Excited to be coming to Roanoke for the first time...... (Salem: fit in, day care)

[Mumof3]

Hi All,

I have posted about Roanoke and the surrounding areas before and had some very worthwhile comments back.. now I will finally get to see the place for myself. My husband and I are coming next week for 3 days..We are so excited..kids are going into a 24hr day care place so to be child - free will be a treat in itself!! Anyway, I was wondering what all you knowledgable VA folk out there would suggest we do for those 3 days..actually my husband has a job interview on the Monday..so I guess we only have the weekend..so where would you go for those 2 days..what can you suggest?? We of course would like to fit in some of the surrounding areas like Salem etc..and to look at a couple of houses for potential homes for us...but other than that we will be free...(how I like the sound of that word!!!) I particularly like cultural activities like Museums/Artsy type places and of course fantastic looking scenery....husband pretty much goes along with that as well...he does enjoy a drink occasionally so any good bars/pubs we could hunt down would be great??? I am not sure about the hotel yet...but we are getting a car for the time we will be there....Any and all information would be very acceptable!!!! Thank you - Mumof3

[EricD]

I'd suggest at least driving around in the 'old southwest' section of town... all the old houses are something that I at least enjoy seeing

[smalltownusa]

Originally Posted by Mumof3

Hi All,

I have posted about Roanoke and the surrounding areas before and had some very worthwhile comments back.. now I will finally get to see the place for myself. My husband and I are coming next week for 3 days..We are so excited..kids are going into a 24hr day care place so to be child - free will be a treat in itself!! Anyway, I was wondering what all you knowledgable VA folk out there would suggest we do for those 3 days..actually my husband has a job interview on the Monday..so I guess we only have the weekend..so where would you go for those 2 days..what can you suggest?? We of course would like to fit in some of the surrounding areas like Salem etc..and to look at a couple of houses for potential homes for us...but other than that we will be free...(how I like the sound of that word!!!) I particularly like cultural activities like Museums/Artsy type places and of course fantastic looking scenery....husband pretty much goes along with that as well...he does enjoy a drink occasionally so any good bars/pubs we could hunt down would be great??? I am not sure about the hotel yet...but we are getting a car for the time we will be there....Any and all information would be very acceptable!!!! Thank you - Mumof3

Mum,
I'm anxious to read the responses to your post as we too are planning to head to Roanoke in a few years so we want to find as much as we can about the "where's" and "what's".....our kids will be grown and out and about by then so we're at different stages but nevertheless I fell in love with Roanoke years and years ago and have only dreamed of heading back in my "older" years.....good luck with your search!!!!

[pammybear]

Hi there! I have lived in Roanoke for almost a year. I guess I would drive around the neighborhoods to get a feel for the area. Also, downtown Center in the Square as interesting shops, eateries (MarketPlace) Science and Art Museum, If you have time, going to see Natural Bridge which isn't too far away is an awesome place, definately drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, maybe a winery like Chateu Morissette. Maybe have stop at the Hotel Roanoke for a drink or an expensive but nice lunch! Have a nice trip and let us know how it goes!!

Pam

[seanpecor]

Check out downtown Roanoke! Check out the Mill Mountain Theatre at the Center on the Square to see if they have a weekend show. For dinner, if you want to splurge, consider Alexanders or the brand new restaurant "202 Market" on the city market. If you want a more affordable meal in a family friendly and historic restaurant consider "The Roanoker" it's just off the colonial avenue exit of I-581. Downtown there are lots of good restaurants including Macadoos (spelling?) and Awful Arthurs. If you like museums, right in downtown Roanoke is the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the Western Virginia Museum of Art (the new museum space is being built right now, check out the webcam ), the Science Museum at Center on the Square, ...

I agree with other folks; definitely drive around parts of Old Southwest in Roanoke. One interesting and very fun place to shop/tour is Black Dog Salvage in Old Southwest ( http://www.blackdogsalvage.com/ ). Don't miss the Mill Mountain Star Overlook ( map http://visitroanokeva.com/facilityde...D=279&DID=5816 ).

