Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Smith Mountain Lake State Park

I've merged this blog onto a new site. Please visit it here. I hope you continue to follow Small Travels and Musings and also check out more of my other posts.

The most recent post is about Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Some spring flowers

This spring is shaping up to be the best one we've had in a long time. Already we've seen and id'd lots of beautiful wildflowers, butterflies and birds.

Here's some flowers we found Friday and yesterday evening. I've identified most of them. If I've mislabeled them or I've left some blank and you know what it is, please let me know in the comments!

Dutchman's breeches

Bloodroot

Hepatica

Twinleaf

Cut-leaf toothwort

Spring beauty

Trillium

Rue anemone



Large-flowered bellwort

Yellow Corydalis

Ground ivy or a violet

Thursday, April 4, 2013

April snow

It wasn't that many days ago I sat at our patio table studying. It was sunny and warm. Who could ask for anything more in early spring?

Today was supposed to be a cool 40 degrees Fahrenheit with some rain. Now? It's snowing. Here's hoping that the saying "April showers bring May flowers" also pertains to April snow. :)


Cardinal


    

Friday, August 5, 2011

Big Bend Picnic Area, Big Walker Mountain, Wytheville, Va.

Updated: I had a plant mislabeled. See below

We've visited the Big Bend Picnic Area twice in the past couple of months. Though it's a picnic site, we didn't take a lunch with us. We were there to explore the Big Walker Mountain area.

A turk's cap lily.
A mondara, or bee balm. A friend corrected me and said this is a "wild bergamot." Oops!
Chris has lamented the lack of butterflies this year. He's almost convinced they're all hiding out here on the mountain. There are many butterflies and other insects along the dirt road by the picnic area.

The last time we visited, Chris was able to get a few good photos of butterflies, including the rare Diana fritillary.



This is a male Diana fritillary. The female is brown with blue. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Other areas to check out while you're on Big Walker includes the country store and Monster Rock Trail, which has a trail head located behind the store.


There's also Seven Sisters Trail and the Stony Fork Campground, which are both located at the foot of the mountain. The Seven Sisters Trail winds 4.8 miles up the mountain to the campground.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Big Survey Wildlife Management Area, Wytheville, Va.

A few weeks ago, we checked out Big Survey Wildlife Management Area, which is a fairly new addition to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' land. It's located of Interstates 77/81 near Wytheville, Va.



We parked at the trail head of High Rocks Trail and hiked about 1.5 miles to the top of a hill, which overlooks Wytheville.

The trail has a fairly moderate incline. I was proud of myself, as a person with asthma, for making it up the trail without having to pause for breath.


The top of the trail had an awesome view.
Beware, though, the trail is covered with big rocks, so it is easy to lose your footing. It reminded me of walking in the middle of a intermittent spring. Luckily, it had not rained recently so the moss and rocks were not wet.

Though the rocks didn't get me on the way up, I did fall on the way down!

So, if you've got little ones, I'd think twice about taking them on this trail. There was a man with a little boy (maybe 8-years-old) on the trail when we were there, but the kid was well-behaved and didn't attempt to run ahead. They took their time picking among the rocks and made it to the top in time to enjoy a nice picnic lunch around noon.

Here's some photos from the trip:



A blueberry bush.
A bench to rest on at the end of the trail.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

West Wind Winery summer concerts

West Wind Farm Vineyard and Winery has announced it's upcoming summer concert series. They'll take place the first Saturday of each month. Check it out (from the winery's newsletter):

Summer Saturdays Concerts
We are pleased to announce the lineup for this year's Summer Saturdays Concert Series!
 
5th Anniversary Celebration / June 4
ENVISION (Motown, soul)
6 to 9pm

July 2

BIG BLUES BEAT (Oldies, rock)
6 to 9pm

August 6

DOC GREENBERG’S PATIENT JAZZ (Jazz, blues)
6 to 9pm

September 3

TRAVELERS REVISION (Oldies, rock)
6 to 9pm

Wine & Swine 2011 / Oct. 1
KEY WEST BAND (Buffett-style & beach – Parrotheads welcome!)
5 to 8pm
Notice a pattern?  The events are the first Saturday of each month - hopefully making them easy to remember! 


