RVA Traveler - Spring/Summer 2020

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SPRING/SUMMER 2020

FALLING FOR SPRING 36 sites to experience the heights of nature

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Mountains

Piedmont

Tidewater

Ocean

Rivers

Lakes

A CULINARY CAPE Eats, the beach and arts around Cape Charles / By Megan Wilson

Sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder. In the case of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, it also grows a bit more beautiful. Wedged apart from the mainland by the Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore is dotted with small towns, uncrowded beaches and quirky businesses that Sunset on Cape Charles have grown and evolved in a way that’s left them a little more untouched than the rest of the commonwealth.

Shops

Surf and Turf

After a bit of splashing, head to shore and explore Cape Charles, which is easy to do by foot. Shops such as Periwinkles

The main event here? The water. The best way to see it is

pick up the essence of the town. The consignment shop on

to get out on it. On the shore along Bay Avenue, the Cape

Mason Avenue carries a colorful collection of upscale clothing,

Charles Town Beach has access at the end of almost every

accessories, and home décor. For a laugh, visit Like a Sailor. The

block. There are no entrance or parking fees on this side of

gift shop, a blend between a toy store and a Spencer’s, has a

the bay. Get a bit of height by heading to the Cape Charles

sign that recommends leaving the kids outside. Other fine arts

Fishing Pier, which is adjacent to the beach. Grab a seat on

galleries and jewelry stores are packed with unique blends of

a bench to watch the boats come and go, or get on your feet

gems, paintings and sculptures.

and take advantage of the town’s saltwater fishing license for the pier. The general public is allowed to go crabbing or

Eats and Treats

fishing without individual licenses.

Many locals share a love for The Oyster Farm. Located at a marina and event venue on the northern side of town, the Farm’s restaurant serves both classic and progressive seafood dishes fresh from the bay with a panoramic view. Dacha Tea calls for long afternoons with friends. The traditional and colorful and pastries in addition to tea. For a snack between the beach and your home base, stop in to Brown Dog Ice Cream for a scoop (or several) of the shop’s dozens of creative homemade flavors like Italian Cream and Coconut Almond Crunch.

Libations For something a little more wet, there are several spots where you can have a drink, often with a twist. Buskey Cider has an outpost in Cape Charles. It’s the only cider tasting room on the Eastern Shore, and it’s fermented in Richmond. For something stronger, the Cape Charles Distillery on Strawberry Street serves small-batch bourbon, whiskies, vodka and moonshine. Hang out with the locals at Kelly’s Gingernut Buskey Cider

Pub, located in a 106-year-old former bank; it has 12 craft beers on tap and a full-service bar.

Save the

DATE 38

May 30: Crabby Blues Festival. This annual fundraiser for the Cape Charles Christian School features fresh crabs for picking — of course — as well as music, a silent auction and more at Cape Charles Central Park. 3-8 p.m. cccsesva.org

From top: David Broad; Courtesy Eastern Shore Tourism Commission

Russian tea house features a selection of Russian soups, salads

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Mountains

Piedmont

Tidewater

Ocean

Rivers

Lakes

A CABIN IN THE WOODS At your leisure around Claytor Lake, Radford and Pulaski / By Kari Smith

I have always loved the mountains, but add a lake, and I’m in heaven. After passing Blacksburg, I arrived at Claytor Lake, which stretches 21 miles along the New River in Pulaski County.

Claytor Lake State Park borders the lake along a 3-mile stretch of waterfront. The park features accommodations ranging from RV and tent camping to yurts and lodges. The cabins that I checked into are #lakelife embodied, and I didn’t hesitate to curl up in a rocking chair on the porch overlooking the water.

For a break from the water, head southwest to Draper Mercantile — known as “The Merc” to locals — which has prepared food, groceries, shopping, live entertainment and more.

Radford Haunts

Art installation by the late Dorothy Gillespie

Start your visit to nearby Radford at Glencoe Mansion. The refurbished 19th-century home serves as a visitors’

Claytor Lake

center, gallery and gift shop.

Head

downstairs

to watch a video depicting the life of Mary Draper Ingles, who in the 1700s escaped capture by the Shawnee to return to her home in Radford. From the front porch, view a bronze statue in her likeness overlooking the river.

While you’re in town, look for colorful outdoor art installations by the late Dorothy Gillespie, which are on loan until June.

