The majority of my time in Williamsburg was spent in meetings and seminars related to Nurse Practitioners and healthcare. Thankfully I found one hour of time, early one morning, to walk the restored area and take some pictures.
I’m back home after an 8 day, 900 mile trip for business and pleasure around Virginia! Thanks for following me along the way!
Why a post combining trains and building art? Mostly it’s about timing.
I am on the first night of a 7 night / 8 day, mostly business trip around Virginia. As I was trying to get out of Radford and head on down the road to Richmond, I was drawn to two scenes that I see almost on a daily basis. I’m not sure what made me stop to take pictures today, especially since I was already running late, but … have camera … well you know.
Trains and building art could easily fill several posts, but today, a few pictures will have to do.
Radford has been a railroad town since the 1850s when the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (later the Norfolk and Western Railway) came through. The population grew dramatically as did business, industry and education. Passenger rail service no longer exists in Radford, but the railroad through the city is still a major component of Norfolk Southern Railway’s Roanoke to Bristol route. As is typical of those who live in a railroad town, it is easy to become immune to the sound of the trains and their whistles as they pass through the city.
The structure pictured below sits right behind the railroad tracks. I am sorry to say that I do not know what it is … I was guessing a water tower. A quick FB call out to local Radford folks revealed that most agree, especially given it’s proximity to the rail yard. I’m hoping I can learn the date it was constructed and any other interesting bits of information as well. We’ve got some serious history buffs in our little city. I’ll pass on what I learn!
Since I posted this morning I have heard from several who tell me that the tower served to store water for use by the steam engines.
As buildings are renovated or unfortunately torn down (or fall down), art in the form of advertisements is often revealed. Radford, like many localities, has many more examples of building art than just those pictured here. These particular ads were revealed when the City of Radford took down an old partially burned out building (which even had a tree growing in it) and created a community courtyard. This lovely little area is now called Carson’s Courtyard.
This next building sits right across the street from Carson’s Courtyard and the art provides a lovely backdrop for the Farmer’s Market.
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And as you look past the brick wall, you will once again see the tower.
Day 2 – Richmond
While traveling to visit the GOAs in Richmond (see Feb 15th post), I had the chance to stop in Roanoke to meet my friend Ralph for lunch. It was a bright, sunny day and since I had some extra time, I was able to take some really fun shots of the downtown area.
I’ll be sharing more pictures later … this one is just to introduce you to this Southwest Virginia city, population just under 100,000 people.
Despite the 15 degree weather, the day dawned beautifully and I spent a couple hours outside shooting the local scenery. One thing I learned? I need to get gloves that protect my fingers in sub freezing temperatures!
This old farmhouse sits right along side the road and I pass it on the way home each evening. I loved the shadows on the side of the house.
I pass this farm on the way to work each morning and in order to take pictures, I have to get on the highway and pull over just off the exit ramp. As usual, I wonder what the folks driving by think as I climb over the guard rail and wander around in the weeds.
For those who don’t blog with WordPress and may not know, the Daily Post offers a Weekly Photo Challenge. Each week, the Daily Post provides a theme for creative inspiration and the blogger is supposed to take photographs based on the interpretation of the theme.
The theme for this week?
Pick the best pictures from your 2012 and have those pictures tell everyone about your year.
I wonder if this Challenge was as hard for other bloggers as it was for me. At first I was intrigued, then overwhelmed and finally resigned … resigned to the fact that I would never be able to narrow a year’s worth of pictures down to a few.
This exercise helped me to remember what a great year it has been and just how fortunate I am. Fortunate to have amazing friends and family, and to live surrounded by beauty! No doubt there have been challenges and some heartache, but the positives won the day (er … year).
I decided to share my year in two ways … life and beauty through photography and then life and beauty through family and friends. A few of the pictures were taken with my Blackberry (yes, I still use a Blackberry). You’ll be able to tell the difference.
