Escape to Floyd, VA

Friday, August 24, 2012

We woke up this morning and just relaxed and hung out in the hotel room, although we packed up our stuff to leave at noon. When we called the Ford dealer, Tim told us it was “safe” for us to leave town, that Mo would not be done before Monday.  So we made our departure and hit the road for Floyd and Eddie’s home in the country.

Most of our trip was on the Interstate, and it seems that the road in WV from Charleston to the border with Virginia is the West Virginia Turnpike. And it cost more than the NJ Turnpike for the distance—craziness! We stopped at a rest stop for a picnic lunch, and again at the exit for Tamarack. This is a large facility showcasing West Virginia artists—sort of like a West Virginia version of Sugarloaf, my favorite craft show.

 Of course, we still had the Dog Problem. So Joey relaxed on a lawn under a shady tree with Roxy, while I went into the building. I found a few small things to buy, of course, but nothing too major (a copy of Arcadia Press’s “Jews of West Virginia” was the most unusual—I’ll donate it to the Historical Society when I’ve read it.)  But I did see a lot of beautiful things—especially the quilts, which were most gorgeous, and some funky metal sculptures which I really liked.

After that, we got serious about the drive, stopping only for a Virginia map when we crossed the state line. We drove through a torrential downpour just at the beginning of Virginia before the sky cleared up. It was 5pm before we got off I-81 and drove through the green countryside to Floyd.  It was hot and sunny when we got to Ed’s house, and we were quite happy to get here—it was a lot longer drive than the 3hrs 15 minutes that Google Maps told us! But we had a relaxing evening sitting in the back yard, meeting Ed's friend Amelia, and eating a yummy homemade pizza for dinner.  The onions and the tomatoes are, of course, from his garden.

After dinner we went into town to take in the Friday Night Floyd scene. Every Friday night, there is a kind of open bluegrass "happening", where people congregate, form small groups, and play bluegrass music. The place draws locals and tourists, who cruise up and down the street listing to the music and stopping by at the Floyd General Store for ice cream and indoor music. 

It is such a part of what makes Floyd a tourism destination that the town has built little niches along the sidewalk to accommodate the groups of musicians and their casual audiences, who wander from one group to the next. We stopped and heard some excellent music....

....as well as chatting with a lot of Eddie's friends and acquaintances--it seems that this is just the place to be and he saw a lot of folks he knew. We left there around 11pm or so--they were winding things up by then--and went back home. It was a late evening, but lots of fun. Happy as we were to be there, I think Roxy was the happiest—she got to run around in the yard, bark at the chickens, and forget about cars, leashes, and motel sounds for a little while.