She'll Be Riding In The Mountains

I don't know about you but for me I love to discover places in the mountains to visit!!  It's just totally amazing what lies in those hills!  If you leave Tuggle's Gap and continue on Hwy 8 you'll arrive in the small town of Floyd, Virginia.  Floyd is filled with food, crafts, music, refreshments and places to stay. 

We decided to visit Floyd (based on all my prior research lol) to do a little sightseeing and discovery.  Floyd is so quaint and I couldn't wait to walk around once we parked the "bikes".  With a population of 432 people, Floyd is full of local talent!  Our discovery of downtown took us inside the Community Market which was closing up for the day but allows local artisans to exhibit their work; inside The Republic of Floyd Emporium where you can find beer/wine selections from all over the world; inside Floyd's Country Store where they serve up pintos and cornbread-have nightly music sessions-have all types of locally made items, inside Hotel Floyd where you can stay in one of 14 themed rooms filled with local furniture and artwork; inside New Mountain Mercantile where local artwork and pottery is sold; inside Nancy's Candy where you stroll around inside a true candy store filled with locally made truffles, flavored fudge and so much more; inside Blue Ridge Restaurant where you find delicious home cooking for lunch; inside Dogtown Roadhouse where you can sit down to enjoy a "refreshment" or woodfire pizza; inside The Station filled with various businesses featuring local furniture/crafts/artwork, inside Oddfella's Cantina which serves lunch and dinner while local musicians entertain you and so much more!!!!!  Floyd also plays host to Floyd Artisan Trail Tour (June 10-15), Floyd Fandango Wine and Beer Festival (July 3-4) and Floyd Fest X (July 28-31), Mountain Music Jams (on Sunday afternoons) and more during the year.

After a good night's sleep, we were up early and eating a delicious breakfast at Tuggle's Gap Restaurant (the french toast is delicious with a hot cup of coffee and some orange juice).  Then it was time to check out and head down the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We stopped at Rakes Mill Pond to look for trout (where mill customers waiting for their grist could fish), then Mayberry Trading Post (once a post office built in 1892) where you can buy delicious apple pies like grandma makes, then Meadows of Dan to fill the bikes up at  Poor Farmers Market (they have gorgeous plants, local produce, cornmeal...you name it-they have it) and guess what.... next door is Nancy's Candy candy factory-where all that delicious fudge I bought in Floyd is made!!!

Once we'd filled the bikes up and finished our snack, it was time to head on down the Parkway for a leisurely ride home.  If you want a beautiful place to visit and love a small town atmosphere...Floyd, Virginia is the place to go.  Just be sure you travel on the Blue Ridge Parkway at some point to discover other sights to see!!  You won't regret the trip one bit!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

 

What caption would you give this photo?

 

She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain...

We weren't driving 6 white horses or wearing red pajamas.....just riding  motorcycles and wearing jackets at times!!  Ah, the beauty of riding in the mountains of Virgina!  Ever heard of Tuggle's Gap, VA???  Yep, that's where we were this past weekend.  Our friends, Dale and Jeff, invited us to head to the mountains for a weekend getaway.  So, we packed up Harley Man's bike and headed up the mountain to explore Stuart, VA and Floyd, VA.

Man, the weather was awesome.  Highs were in the 80's and lows in the 50's; skies were blue with fluffy white clouds...no rain in sight.  Can't beat that kind of weather when riding on the motorcycle!!  So armed with my map, my printout of various places/events in the area (every teacher extraordinaire always does her research first), we took off on Hwy 52 and then rode along the back roads of Hwy 311 and Hwy 8.  It's a beautiful area to travel and just so peaceful riding on the bike.

Before arriving at our destination, we stopped off in Woolwine, VA to see 2 of 8 historical bridges left in Virginia...Jacks Creek Covered Bridge and Bob White Covered Bridge.  I don't know who maintains these two areas but let me tell you they are just beautiful, serene and wonderful!!!

Then it was on to Tuggle's Gap to unpack the bikes.  Tuggle's Gap is right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and the restaurant and motel has been there for over 60 years.  Now you have to understand, we love to stay in little motels that offer a place to park the bikes, sit outside and just take in the sights/sounds of the area.  By no means is this the "Ritz"...it's as bare bones as you get...bed, dresser, shower and nothing more!!!  That's right... no flat screen tv, no radio alarm clocks, no phones or wake up calls, no air conditioning(don't worry the breeze from the mountain air is constant and cooling), no mints on the pillow!!  Just a cute place to rest your weary head after being on the bike for hours and hours.  :)  Oh, and a great little restaurant that serves up some awesome "pan fried chicken" and "Tuggle's Gap Pie"!!!

