Sunday, Motor Man and I took a day trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Whether or not the fall foliage was ‘at peak’, we aren’t sure, but it certainly was a beautiful day for a drive.
In the past, we’ve driven up on the Blue Ridge Parkway or Skyline Drive, but those steep drop-offs are a bit daunting to me, so I suggested to Motor Man that we drive along in the valley and look UP at the mountains.
I love this sweet little red barn. (Long time readers of my blog may remember “Barn Charm”, a meme that I participated in for quite some time. I miss sharing photos of rustic old barns.) The sign at the lane read “Lucky Dog Farm”. I couldn’t help but wonder if the owners consider themselves “lucky dogs”, or if the farm was named after a family pet that had been fortunate in a special way.
We stopped at a couple of antique shops in Covesville and Nellysford. Then I remembered that we were in the area of Earl Hamner, Jr’s childhood home. You may recall that The Waltons tv show was based on his and his family’s life in the mountains of Virginia. I recalled that there was a “Walton’s” museum in the area. I “googled it” on my phone and discovered that we were just a few miles away.
It was an interesting destination with rooms in a former school building depicting settings in the Waltons’ home.
This was John Boy’s room. (Good night, John Boy.)
And the Waltons’ living room:
But the room that I seemed to remember the best was the kitchen:
I didn’t think to ask if any of the items in the museum were original to the show. There was also a wonderful 30-minute video featuring Earl Hamner and members of the cast, sharing their thoughts about the show. Of course, the memorable theme from the show was played in several parts of the video.
Just a short distance from the museum is the childhood home of Earl Hamner and his family. To the left, you can see a truck similar to the one from the show.
On the way home, we stopped at a couple of scenic overlooks. The angle of the sun made photos challenging.
It was another fun Sunday drive for us.
~These Days Of Mine
these days of mine 