Northwest Virginia

Posted by Thane
The historic town of Salem , Virginia is 300 year old Moravian community that has been restored and preserved to it's original condition. The Moravians were a hard working religious sect that kept meticulous records. Those records helped in restoring not only the architecture but also the lifestyle that was lived. During the day the town is inhabited by workers and business owners in period dress.










From Salem we traveled up to Mount Airy, the town where Andy Griffith grew up and he used as a model for his show in the 60's. Everybody was extremely friendly and greeted you with a Goober -like "Hey!" I wanted to get a haircut at Floyd's but the line was too long for an $8 haircut.
Up the Blue Ridge Parkway we went, a 45 mph road that rides the ridge. From some areas you had a 360 degree view. We stopped at an old Grist Mill from the early 1900's. Then on to dinner in the old town of Buchanon where you can see that we got away for less than $12!!

From there we arrived at our B&B in Nellysford Virginia, the Mark-Addy. Leslie and Rafael bought this 10 room house only a few years ago and told us about life as innkeepers one late night. Our room there was huge, comfortable and had a balcony for late evening relaxing. Breakfast was a wonderful, three course meal. The Inn is on 12 acres out in the country and felt like home - except the view was the Blue Ridge Mountains instead of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

We also got to meet Ubon and Dan, owners of the Thai-Mex II restaurant. Great food. We quickly became friends and made a short visit to their house after dinner. They invited us to travel to Thailand in October with them. Melissa is thinking it sure would be nice to visit Thailand with someone who is from there.

On to Monticello and Washington DC.