The winery has other events, such as wine dinners, happening during the year, too. Make sure to check out its calendar.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Hillsville, Va., Downtown Celebrations 2011

It's about that time again! I can't wait for Hillsville's first beach music concert series of the year.

Each show also features a Classic Car Cruise-in. Admission is free and the show starts around 5 p.m.

Here's the dates and line-up.

May 14 -- The Holiday Band

June 25 -- The Tim Clark Band

July 23 -- The Embers

August 20 -- The Craig Woolard Band

September 10 -- Jim Quick and Coastline

Need more info? Call (276) 728-2128, ext. 16; visit www.townofhillsville.com; or email hillsville@embarqmail.com.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Where to Eat: Mitchie Tavern, Charlottesville, Va.

In Charlottesville, we grabbed a bite to eat at historic Mitchie Tavern, located below the hill from Monticello. It serves an all-you-can-eat buffet of an 18th century fare.

Dressed in period clothing, waitresses brought out more food as you requested it. Though a bit pricey at $16, I think it's worth it. The food was spectacular! We ate chicken, black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, green beans and roast potatoes.

While there, we also checked out the shops on the property. Here's the metal smith shop where you can buy many different things:



This woman told us about the courting candle. When a young man comes to call on a young lady, the father would set out the courting candle. The father could make the candle longer or short depending on which way he turned the candle's knob.
If he liked the young man, he turned the candle up; if he didn't, there wasn't much candle to burn before the young man would have to leave. 
Once the candle burned down to the first coil, it was time for a young man to leave.


Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Monticello and Mitchie Tavern, Charlottesville, Va.

On our way back from Richmond a couple months ago, we stopped by Monticello to stretch our legs. I really enjoyed visiting Thomas Jefferson's old home place and learning about the property.

I wrote and won a DAR award with an essay about Thomas Jefferson in fifth grade, so I sort of hold a special place for him and his home in my heart, as corny as that may sound. It was really cool to visit a place I'd written and read about all those years ago.

Isn't this place gorgeous? It has two large porches extending from each side of it.

Here's the wine cellar and the dumbwaiter used to transport the bottles upstairs:



Here are more photos of the grounds:

Thomas Jefferson's grave.

A big, old tree on the property.

Mulberry Row, where homes of slaves and trades workshops were located.


Friday, April 1, 2011

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

If you visit Richmond, Va., I'd recommend checking out the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The museum's collections include art deco and art nouveau, English silver, Faberge, mid-to-late 20th century and 21st centuryAmerican art, African art and Ancient art. Here are some of the lovely pieces that we saw back in January:










Friday, March 11, 2011

Edgar Allan Poe Museum, Richmond, Va.

If you visit Richmond, make time to visit the Edgar Allan Poe Museum on East Main Street. It's on the same street as the Main Street Station and the Farmer's Market.


This is the front of the museum. It is a home from the era of Poe's childhood, though not one he ever lived in or visited.

You'll get to walk through several rooms with artifacts from Poe's life in Richmond. He lived there early in his life before moving to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and back to Richmond at various times throughout his adult life.

Poe's mother, a traveling actress, died when he was 3 and John Allan, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Frances Valentine Allan, took him in.

I really liked the portraits; original manuscripts, including those of Poe's sister Rosalie; and the layout of Richmond during Poe's lifetime, showing where he lived, went to school and worked.

You can't take photos inside the rooms, but you can outside in the courtyard.

This bust of Poe sits under a shelter in the courtyard behind the main museum building. I'm not really sure why people have left coins for the dead poet.
Here's the front and back side of the information you're given for the self-guided tour. It also includes a map layout of the buildings and grounds.



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Don't know much about Edgar Allan Poe? Check out these books.
    

And you most definitely should read Poe's work.