 

Once we arrived, unpacked the bikes, checked out the room and had an afternoon "refreshment", it was time to hop back on the bikes and head to Floyd, VA for an afternoon of food, drinks, sights and sounds!!!!  So stay tuned; come back tomorrow and I'll give you a little "taste" of the mountain town of Floyd, the Parkway and Meadows of Dan!

Yep, It's MMOM!!!

Every Sunday Never Growing Old  posts five get to know you questions I can copy and paste into my own Monday post, link up to her post and learn a little more about other bloggers!!!!

  
Questions:

1.  What is your favorite food?
I have many favorite foods but if pushed to pick one.....sushi!!  Now when I say sushi, I mean any kind of roll: volcano, spicy tuna, scallop, cajun crab, crispy alaska...etc!!

 

2.  What color scheme is your bedroom?
Currently taupe and red.  However; I am considering changing the red in the next few months.  I like to change it up every year so the bed and curtains will be a new color...that way I don't have to paint the walls just yet!!

3.  Do you carry a donor card?
No..never selected that option when renewing my license.  Probably need to do that next time!!

4.  In your opinion, is the glass half empty or half full?
Most of the time my glass is half full...unless someone drinks from it and then I have a half empty glass which I have to have filled to at least half full!!!

5.  Vanilla or Chocolate?
Dark chocolate will win every time!!!  I absolutely love CocoaVia but have a hard time finding it anymore. :(

Where Do You Recommend...???

Bet you haven't guessed.....I love to travel!!  Doesn't matter if it's just down the road or halfway around the world, I love to visit new places and take in all the sights/sounds of the area.  I will travel on a motorcycle, in a car, on a boat, in a plane (sounds like Dr. Seuss)!!!!  Not only do I love to travel, I also love to take photographs of the places I visit ( bet you couldn't guess that either).  Now, a great photographer I'm not but I do try to capture the sights with my camera as best I can.

With summer officially here, vacations are happening everywhere and I'd love to hear where you've been or where you are headed this summer.  I'll be going to Topsail later this summer with the family.  We do love the beach!!  However; I'd like to hear about other places I should put on my list to visit in the future.  So...help a girl out and tell me about a place you'd suggest!!!  A quaint bed and breakfast, a great trip to take on the motorcycle, a resort that is fabulous, a town that is awesome, a cruise that is fantastic....you get the idea.  I'm open to hearing about any place you recommend!!!

I'm following these blogs this Friday:


  

Zipping Through The Air!!!

Harley Man is a daredevil...yep, he is up to just about anything adventurous!!  He's been whitewater rafting several times, skydived numerous times, ridden a bicycle down a mountain path, did the "Sling Shot" ride at Myrtle Beach...get the picture!!  So...when some friends asked us to go with them to do a zip line a couple of years ago, his immediate response was "Heck yeah, when do we leave?"

Now me, I would never classify myself as "adventurous"!!  However; I have been whitewater rafting, parasailing and yep....I've done the zip line too!!!  Our zip line adventure began at Carolina Zip Line in Westfiled, NC.  It's been a couple of years but I did want to tell you about it because you might want to try it yourself.

Carolina Zip Line is near Hanging Rock Park.  The area is wooded and there are giant platforms constructed amongst the trees.  There are up to 20 cables you can travel on...ending with the 1000 foot cable.  You wear a harness with a caribiner that is attached to a pulley.  The pulley is placed on a cable strung between trees. You push off from a platform on one tree and zip along the cable to a platform on another tree. You can be anywhere from 20 to 80 feet off the ground!!!!  Nothing major for Harley Man but for me...major!!!  Heights and I don't necessarily see eye to eye!!!

When all was said and done...I had a super time!  Would I do it again...YES!  So, if you need a little adventure during the summer...try the zip line.  Just be sure to take plenty of pictures as proof you did it!!  Here's my proof!! Lol!

All strapped in and ready to go!

And she's off!

I have to get wayyyy over there to the platform???

Almost at the platform!!  Whew!!

1000 feet...going strong!!

Wordless Wednesday