I'm in town for a few months (mon -thurs) if anyone wants to meet up.

I'm from Roanoke, but haven't been there in a long while. Go to the Texas Tavern and have a bowl with.

We don't take checks, and we don't play with bumble bees.

Avoid Texas Tavern! In a previous life, took care of more than one worker from there with hepatitis!

Story to hear that you're stuck in Roanoke for a while. Didn't a weekend there and we bored to tears after a couple hours.

Our daughter is a senior in college in Salem, VA, which butts up to Roanoke. We will be there for her graduation on 5/4. Might be a little busy though.

Salem is a might pretty town.

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Our daughter is a senior in college in Salem, VA, which butts up to Roanoke. We will be there for her graduation on 5/4. Might be a little busy though.

Enjoy your visit to the area! Here's just a little area info to get you started:

There's Roanoke Rail Dawgs hockey at the Berglund center this weekend.

Here's a general list of Roanoke events:
https://www.visitroanokeva.com/things-to-do/events/

Visit the Roanoke Star if you get time, and get a great view over the city.

There's the Mill Mountain Zoo, too.

There's Ballast Point Brewing Company over in Daleville, and Chateau Morrisette over in Floyd.

Virginia Museum of Transportation -- home of the 611!

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful drive.

Lots of hiking and biking trails around. McAfee's Knob, Dragon's Tooth, Carvin's Cove, ....

If you're into college football, there's the VT spring game on April 13.

Jump on the Blueridge Parkway and head south. It's a really enjoyable drive. My sons and I did that drive a couple years ago when were going south to see the eclipse. The parkway was a close second to the eclipse!

JP

Peaks of Otter.
Hike Appalachian Trail from Mt. Catawba (?).

Thanks for the tips guys but I'm here for work so long romantic drives are out of the question.

I'm torn about trying the Texas Tavern based on what I've read here but might give it a go.

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Roanoke last Summer. Nice hotel, fair amount of shops and restaurants within walking distance. Beware the covered walkway from the hotel over the railroad tracks to the downtown district in the Summer. It's not air-conditioned and gets pretty warm in there. Check out the Winston Link museum if you have time. He was the guy who took all the black and white photos of steam engine trains back in the fifties.

Several breweries in the area if that’s your thing. I work those nights or I’d come down to meet you at one of them. Big Lick is a good one I’ve heard. I’m not a fan of most Ballast Point beers on the shelf but they have great ones on tap and the location is nice.

You should visit the transportation museum and look at the 611. The J class locomotives were some of the most advanced steam engines ever built. Unlike most railroads, N&W built its own locomotives right there in Roanoke.

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There's Ballast Point Brewing Company over in Daleville, and Chateau Morrisette over in Floyd.

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I have had Ballast Point beer, it is fantastic,

Chateau Morrissette has decent wine, and a fantastic restaurant,
if you are going that way, see if Villa Appalachia is open, wine is more Italian style, and tasty
Floyd is an interesting area too,

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Originally posted by lyman:

quote:

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There's Ballast Point Brewing Company over in Daleville, and Chateau Morrisette over in Floyd.

.

I have had Ballast Point beer, it is fantastic,

Chateau Morrissette has decent wine, and a fantastic restaurant,
if you are going that way, see if Villa Appalachia is open, wine is more Italian style, and tasty
Floyd is an interesting area too,

+3 for Ballast Point

Isn't that the place where an entire colony disappeared?

Me, I'd stay away.

I was half planning to start a similar thread late this year since I haven’t been back to Roanoke since graduating from VT in Blacksburg and didn’t spend that much time there anyway. It’s been years, too, so I’ll be following this one.

The reason is the recent surprise of my daughter receiving her medical residency assignment to the VT medical center in Roanoke starting in Summer 2020. My wife is already planning road trips in her new (to us) SUV. Of course, the SUV questions will be a different thread in a few months.

Edit: tac, Roanoke, the lost colony, was on the coast of North Carolina. This one’s in western Virginia (but not West Virginia). I remember thinking the same thing when I started looking at the map when heading to grad school.

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Originally posted by tacfoley:
Isn't that the place where an entire colony disappeared?

Me, I'd stay away.

That’s the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island on NC’s outer banks. Far cry from the mountains where Roanoke Va is located...

Don’t forget nearby Lexington, with its VMI museum and Stonewall Jackson’s home.
To the north and east, Civil War battlefields, e.g. the Haymarket battlefield, which has its own excellent museum. To the east, Appomattox.

^^^^^ SWEET!!!