Virginia Creeper Trail, Abingdon, Va.

This weekend was absolutely lovely! If you were in the N.C./Va. area, I hope you got outside to enjoy the sunny, warm days.

We took a day trip to Abingdon, Va. on Saturday to walk the Virginia Creeper Trail and to check out Main Street.

This is the trail head off of Pecan Street, Abingdon, Va.

Chris and I had visited Abingdon together before, but it was just a quick evening trip. I'd also been with friends to see "Miracle on 34th Street" at the Barter Theater and to the federal court house to cover a drug trial for work.

So this trip was a special treat.

The Virginia Creeper is off of Pecan Street, which is just down the street from the Martha Washington Hotel and Spa.

The 33-plus mile trail starts (or ends) in Abingdon and heads south to Whitetop, Va., which is in Grayson County and is the state's highest peak. Lots of people ride bikes from Whitetop to Damascus -- all straight down hill. A shuttle in Damascus will carry you up the mountain so you can ride back down.

In Abingdon, the trail is pretty much flat and goes by cow pastures and suburbia, including a large golf course community.

Here's some shots:

Lots of people were out on the muddy trail Saturday.

This end of the trail is perfect for a good, simple hike, bike ride or stroll. I was glad to see so many people using it.

I'll write about the businesses in a future post.

Canal Walk and other trails, Richmond, Va.

To stretch our legs while in Richmond, we checked out the Richmond Riverfront Trail and the Canal Walk in downtown.

We parked at the Great Shiplock Park, where the Richmond Riverfront Trail starts. The park is below Tobacco Row, which I talked about here.

Here's some Shiplock Park shots:

Parking for the Shiplock is to the right and the Riverfront Trail is just beyond that. See the brick building in the background? That's part of Tobacco Row.

Richmond Riverfront is part of the Virginia Capital Trail, which is expected to be completed in 2014. The Capital Trail will connect Richmond, Williamsburg and Jamestown -- the state's two former capitals and current capital.

From Great Shiplock Park, Richmond Riverfront Trail heads west, following along Dock Street. To the south of the trail is a canal and a railroad bridge. Sidney was pretty scared of the train that passed on the bridge overhead. Other than watching for glass shards and the train, we liked this part of our walk, though it's not very scenic.

Tobacco Row is to the right. The canal is to the left.

I think this is actually part of the Canal Walk or this is where Riverfront and Canal join.

The paved Riverfront Trail connects to the Canal Walk 1/2 mile away. I enjoyed this part of the walk best.

The Canal Walk follows along two canals and is decorated with murals and historical markers up and down the trail. It's just over a mile and sections of it is lined with benches and trees. I thought it was very pleasant and would be a good place to take a lunch to escape during a work day. I would love to see what the tree-lined walk looks like in the spring!

Someone seems bored with this section of the trail.

This is so pretty! I love it!

If you decide to explore these trails, the Richmond Slave Trail, which explores the history of the city's pre-Civil War slave trade, is also nearby.

Richmond, Va.

Last week, the family and I headed to Richmond, Va., for a weekend trip. That includes Sidney! We found a nice hotel that would take our pup. (Thanks, Residence Inn!)

It was a very nice trip and I didn't think about work or any stressful issues the whole weekend. We ate fabulous food, saw beautiful things and enjoyed time as a family.

Over the next several weeks, I'll share some of the things we saw and did while on our way to and in our state capital.

First up, I want to show you some architecture we snapped photos of. There were lots of beautiful buildings and homes in the area. I won't show all of them here. There will be more in future posts specific to neighborhoods and areas we checked out.

So, here we go:

Main Street Station and the Farmers Market

Main Street Station is still in use today. It started rail service again in 2003 after it was shut down in 1975, according to the city's website. It's a beaux arts building that sits very close to I-95. After walking Sidney around downtown, we went in to check out the interior. Beautiful!

It would be cool to take a train from this station to Washington, D.C., or other areas up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

See Main Street Station next to the bridge on the left? The farmers market is on the corner here.

There weren't very many people at the Farmers Market, but it's got a nice set up near the Main Street Station.

Tobacco Row

Tobacco Row is an area of former tobacco warehouses and buildings that are above Dock Street and the canal. Most of the buildings now appear to be lofts, apartments and restaurants.

