Tag Archives: Hotel Roanoke

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Roanoke in December

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It is tradition for Greg and I, and friends Ruth and Ralph, to visit the Roanoke in the month of December to celebrate the holiday season. We stroll through the halls of the Hotel Roanoke, originally built in 1882 by the Norfolk & Western Railway as a Tudor Revival landmark, and enjoy the beauty of the trees that have been decorated by local businesses and organizations in a decorating competition. Visitors vote for their favorite tree and every dollar donated supports a meaningful cause.

Our tradition was derailed a couple times by illness, but we managed to get to Roanoke twice and these are some of the images that I captured. The first is the fireplace in the lobby of the Hotel Roanoke.

The next is the Pedestrian Walkway that connects the Hotel Roanoke to the historic downtown and allows folks to see the railroad tracks that led to Roanoke, originally called Big Lick,to become one of the premier railroad cities in America. For a century, Roanoke was home to the Norfolk & Western Railway.

The next three are murals seen during a morning stroll around the historic downtown area

If you’ve not been to Roanoke, Virginia, you should visit sometime.

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Anticipation!

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I’m anxiously awaiting this coming weekend.

On Friday evening I’ll pick up Alys at Dulles International Airport, and we’ll head into DC to meet up with Boomdee.

The next day, we’ll get to spend time with Julia and Lisa, and maybe even Stacy.  What fun this will be!  It’ll be a quick 36 hours for me, but well worth the drive.

This past weekend though, I was in Roanoke to photograph a political event.  When that task was completed, I was able to spend a few moments outside enjoying the grounds of the Hotel Roanoke.  First built in 1882, renovated in the 1930s, and finally restored,  remodeled, and re-opened in 1995, the Hotel Roanoke is now a gorgeous and historic destination for both vacation and business.

The Market Square Pedestrian Walkway allows guests to walk from the hotel, over the train tracks, and down to the many shops and restaurants in the downtown market square.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to visit any of you this past weekend.  I’ll look forward to catching up when I get back home.

And I can’t wait to share photos of the Old Town Alexandria blogger gathering!