingman's Dome...

What do you do after a workday?

Both Kim and Justin had work commitments this weekend--Kim on Sunday and Justin on Saturday. So, a quick trip was in order. With all the working, we had to get out of town!

When we were dating, we bought year-long passes to Natural Bridge once. A drive there (just about 30 miles away) brings back memories and gets us out into the sunshine. We went to take Elijah on his first stroll to the bridge and took in the wax museum, too. The new ticket price structure makes it easy to enjoy a lot of the "components" of the area on one ticket in one day (including the toy museum, which is a nifty low-budget museum if there ever was one), but with a half-day only, we went just for the bridge and museum.

The wax museum is a classic hodge-podge of scenes from the Biblical to the historical to the folklore-related. Madame Tussauds it ain't: the figures are not of uniform proportions and some show signs of age. Classic local fun it is, complete with a wax figure factory exhibit in the basement you can tour. There are also some unexpected twists--like the figure of Bush that is now a "security guard" in one of the hallways. They have updated the Presidents exhibit with an Obama figure, and Doug Wilder is in the inauguration scene.

A walk to the bridge is always a lovely way to unwind. Kim vividly remembers a fifth grade field trip here and how she came around the corner expecting to see a bridge she could crawl through and saw this one, "higher than Niagara." Elijah, well, he was impressed with the running water, but he is just nine months old.

If you go, consider eating the buffet at the Natural Bridge Hotel and taking in Professor Cline's. When Elijah is over, we're hitting Dinosaur Kingdom!