Don’s Air Service
Conveniently found at the Air & Space Museum
The love of my life, the sunshine of my existence turned 60 this week. Where did the time go? It seems like yesterday we were standing in Santa Maria Church taking our vows. Except it was almost 38 years ago. I honestly don’t feel any older. Although I feel significantly wiser. Don’s 50th birthday celebration was epic. We had an enormous party at Rancho Russo with DJs, fireworks, old friends and relatives and of course no party is complete unless the police arrive. That night his baseball team won the championship and the whole team arrived after winning the game. How could I out party that party? Impossible.
I decided instead to provide him with a gift that he would appreciate the most.
Despite his expressed sentiment, he really did like the gift.
He has been loving his new hot tub. (O.K I’ve been loving it too) However, I still wanted to provide something special for his birthday, so we decided to look at his rewards and saw that we could get a couple of days of free hotel rooms down in Roanoke, VA.
Why not? We’ve never been there before.
A little research shows that Roanoke got it’s start as Big Lick, VA. The expanding railroad actually made the town although the beauty of the Roanoke Valley could stand alone for making it a desirable destination.
The Roanoke Valley from a higher altitude.
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway you will find Mill Mountain and the famous Roanoke Star. It reminds me of Bethlehem, PA and the Star of Bethlehem that is on the mountaintop there (see our Bethlehem post). A camera on the site live streams from the Star via the Roanoke government website. I put a screen shot of us on that location on our Facebook page. We called our bestie, Becky, and had her get on the computer to witness us live time while we had her on the cell phone. (Isn’t technology wonderful?)
We had a wonderful 60th Birthday dinner at a restaurant in downtown Roanoke called, LUCKY. I selected it and booked our reservation through the Open Table app (you get points for completing the reservation which you can cash in for money for your dinners – my brother-in-law, the amazing Darren Petronella, turned us on to this little gem.) I chose this restaurant because it has a seasonal menu of semi-locally sourced food, fresh oysters and an amazing bar. They did not disappoint and if you are in the Roanoke downtown area I highly recommend them. Interestingly, our cab driver had no GPS and I had to direct her to the restaurant via Google Maps. (Don was a NYC cab driver before we married and was incredulous that this broad didn’t know where she was going.)
They played classic rock and the check was brought to you with a 45 rpm record as a clipboard.
The following day we had planned a busy agenda. We went up to Mill Mountain to check out the Roanoke Star and the magnificent view.
The Roanoke Star
a must do when in the area.
While up on the mountain we came across some random graffiti, which I love and had to capture to share.
Random face on the mountain.
Damian on the rocks.
The Tiger Lilly holds special significance for Don & I. It’s “our flower”.
When we finished checking out the view up on Mill Mountain we headed back to the downtown area and went to see the Virginia Transportation Museum.
The 611 is a historic engine that is out now doing excursions.
The museum has both inside and outside exhibits as it is located along an active rail line.
Damian obtained an artifact. Coal from the engine 611 as it fired up to go on it’s excursion for the 4th of July.
There’s even a Jupiter missile at the Virginia Transportation Museum.
When we completed our inside tour of the museum there was a “railwalk” that ran along the still active rail track. It had exhibits and let you blow an actual train whistle and bell. This walk led to the Market district of downtown Roanoke.
The Market district in Downtown Roanoke.
A trek along the market district with it’s many restaurants and shops left us hungry and we had a satisfying lunch of Thai food. When we finished, it was time to check out Black Dog Salvage Company, the basis for the DIY Network’s show: Salvage Dogs.
The Black Dog Salvage Yard. If only I had a truck and money!
It’s no secret that I love “junk” (Don’s words, not mine.) Black Dog Salvage has a fantastic collection of architectural salvage materials coupled with a shop that houses many artisans who repurpose architectural finds into new and fun objects. My creative juices were flowing looking at all that raw material! Finally, it was hot and humid and the pool at our hotel was calling Damian’s name so we headed back for a little splash time.
When you are 60 you need a nap poolside.
Despite our extensive walking, we decided to finish our day in true “old folks” fashion by doing a mile in the Tanglewood Mall. Honestly, this is the most boring mall I have ever encountered. I don’t know how they stay in business. There are some anchor old time stores like J. C. Penney & Belk and a few specialties like Bath & Body Shop but otherwise it is a snoozer. Do not waste your time. The only highlight was the Kroger supermarket. This provided us with a very low cost and healthy dinner.
All in all I think Don enjoyed his birthday. I know he missed his hot tub while we were gone. Fortunately, that is something he can continue to enjoy for quite some time. God willing, I hope to spend many more happy birthdays with him.
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