Life and Beauty – Photography
Claytor Lake, Pulaski County, Virginia
The Booker T Washington National Monument, Franklin County, Virginia
The Ride of Silence, Radford, Virginia http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php
The New River, Radford, Virginia
The New River Valley Fair, Pulaski County, Virginia
Fall and The Virginia Tech Hokies
Labor Day and rain in Floyd County, Virginia
The Scarritt Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee (from the 2012 Solo Bike Ride)
Shooting Creek Road, Franklin County, Virginia
Somewhere in North Carolina
Along the New River in Pulaski County, Virginia
Foggy Morning, Radford, Virginia
The Home of John and Mabel Ringling, Sarasota, Florida
Just another lovely field in Montgomery County, Virginia
A train trestle over The New River, Pulaski County, Virginia
Life and Beauty – Family and Friends
Andrew’s Farewell Party before his move to Charleston, SC (in Blacksburg, Virginia)
Mothers Day / Fathers Day with the best parents EVER (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Sisters Celebrating 50 (Roanoke, Virginia)
The Annual GOA Gathering (Bath, North Carolina)
Hanging with the SoHos! (Dublin, Virginia)
Gathering with the BGs in Grayson County, Virginia
The annual Road Trip with Ruth to see the Hokies (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Mumford and Sons Concert (Bristol, Tennessee)
Some of my favorite Biker Chicks (Elkin, North Carolina)
Bikers riding for a good cause (Draper, Virginia)
“Divas” raising money for another good cause (Radford, Virginia)
Time on the farm with Bill
And time on the bike with some of my favorite guys (Philpott Dam, Bassett, Virginia)
I’m always ready with the camera while riding,
whether at the beginning of a trip with my good friend, Tim,
Or during the pouring rain on my annual solo bike ride (somewhere between Nashville and Knoxville)
And best yet, reconnecting with lifelong friends (not a quality picture but a quality friendship) Richmond, Virginia
So there you have it … how lucky am I?
Onward to 2013
I took a different route to work this morning and the site of this church in the morning sun just caught my eye. So, of course you know that I just HAD to stop, turn around and take some pictures.
And STILL managed to get to work on time!
The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.
An idea that started in 2003, the 300 mile route now includes ten counties, three cities, ten towns, five regional planning districts, four state agencies, two tourism organizations, and a large number of music venues. http://thecrookedroad.org/
The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum is a major venue along The Crooked Road and hosts the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival.
The Blue Ridge Folklife Festival has been an annual event for almost 40 years and is held on the campus of Ferrum College every fall http://www.blueridgefolklifefestival.org/. For various reasons, even though I have lived in the Appalachian Region for over 15 years, I was a first timer this year.
The Appalachian Region, as defined in ARC’s authorizing legislation, is a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. Forty two percent of the area is rural, compared with twenty percent of the national population http://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp.
The folks who have long lived in Southwest Virginia are used to hearing the assumptions, misconceptions and distortions of life in Appalachia. Geographic isolation from more populated areas and poverty have led to the persistence of some of the stereotypes. Despite progress, Appalachia still does not enjoy the same economic vitality as the rest of the nation. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the region still battles economic distress, with concentrated areas of poverty, unemployment, poor access to healthcare, and educational disparities. But oh the beauty …
The region is rich in heritage and tradition and the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival celebrates it. Coordinated by The Blue Ridge Institute & Museum, “the festival features artisans, foods, and activities not found at typical craft shows, fairs, and festivals” http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/index.htm.
I encourage you to check out the links in this blog to learn more about the heritage, music and beauty of the region and if you’ve never visited this neck of the woods, I encourage you to do so. I think you’ll like what you see! http://www.visitappalachia.com/
It was quite the rainy morning, forcing me to change my plan to ride the bike. Of course, the rain was gone only twenty minutes down the road, and I did not see a drop the rest of the day.
Shooting Creek Road, which runs through the counties of Floyd and Franklin in Virginia,would have been a blast to ride on the bike! The road twists down through the mountain, crosses over the creek a few times, and not surprisingly, I found myself stopping frequently to take pictures (most of the previous pictures were taken along Shooting Creek Road).
