We started the day with a 6'ish roll out. I did my usual routines of a few quiet moments, a cup of hot green tea with my handful of vitamins and supplements from Nutrilite and then a bowl of cereal after the posting of the day before activities in the ramble. The morning was nice with temps in the middle 60's and just a little dew on the grass. I did find a couple slugs and beetles on my walk around in the veggie and flower gardens and sent them to their final rest with my boot. The morning glory vines are almost to the top of the arbor as finally we will have some green for our picture taking under the barren structure.
Everything looked good and the 1/2 runner green beans are on the second row of fencing as they climb upwards. I'm convinced if I could get another row of fence up they would continue to climb. I will now have to stand on tip toes to reach the beans but that is sure a lot easier than bending over harvesting them from the ground. The tomato's are blooming as well are the squashes, cucumbers, green and jalapeno peppers. If all of these mature I will be able to set up a vegetable stand but I have several who are unable to have big gardens this year and hopefully I will be able to supply them with some fresh veggies.
We took off for Galax, Va. around 10 and met up with the Tracy's at the WalMart parking lot and headed out shortly thereafter to the Hillsville area. The gals wanted to visit this Emporium with items much like the Mast general store only this place was one level and in a rather new and modern building. It carried lots of the same type of items but the ambiance just wasn't there but it was an hour or two closer. We did find a few little things we wanted and spent some time meandering through the merchandise. I bought a bag of roasted peanuts and sat on the porch enjoying the rocking chair and taking the edge off my hunger. We left out of there and decide we wanted to eat at the local diner that was once an air stream trailer that was transported there from Mt. Airy. This particular diner was once one that Andy Griffith ate at in his home town. There has been an additional dining room added on to the back of the trailer for extra seating and we were thankful for that as the place was jumping with customers. We talked with the owner whose dad originally purchased the diner back in the 30's and he has worked there ever since as well taking over for his dad when he passed. Everyone treated us so well and was small town friendly through out our whole visit to this beautiful small town that became infamous with the court house shooting in the 20's that killed 5 people.
The food was tasty and very inexpensive with hamburger, fries and Cole slaw for $4.25. No wonder the place was the hit of the town for lunch at those prices. Just up the street was the courthouse with the statue of the Confederate soldier standing at attention in the court yard. We ventured inside and was met right away by a very friendly gentleman named Edward who personally took us under his wing and escorted us through the museum and then upstairs to the actual court room where the shooting took place. Two bullet holes from the 57 fired bullets in 90 seconds are still evident to the outside stair way as one of the shooters exited the court house and attempted to leave on his horse. He was captured after being shot in the leg and was unable to mount his horse and was then taken to the nearest hotel down the street where he was later arrested. This was a big occasion and the national press settled into this town. Several weeks later this story was taken off the front pages of America's newspaper by the sinking of the Titanic.
There was this large 5 story building next door to the courthouse called the Carter House and did we ever get a grand tour of that place which is being renovated to its original appearance inside with private raised money by the local town folks. Once inside we met a very knowledgeable lady who gave us a private tour of the building and the history of the man who lived there and had it renovated the first time in the 20's building on two more stories to the building. The building was constructed in 1845 just before the courthouse next door. It's first 3 floors are complete with period furniture and and is just beautiful. We saw the two upper floors which are under renovations as well and they have done a remarkable job with the make over.
The owner of this building was a man called the last empire builder named George Carter and who was reported as the 9th wealthiest man in America at one time with holdings in real estate, railroads and coal mines. He at one time worked in a hardware store across the street for 50 cents a day as a young man in the 1860's and from there built 2 complete towns in W.Va. with homes for his workers with running water and was noted for not wanting any attention of his achievements. He also built 2 railways and at one time was the largest land owner in the country during his days. I purchased his book which is on display titled the LAST EMPIRE BUILDER : a life of George L. Carter, 1857-1936.
We left there sometime around 3'ish and headed down the mountain through Fancy Gap and stopped at the Mountain Man curio place which has everything imaginable. The place has really been cleaned up and I almost didn't recognize it. There use to be a small pig which they usually butcher in fall outside where you could feed it but that practice is no longer. They do still have cured meat hanging in the smoke house room and we did buy some Florida tomato's as well as some local peaches. Nancy wanted to visit the more modern shop on the Va/NC line and there we found some black raspberry jelly, peach butter and honey before heading back up the mountain and onto the parkway. Since we went right by Eddie and Kimberly's Windy Hill Stable farm we thought we would stop by if the gate was open and it was but she was no where around. We did see a for sale sign on the property. There were several horses in the pasture as well. This barn is amazing in both size and amenities.
We decided to cut through the local area with a short cut back to Galax and as we needed to make a purchase at Lowes hardware. Just as we were leaving Lowes in Galax we spotted a familiar face face and it was Edward from Hillsville in the parking lot. What a small world and we had a mini reunion with him before heading down to the Creek Bottom Brewery for calzones, salads and drinks. I tried one of the local brews and the food was delicious and plentiful. This is a rather new business and they are doing quite well especially for a Thursday. We had a great waiter who is home for the summer and is in the criminal justice program at George Mason University near D.C. After eating we decided we wanted to visit Fries, Va. which is right on the new River and was once a mill town. The setting is magnificent as the gently flowing river runs along the edge of the hills in town. We wanted to hear the mountain music that happens every Thursday at the local rec center but several folks on the steps of the center told us it was cancelled due to the memorial being held at the music center on the parkway. We were right there and would have stopped if we had known about the cancellation, oh well. We had a beautiful ride along the river and met a nice couple from Pittsburgh who were both riding motorcycles and bicycles in the area.
We headed back to WalMart and dropped the Tracy's off and we both did some shopping for a few things before heading out for the cabin. It was nearly 9 before we got home and still light enough to hand water the gardens, Phew, what a busy fun filled day and we learned so much about the area and those who loved it and still practice that kind of friendliness, LATER
