Resident in the Peoples Republic of Arlington. So named by my friends south of the Rapahannock River. Roanoke is a nice town and the area is nice. While you're there, run on up one Friday afternoon and take a look at the retreat parade at the Virginia Military Institute. I underwent Rat year there, back in 1960-1961, not an experience that I would care to repeat, but then, an experience that I am not sure that I would have cared to miss, and that comment after a lot of thinking about it.
If you are into the War Between the States, the Shenandoah just reeks with it, as does most of Virginia, with re-enactments all over the place and museums and battlefields all around you. Word to the wise, as you go North in the Shenandoah (the Valley, as it is called), you are going down the Valley. Conversely, you go up the Valley as you go South. The is because the Valley rises in altitude as it goes South.
If you are into things Scottish, some of the best Highland Games on the East Coast are at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, not too far South of Roanoke. You can stay in Boone, NC, and drive over, but make any reservations very early, as it is very popular, indeed.
There are folk festivals all up and down the Shenandoah region and the Blue Ridge, if such attract you. I know that Winchester, at the North end of the Valley has a good one in the Fall.
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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