By the time I got there, the grounds of Ferrum College and the Ferrum 1800 living history farm museum on both sides of State Route 40, were filled with spectators and participants – musicians, moonshiners, craftspeople, cooks, motorheads, mule jumpers, horse pullers, coon dog racers, antique tractor buffs, and old-time gamers.
There was so much to see and even though I stayed for more than 5 hours, I somehow missed the Mule Jumping (but did get to see the Sheep Herding). I wandered through the antique engine and tractor area,
watched molasses, apple butter and moonshine being made,
yarn was dyed using natural ingredients,
cornmeal was ground,
and crafters were hard at work.
Children played while musicians prepared to perform.
Judging by the crowds, some of the most popular events are those that include the Coon Dogs. I couldn’t get near enough to watch the dogs “treeing” the ‘coon, but I was able to photograph them as they waited their turn.
It was standing room only around the lake as folks prepared to watch the coon dog races. The dogs are enticed by the smell of the racoon and when the doors are opened, the dogs leap into the water and give chase.
Quite exciting!
Music is a big part of the Folklife Festival and features Bluegrass, Old Time, Gospel and Rockabilly performances on 3 different stages. One of the main reasons that I came to the festival was to hear my friends perform as the Dr. Pepper All Stars. Their show is a re-creation of a portion of a 1940s radio show featuring Roy Hall and the Blue Ridge Entertainers. The radio band played popular hillbilly tunes of the day and host “Cousin Irving” Sharp promoted Dr Pepper like it was snake oil. The Dr. Pepper All Stars also perform as The Java Brothers and gather with others at the Monday night Fiddle Jam at Radford’s River City Grill, an affiliated partner of The Crooked Road.
My friend, Ralph Berrier, Jr, in addition to heading up the Dr. Pepper All Stars, has written a book about Clayton and Saford Hall, his grandfather and great uncle. If Trouble Don’t Kill Me tells the story of a “vanishing yet exalted southern culture, and shares the devastating consequences of war, allowing the reader to experience the mountain voices that not only influenced the history of music but that also shaped the landscape of America”. The book is sold at various venues along The Crooked Road and is available for purchase on line as well (If Trouble Don’t Kill Me: A Family’s Story of Brotherhood, War and Bluegrass, 2010, http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Dont-Kill-Brotherhood-Bluegrass/dp/0307463060).
It was a full, fun day in Ferrum and even though I could have taken a quicker and much straighter route home, I chose to wind my way back up the mountain, enjoying the colors of fall and the beauty of this beautiful region that I call home.
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones (http://www.nicolemones.com/) offered the members of our book group an opportunity to venture out in search of an authentic Chinese meal. As we read our way through the book, most of us began dreaming about some of the foods that Ms. Mones had written about. She tantalized us with her descriptions of Pork Spare Ribs in Lotus Leaves, Eight Treasure Dongpo Pork, and Beggar’s Chicken. We originally thought we might make our own meal or bring Chinese Take Out to the discussion, but Karen and Janet suggested we seek out an authentic meal at a local Chinese restaurant.
Many large cities have restaurants that serve authentic Chinese food, but most Westerners are more used to American Chinese food. According to Mones, Chinese chefs find that “American tastes” dictate that “Chinese-style dishes be prepared with a limited range of pre-mixed sauces, usually no more than 5 – 7 per restaurant”. The “American taste” has “evolved into a cuisine whose flavors are always reliable and already well known to the Western diner” whereas “Chinese taste” means dishes are prepared from scratch, no two alike. American taste demands sameness; Chinese taste showcases diversity and complexity. (http://www.nicolemones.com/for-food-lovers/you-can-have-great-chinese-food/).
Many of us were enchanted by other aspects of Chinese cooking – the thought, history and theme put into each meal; the focus on community and companionship, and the freshness and texture of ingredients. Of our group, only two had traveled to China, and most of us had not had the opportunity to enjoy a truly authentic meal. In hopes of finding such a meal, we were referred to the owners of Charlie’s Chinese in downtown Christiansburg, a town with a population of 21,000 in Southwest Virginia.