I urge you, if Saturday is a nice day, to drive down to Booker T Washington National Monument ( http://www.nps.gov/bowa ). You'll accomplish a few things: you'll drive down I-581 South, which turns into Route 220 South, and you'll enjoy a pastoral country drive through Roanoke and Franklin County. Enjoy the monument/historic park and either drive further on down Route 122 to see Smith Mountain Lake (only minutes away from Booker T), or you can turn back around and head back to Roanoke. You might stop by Homestead Creamery, which will be on your left about 2 miles down the road as you leave Booker T and are on your way back to Roanoke. At Homestead you'll enjoy some of the best ice cream in the world

These are just a few things to consider. Hope this helps.

Sean

[roanoker 4]

I would suggest driving 460East to Bedford(see the D Day Memorial) then drive the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Peaks of Otter Lodge for lunch or dinner. Stroll around the lake and enjoy the quiet and solitude of the mountains and feel the fresh, cool mountain air. Come back to Roanoke and try out the new
Irish Pub in town, "Annie Moore's" on Rt. 419 in sw Roanoke. It is an authentic pub with irish stew, shepherds pie and of course Irish beer. Most of Roanoke's nicest restaurants are centered in the downtown market area. Of note is METRO, an eclectic mix of urban sophistication and different combinations of world cuisine. My food critic friend from NYC visited recently and was quite impressed! Also, Carlos is known for its Brazilian food. Don't forget to visit the LINK museum downtown to view photos of the late O. Winston Link of locomotives. The Hotel Roanoke(downtown) is worth a peek at the English tudor style architecture. I understand a major spa is planned there soon. The "Lake" as everyone her calls it is only a short drive away.
Visit Bernards Landing for lunch or dinner, ride the Virginia Dare riverboat.
The scenery is spectacular. A lot to see here. Good Luck on your visit!!

[sand70]

What kind of place has 24-hour day care?? That sounds scary to me.

[Mumof3]

Originally Posted by sand70

What kind of place has 24-hour day care?? That sounds scary to me.

Only thing scary to me is the price - for 3 days it's costing us $500!!!! Yikes!!!

[Blacksburg1]

Hello Mumof3,

Looks like some good responses so far. Roanoke itself has plenty to do for 2 days. The Blue Ridge Parkway can be accessed from Roanoke as well, if you head south about 60 miles or so, you will get to Chateau Morisette (winery), there are some nice cabins to stay at down that way (maybe next trip?) such as- http://www.blueridgepassageresort.com/

Have fun!

[Mumof3]

Hi everyone,

Well, my husband and I just got back from Roanoke and we love it!!!! Everything about the place is perfect for us. I particularly loved the scenery surrounding Roanoke.

On the Saturday (as we only flew in on that morning) we had a wonderful tour of Roanoke and Salem from a marvelous realtor at Long and Foster called Glenna Bannister - I would really recommend her as someone who does know what she is talking about and she bought us lunch too!! Satuday night we went to downtown Roanoke and went to the Indian restaurant there - very nice...on the Sunday we went to the Roanoker for brunch and then travelled up to Smith Mountain Lake and just went all over looking at the scenery too. We stopped at Natural Bridge and did the tour of that - (really interesting!!) We then took the Blue Ridge Parkway home which of course is amazing. In the evening we couldn't resist going to Annie Moore's for dinner and we also went there the following night too. Great selection of beer!!! My husband was very pleased!!!

So, all in all, We hope to move to Roanoke in the near future. We also loved the traffic and how calm and clear the roads were.

I would just like to say how helpful this forum was as I printed out everyone's responses before going and referred to them the whole time I was there actually. Thanks everyone for your help again and We hope to be in Roanoke soon - as a family!!! - Mumof3