In Between the Rain

The past 3 weeks have been quite rainy in southwestern Virginia.  Here are a few day trips and activities we have enjoyed in between the rain showers..

We were delighted by our visit to the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music in Clintwood, Virginia.  
The museum is about 30 minutes northeast of Big Stone Gap.

This beautiful centuries old building was once a funeral home in Clintwood.  The restored and remodeled building creates a wonderful display venue for not just Dr. Ralph Stanley's history and memorabilia but also the art of "bluegrass" or mountain music.  The building's ornate stained glass windows got my attention.

  Photographs or video recordings are not allowed inside the museum.  Oh well, you'll just have to go yourself and see the informative displays, his 2 Grammy Awards and also hear many of his as well as the other artists' bluegrass and mountain music recordings.

We did get in a quick bicycle ride on the New River Bike Trail from the Foster Falls State Park section.

With all of the rain, everything was green.

Our visit to the Villa Appalaccia Winery located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway (near mile marker 170) was memorable.  Their website states that their vineyards consist of predominately grown Italian grape varieties that thrive in a shale earth base rather than clay.  The Italian inspired tasting room was quite picturesque.

The covered porch and breezeway provided the perfect setting for sipping a glass of wine.

This red wine variety was paired with their awesome cheese tray.  That treat along with the view of the rolling Blue Ridge Mountain Range made for a relaxing afternoon.

 While on the Parkway, we also drove right by the lovely Mabry Mill.

We also visited the Mt Vale Vineyards near Galax, VA.

While we were in this southwestern part of Virginia, we were also able to get in a nice visit with Ronnie's sister Terry, her husband Carlos and their two granddaughters, Taylor and Chloe.  On our last day at Fort Chiswell, we made a quick visit to Martinsville to see Betty Robertson.  She and her husband Warren were the previous owners of our 2003 Monaco Dynasty motorhome.  What a special visit we had with her remembering our purchase experience from them in 2012. She shared with us again some of her family's special camping trips in that particular motorhome.  She and her family have been camping/traveling since the early 1970's.  We're so glad we made that day trip!

We have eased on down the road to Cherry Hill RV Park located just outside of Washington DC.
More Later..