Karen made the arrangements, noting that the owners were very excited that we wanted to partake of an authentic Chinese meal.
14 of us gathered around a large table, with a “lazy susan” in the middle.
First, some of us (me) had to learn how to use chopsticks.
Then we learned how to fill our pancakes.
We were served a large variety of dishes including Spring Rolls, Spicy Beef, Shrimp in Sweet Sauce, Chicken, Tofu, Duck, 5 Spice Soup, Crispy Garlic Green Beans, Bok Choy and a Whole Fish (bass).
Several members of the group took time to share their thoughts about the evening. Cindy commented that the sense of community and friendship that we enjoyed while sitting around a large table seemed consistent with what we had learned about Chinese tradition.
Janet noted that what seemed most authentic about the meal was that the fish was served as a whole and that the green beans and bok choy were each cooked as individual dishes, rather than marrying them with meats. Debbie enjoyed the family type gathering and especially liked watching our individual reactions to the dishes.
There was quite a variety of dishes and one less positive note was that they came out rapidly. Those present would have liked more opportunity to learn about each individual dish and to savor the different tastes and textures. As it was, the initial conversation with the owners had occurred just 5 days before the event with our final RSVP coming in one day ahead. Perhaps if we had given them more time to prepare or we had arrived earlier in the evening, the dishes would not have had to come to the table so quickly.
The joy and enthusiasm of our gracious host was another treat. Carol commented that she very much seemed to enjoy teaching us about Chinese food and she encouraged us many times to come again.
Several book group members wrote to tell me that they would indeed return again. Heather was glad to know that if she wanted to enjoy the delicious whole fish again she would need to call 5 hours ahead. The picture below shows the remains of a lovely meal and evening.
Karen thought the book was a wonderful look into the Chinese culture through its food, while Molly enjoyed the parts that were set in the past, particularly the letters written by the relatives of the characters in the book. I enjoyed reading about the history of cooking and the excerpts from the fictional 1925 culinary masterpiece, also called The Last Chinese Chef.
NPR Weekend Edition’s Liane Hanson noted that the book explores “Chinese culinary history, language and tantalizing descriptions of fine cuisine” and that “Mones shows how food can both nourish the body and the soul. Her extensive research takes readers into the philosophy and artistic ambitions of Chinese cuisine – and leaves them hungry for recipes”. While the plot may have been predictable, the read was a pleasure for the majority of book group members.
Nicole Mones notes that in order to find great Chinese food, “start with the restaurant in your town that attracts the most Chinese diners, however small that population”. Then “use your human skills to communicate that you are genuine about wanting food that has Chinese taste not American taste”. She quotes Chef Henry Chang: “to get a good meal, be willing to try something new”. While the meal may have been more to American taste than Chinese taste, several members of our group, myself included, were able to experience new foods or foods prepared differently.
Considering that, I believe we followed the counsel of Chef Chang.
Southwest Virginia … home of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the larger Appalachian mountain range, and also of the New River, considered to be the oldest river on the North American continent. My current home in the City of Radford (http://www.radford.va.us/) is located in the New River Valley.
On any given day, I travel down roads that, especially during this time of year, are arguably some of the prettiest around.
In the summer, my friends and I kayak along this stretch of the New. During this time of year, I scramble down the river bank to shoot the old train trestle against the backdrop of the evening light and the changing leaves.
While visiting friends to drop off fresh baked bread or cookies, I’m rewarded by the beauty that I see outside their homes.
The ride to work takes longer than it should during the fall as I stop multiple times to capture the scenery. The first picture was taken from my office parking lot, while the next is the view over the houses near Radford University (http://www.radford.edu/).
The taste of a microbrew at The River Company (http://www.therivercompanyrestaurant.com/) across the New River is even better when this is what I see from the deck.
This gorgeous oak stops me on my way down to Main Street …
… while this is the view that greets me as I drive home from work in the evening.
Sure, there are things that I miss by living in the rural part of Virginia (restaurant diversity for example), but views like this one taken from Attimo Winery (http://www.attimowinery.com/) sure help to make up for it!
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 