Over the past few weeks, I have been blessed to be able to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail twice. For the first time ever, I went with friends. I had such a great time; we laughed the entire time. Neither of them had been before, so it was fun to be able to show them all the beautiful photo-ops along the way and to introduce them to all the wonders of this magnificent ride through the woods across and along the river that runs down the mountain.
We spent the night in Wytheville and ate at Graze on Main. We all three had something different and all enjoyed our meals. We also had fun browsing the open stores along Main Street. The following day we visited Wytheville's Farmers Market (not that impressive) and Wytheville's Goodwill Store (impressive). We tried to go out a little ways from town and pick apples at a farm, but they no longer allow people to pick. We did buy some apples and got to see a surprise friend in a pasture beside the road.
On the way back to Greensboro, we took our time and decided to stop wherever we wanted. We stopped in Hillsville, Virginia at an exit off of I-77. It was a really good market. All three of us made purchases. It would definitely be a worthy stop if you are ever on 77 south of Wytheville. We decided to stop for lunch in Mt. Airy and ate at the old drugstore. It is family owned and operated and a lot of fun. It was also nice to walk up and down the busy street in Mt. Airy, stopping at antique stores and candy shops. Overall we had a terrific weekend, and the trail now has two new enthusiasts!
Then... I got to visit the trail again! The leaves had not turned much when we were there, so I went ahead and made a reservation for two weeks out, hoping for some more color on my return visit. I had another very enjoyable ride, this time by myself. Due to the hot weather and lack of rain, the leaves weren't much more colorful. I didn't mind though. I even walked on a short nature trail before I arrived in Damascus. The trail is right off of Hwy. 91. It runs beside Laurel Creek and is a little over two miles round trip. I got some good pictures of the creek there.
I stayed in Abingdon on this trip, but before I left Damascus I ate a late lunch at the Old Mill Restaurant. It was delicious and not terribly expensive. Even nicer was that I got to eat right next to the water. I highly recommend it!
I stayed at a small local hotel in Abingdon, nothing impressive. I believe in saving money on hotels when I am only staying one night. As long as it's safe, clean, and has a comfortable bed I'm happy. I went on a new adventure the next morning but will save that for my next post. You'll want to read it, because it's something really neat. I'll try to post soon.
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