Virginia Tourism is Cash Money

We’d like to start with a bit of housekeeping:

We have a winner for our Shiver in the River VIP package, and it’s a cool story! Samantha Silberman of Baltimore, Maryland likes to do some sort of race each and every month somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic. She and a friend heard about Shiver in the River, and despite having no real ties to Virginia or Richmond, decided to sign up. Not only that, they’ve signed up for the 5K Walk/Run, the James River Jump, AND the Cleanup! Even though she’s from Baltimore, she wants to do her part to help us make Virginia a more beautiful place and Give 60 to make our planet cleaner! Congratulations, and thank you Samantha!

Also, we’re horrible at taking pictures. We’re good at smudging a lens or putting our thumb over one, but it is what it is. We do, however, have an Instagram account. Some lovely interns who are no doubt more tech-savvy than us are going to help us get it more current. Check it out!

Lastly, we decided to take a road trip last weekend. We left Richmond Friday afternoon and followed the sun west. By early evening, we reached Cana, Virginia and checked into a lovely bed & breakfast. It was a fantastic farmhouse owned by an amazing couple who worked 65+ acres of various fruit trees. The kitchen table was covered in various heritage apples, pears, cherries, and more – most of it grown right there. Walks through the groves were accompanied by a small pack of agreeable farm dogs who lead us up and down the hillsides, and then back to the house.

Late Saturday, we spent some time tooling along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Connecting to Skyline Drive, this National Park runs 469 miles through 29 counties in Virginia and North Carolina. It’s also America’s longest linear park. We were afforded sweeping views of Appalachia, saw an owl, several hawks, and scores of deer. We ate meals in side-of-the-road Mom & Pop joints, feasting on home-cooked regional favorites.

Best Fried Chicken Ever in Fancy Gap.

Sunday, we altered our route, and took every two-lane road east that we could find. The mountains gave way to rolling hills as we casually sailed through Meadows of Dan, Stuart, Martinsville, Danville, Alton, and more. We made pit stops at Fairy Stone, Staunton River, and Occoneechee, just three of our wonderful Virginia State Parks. As the afternoon began to turn Virginia brilliant orange, we found ourselves passing the red clay hillsides of Southeastern Virginia that leads toward Tidewater. Time to head north to return to Richmond.

The point is, we went because it was beautiful. It reminded us of why we work hard to keep Virginia beautiful. We bought apples, supported small businesses, visited restaurants and parks, and dropped some green into the coffers of Virginia’s economy. While we’re sort of locals, that weekend was about being a tourist.

A clean and green Virginia, when displayed in all her glory to outsiders, is worth cash money.