The old Lucky Strike building and smoke stack.

Cary Street, looking down Tobacco Row. Dock Street and the canal are to the right, down an embankment.

Evidence that a trolley car once operated on this street.

One tobacco building is now home to the Virginia Holocaust Museum. We did not go in. Chris has visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. and he wasn't interested in going through another. I, however, hope to visit the D.C. museum one day.

This is behind the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Do you see the "Halt" sign on the gate? It also says "Stoj!," which I believe is Polish for "stop."

This is a prop located behind the Holocaust Museum.

Probably the coolest buildings are the River Lofts at Tobacco Row -- apartments built in the historic tobacco warehouses.

One building's exterior walls are still up, but the interior has been demolished and turned into a courtyard for residents. It is a very interesting reuse of a historic building.

The smoke stack still stands in the courtyard and has a fountain around it.

Some walls still remain in the building and are visually appealing to the courtyard, I think.

This is the fountain surrounding the smoke stack, which is the darker brick in the upper left of the photo.

Plantings are set around the courtyard to bring nature indoors (or maybe this is now considered outdoors) and there are many tables and chairs for residents and their guests to use.

We were tempted to tour one of the lofts, but, pressed for time, we decided against it.

Where to shop: Making Ends Meet

While in Shelbyville, Ky., I took the opportunity to visit Making Ends Meet, a store that carries home decor fabrics, trims, gift items and more. I'm not really into making home decor items, but I love walking around any fabric store and checking out the fabric colors and textures and notions.

And the employees didn't seem to care. They welcomed me warmly and allowed me to wander around and feel fabric to my heart's content!

Making Ends Meet is located in an adorable house on Washington Street, Shelbyville, Ky.

If I were to make a whole bunch of pillows and draperies or was in need of fabulous trims, this is the place I'd want to go. And, dude, they have an online store!

I found the store using the visitor center's shopping directory posted in the center's yard. Shops are listed by category and a map shows you what street and building to find them. Very helpful!

Here are some photos I shot inside Making Ends Meet:

I love the colors!

This would make excellent curtains, for windows or the shower.

I love the embroidery on these draperies.

The store has trims galore. I bet you'd never have trouble finding a trim to match your project here.

Across the street was a store called Needle Nest, a cross-stitching and needle point store that also offers framing. I didn't go inside, but I wanted to let you know about it.

So, if you find yourself in the Shelbyville area, stop by and check out the shops!

Shelbyville, Ky.

On our way to Evansville, Ind., to spend time with Chris' family, we stopped in Shelbyville, Ky.

I don't know very much about Shelbyville except that it's near Kentucky's capital, Frankfort, and is home to one of our employer's central offices.

We spent a couple of hours walking around and checking out the historic downtown. We always check out a city's downtown to gauge how well local businesses are doing and to admire the architecture.

There were a few locally-owned business, including a coffee shop, gift shop, fabric and needlepoint stores, clothing store and, I think, a furniture store.

Here is some of what we saw:

Shelbyville looks very busy for a Thursday afternoon, a couple days before Christmas.

This 1902 building is in great shape. Shelbyville appears to take very good care of its buildings. In fact, there were a couple buildings surrounded by scaffolding, so I assume those were getting a face lift too.

I'm trying to capture the whole feel of this building -- from the stained glass windows to the columns and entryway. I don't think this picture does this building justice.

I really liked this cute building. It sticks out among the brick buildings, but it has character and I'd love to live/work here.

Another shot of the house/office.

The building to the right is the visitor center and museum. The shopping directory is located in the front yard.

I'd love to know more about this historic building. It appears that not only was it a school, but at one time was or is an inn.

Here's a shot of the inn's sign. I love how the tree and vines frame the walkway.

This is some sort of jail. I wonder if it's still used. I doubt it, but there was a cop car parked along the road beside it.

Even if it's no longer used as a jail, it may still be used as an office, as indicated by this sign.

This is Shelbyville Fountain. You can read info about it in the photo above.

The shopping signs outside the visitor's center and museum was very helpful. Shops are listed by category and a map shows you want street and building to find them. I think every shopping district should have one.

I'll write about Making Ends Meet, a shop I visited while we were in Shelbyville, in a few days.