By: MJ + PJ
FIRST PASS (3 days; headed to PA/NY)
Because ‘Virginia is for Lovers’, we rolled into Virginia on our wedding anniversary. Nailed it! We booked a hotel room since we arrived in the dark after a long drive and had no idea where we were. There were a few places we wanted to see on our way to New York (which had a target date frame) but we were in no immediate hurry since we were already heading in that general direction.
Upon completing the hotel check in, MJ asked the quite jolly desk person “What’s going on around here at the moment?”. She replied “In Hillsville, not much really. But there is the Fiddler’s Convention in Galax starting this week”. This convention became our target for the next few days. The Old Time Fiddler’s Convention is the oldest and largest in the world and is in it’s 83rd year, running for a week. Performers from the town itself, from around the region, and a few from around the world come to meet, jam, perform and talk all things that fall under the category of acoustic stringed instruments.
MJ has a distaste for the OMG acronym, but this was clearly serendipity of OMG proportions. It was mainly because the only day we could see (day one) was the children’s competition – something that AJ needed to see but didn’t necessarily want to see [wink wink]. However, we sensed that we were more excited about it than he was.
In the meantime we headed up the Roanoke to meet up with family and hang out for a few hours since it was a Sunday. We gathered and caught up at the Big Lick Brewing Company for a few hours, experiencing an uncanny encounter with two cats in a window that looked just like the ones we had for about 14 years. While getting some ice creams we found out that there was a free music in the park event a few miles away, so we sat down there for an hour or so before parting ways.
Our campsite ended up being a picturesque lakeside overlook tucked away in the hills only 72 miles but 100 minutes from Galax. We gradually learned that getting anywhere on the central East Coast takes more time unless you are traveling straight along a valley highway in a SW-NE direction. There are a lot of winding roads. We would stay there two nights and take some time to relax a little.
The Fiddler’s Convention competition started in the late afternoon, about 5pm. We Headed into Galax around noon and parked outside Barrs Fiddle Shop AJ wanted to go in, so we did and ended up having a conversation with three local folk – they filled us in on the convention history, gave some local advice, and informed us about the adjoining shop. That shop was the point of genesis for country music, coming from a group of ‘old time’ musicians. We believe them! Too bad Bristol! Take that, Nashville!
After walking the Main Street and having a late lunch in a quiet cafe, we settled down on the large concrete stadium that faces the performance stage. AJ couldn’t sit still so found a tennis ball and threw it around in the stadium shadows while MJ and PJ watched the performers (…so much for peer motivation). It was a mix of those under 15 years old, with the youngest being 5 years old. We were able to watch the fiddle and mandolin sections, these having about 15-20 performers in each. Each performer had to perform a known or traditional fiddle or bluegrass piece. We heard Cripple Creek about 10 times so now know it well. There were some very cute performances and some very impressive ones, and the crowd was very supportive.
Galax was one of the friendliest cities we have visited. Everyone was so nice. They welcomed and greeted us with a smile, and they were eager to start a conversation. We were very impressed Galax! The next day we headed to Hershey in Pennsylvania, for you know what.
SECOND PASS (12 days; after MD and D.C.)
We left Washington D.C early afternoon and drove a few hours south to PJ’s sister’s house near Charlottesville. After failing to find Bergers cookies in both Maryland and in Washington DC we were able to secure a pack as we drove through Virginia. Apparently these cookies are a must do (eat) when in Baltimore but we were not so impressed, sorry.
The first few days were fairly exciting. Shenandoah National Park was our last US National Park, and AJ earned his last Junior Ranger Badge, albeit the following weekend since we couldn’t find a ranger on the first day there. Then we visited a few local breweries with family, as well as a local street fair and some wineries. We were able to see a polo match and drink wine at King Family Vinyards, which seemed like a reasonable way to spend the best part of a Sunday afternoon. Getting to this stage of our adventure was going to be tough, as there were some teary farewells to be had to family, but hopefully we will rendezvous down the road soon.
Monticello, which is all things Thomas Jefferson, is on the back of the US nickel. He had quite the operation going on there, and there is plenty of history to experience there. We spent a day there exploring in the heat and humidity, despite it being on a hilltop.
AJ had a fun time being with his cousins, learning to play all manner of video games with them. He also found a friend called Vader, their dog, who was more than willing to bounce around inside and out of the house, and then lay on top of each other when the batteries needed recharging.
The last week of our time in Virginia and the US was less exciting and more like working overtime to get a lot of things done, including:
- Cleaning out and selling the car
- Organizing flights and accommodation for the month ahead
- Working on visas
- Closing accounts
- Working on professional CEUs
- Preparing a box to send to Australia
- Trying to get the website up to date and our social media more efficient
- Downsizing, packing and repacking our international bags
- Keeping our kid busy while we pulled 12 hour days of organizing stuff
- Figuring out the final vaccine, getting prophylactic malaria medication, and getting our seasonal flu shots
Despite this surge in organizational activity, we still had a list of things to do when we flew out of the country. We had played our time in North America hard, but now it was time for a change of scene and pace and transportation methods. This started with a train to Washington D.C., then learning Uber quickly, and finally getting on an overnight flight to… BRAZIL