From top: Courtesy Virginia State parks; Courtesy Radford’s Visitor Center

Foodies should check out Radford’s Thai This Express. This food-truckturned-restaurants menu came about when owner Mama Jang couldn’t find her beloved Thai food in

Stay and Play

the area. Dishes ranging from authentic to “adventurous” are

Though cell phone service is blessedly available in the park, the

delicious, affordable and served by a delightful staff.

cabins offer a retreat from screens and the internet. I had the

For a scary change of pace, tour St. Albans Haunted House

option to prepare meals inside the fully stocked kitchen or out-

— Mayhem Manor. The facility was built as a boys’ school in

side on the charcoal grill, enjoying the results on the screened

1892, then it reopened in 1916 as St. Albans Sanatorium. Folks

porch or a picnic table. For a timeout from cabin cooking, head

line up for tours of the facility each fall, and it’s visited year-

to Al’s on First in nearby downtown Pulaski for elegant but ap-

round by ghost hunters and paranormal investigators.

proachable food in a casual dining room.

For a more wholesome experience, sit on the comfy couch-

If you’re not staying in the park, visit Rock House Marina in

es at Radford Coffee Co. and sip an espresso. Its walls are lined

Pulaski, which offers slip rentals, concessions, live music, and

with artwork depicting children on the Rio Coco in Nicaragua

paddle boats and kayaks for rent.

who are supported by the shop’s profits.

Save the

DATE

JUNE 13: 2020 Claytor Lake Beach Festival. This event includes a car show, music performances, food and vendors, and it ends with fireworks. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin. claytorlakefestival.org

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Mountains

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Ocean

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Lakes

the Virginia side of the lake: Pea Hill in Brunswick, Poplar Creek and Steel Bridge in Mecklenburg.

Wild Things Located just south of the Kerr Dam between Buggs Island Lake and Lake Gaston, Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area is a 1,400-acre site maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. A popular dove shooting grounds, it’s also open to bird watchers. Dick Cross is also a nationally renowned site for bird-dog field trials.

Stay Lake

Gaston

Americamps in

Bracey is the only campground on

A SPORTING LIFE Lake Gaston is home to an abundance of wild things — and some wilder things, too / By D. Hunter Reardon

From top: Courtesy Mecklenburg County Tourism; Getty Images

Like its upriver cousin Buggs Island Lake, Lake Gaston is a reservoir on the Roanoke River at the Virginia and North Carolina border. This reservoir is 35 miles long, covering 20,000 acres, and it’s home to a community of 150,000 shoreline residents in North Carolina and into Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties in Virginia. Fishing, boating and hunting are prime attractions here, but there’s also a vineyard to explore. And if you look a bit further afield, you’ll find a museum dedicated to exotic and legendary beasts.

On the Water

the Virginia side of the reservoir. It offers 120 overnight camping sites, including accommodations for large RVs. All sites have fire rings, electricity, running water and amp hookups, and there are eight four-bed cabins and two bathhouses, too. There is also a swimming pool, a miniature golf course and a store.

Vintage Experiences Rosemont Vineyards, a family-owned vineyard and winery in La Crosse, is located a few miles from Lake Gaston on the 450acre Rosemont Estate. All wines offered are grown and pressed on site, from pinot grigio to cabernet; the signature wine is a Bordeaux-style blend called Kilravock. Rosemont Vineyards is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. A tasting fee is $10, and estate tours are free.

Wilder Things Those looking for a good scare can take the trip from Lake Gaston to the nearby Cryptozoology and Paranormal Museum.

The museum is inside of an allegedly haunted house in Lit-

Lake Gaston is a prime spot for

tleton, North Carolina, a town

largemouth bass fishing, and

known for Sasquatch sightings.

striper are often caught near the

The museum is home to Bigfoot

John H. Kerr Dam just upstream

print casts, UFO photographs

on the Roanoke River. Lake Gas-

and a haunted doll, among other

ton is also home to channel cat-

items. Hours are from 1 to 7 p.m.

fish, blue catfish, chain pickerel

daily, and admission is free. A

and bluegill, and each year, the

festival will be held April 25 at the

Virginia Department of Game

museum that will feature speak-

and Inland Fisheries stocks the

ers including paranormal investi-

lake with walleye. There are

gators and cryptozoologists. Fes-

three public boating ramps on

tival tickets are $25.

Save the

DATE

JUNE 20: 12th Annual Art and Wine Festival. Thirty-five artists and artisans will exhibit their work around the Rosemont Vineyards estate.

A $10 commemorative festival wineglass is offered for anyone to taste or drink wine. Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. rosemontofvirginia.com

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A SENSE OF PLACE

From the Blue Ridge to Hampton Roads, you’ll find a plethora of festivals and events that celebrate Virginia’s unique cultures, foods and destinations. Here’s a sampling:

MAY 2

JUNE 27

MAY 15-17 Appalachian Trail Days, Damascus. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the downtown of this Southwest Virginia mountain community, and this festival serves as a homecoming and a gathering of trail veterans and enthusiasts. Events include music performances, a hiker parade, workshops and a variety of vendors. traildays.us

JUNE 6-7 Occoquan Riverfest. This Prince William County village takes advantage of its Occoquan River frontage to stage an event with food, a beer garden, river cruises and other watery activities, as well as a juried artisan walk. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 6; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 7. occoquanva.gov

JUNE 12-13 Pearisburg Festival in the Park. Familyfocused fun, featuring carnival rides and games, crafters, food and entertainment in the 36th edition of this festival at the Pearisburg Community Center. 6 to 11 p.m. on June 12; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on June 13. See Facebook.

JUNE 15-20 Sesquicentennial, West Point. The town marks its 150th anniversary with events throughout the week, but the big blowout is on June 20, following the Chesty Puller Memorial Twin Bridge 10K that morning, with activities throughout the town. @townofwestpointva

JUNE 17 Pride Party on the Peninsula. Festival held at the Hampton Carousel Park in downtown Hampton offers entertainment including drag performers, a DJ and food from local eateries.

There’s also a drag cruise on the Hampton River, a fundraiser for the Hampton Roads LGBT Life Center. visithampton.com/prideparty

JUNE 20 Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom Gospel Event. The Booker T. Washington National Monument, the site in Hardy commemorating the birthplace of the noted African American educator, hosts this event, which marks the day in June 1865 that a Union general in Texas issued an order stating that enslaved people were free. The event includes activities for children, food, living history interpretations and gospel music. 11 a.m. nps.gov

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Go With The Flow Music and Brewfest. A wide, shallow turn on the New River is a great place for a festival, and the expanse of green in the town park at Fries is the site for this fest, which features the titular music and beer. Expect craft brews from more than a dozen breweries at this petfriendly event. $10 and up. Noon to 8 p.m. gowiththeflowbrewfest.com

JULY 3 Summer Jam, Massanutten Resort. Three bands, a main stage, an abundance of activities for kids, adult beverages and food trucks, followed with fireworks to cap the evening, are just some of the attractions for this event. $15 in advance, $20 at gate, no charge for ages 7 and younger. Benefits the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA. 5 to 10 p.m. massresort.com

JULY 4 An American Celebration, George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The home of the first president is a most appropriate site to mark Independence Day, with military re-enactments and period cannon fire, daytime fireworks over the Potomac River and free birthday cake. The general and Mrs. Washington will be on hand, and the National Concert Band performs. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. mountvernon.org

AUG. 3-8 Old Fiddlers’ Convention, Galax. This mountain music celebration features fiddlers old and young at the city’s Felts Park, in a event that dates from 1935. There are also other traditional musicians playing and competing, including dobroists, guitarists, and mandolin and banjo players, plus folk song and dance competitions, too. oldfiddlersconvention.com

AUG. 22 Smith River Fest, Axton. Outdoor fun is the focus of this festival along the Smith River in Martinsville and Franklin County, which includes a 5K mud run, a 4.8-mile river race, paddle trips, equipment rentals on site, free shuttles, music, a beer garden, vendors, and a petting zoo and other activities for children. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. smithriverfest.com

SEPT. 5-6 Arts and Crafts Show on the Boardwalk, Colonial Beach. This Labor Day weekend event, which has been going strong for more than 50 years, features crafters, artisans and artists on both sides of the city’s boardwalk. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. colonialbeach.org

SEPT. 12 Taste of Suffolk. The downtown street festival offers a chance to sample specialties from local restaurants and a beer garden, as well as activities for children, music and other performances, and various crafters, vendors and merchants. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tasteofsuffolkva.com

From Top: Courtesy Pearisburg Festival; Courtesy Go with the Flow Music and Brewfest

Chincoteague Seafood Festival. This is the 52nd edition of this event, held each year on the first Saturday in May at Tom’s Cove Park to celebrate the commonwealth’s seafood industry. Indulge in fare from littleneck clams to steamed shrimp, and also check out arts and crafts, entertainment and dancing. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. chincoteaguechamber.com

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