The Journey is Long

I woke up in Roanoke with the feeling that I needed to get out on Shadowfax one more time before we skipped town.  I had an hour and a half before Brett wanted to leave, and the sky was overcast with no rain, so I headed out for a quick ride.  I took the River Greenway the opposite direction I had the last two days.  It felt good to be out on such a cool summer morning after having just woken up.  Like most physical endeavors I undertake, once I pushed through my initial resistance and got started, I was glad I did.  There were several joggers, walkers, and other cyclists enjoying the greenway and the beautiful day as well.  I passed through a park, and saw a detour sign due to some construction where the greenway met the road.  I wasn't sure if it was meant for just the greenway exit, or if the trail continued.  I followed the direction of the sign's arrow, but it didn't seem to lead anywhere.  Then a cyclist on one of those 18 speed road bikes came along.  He appeared to be an avid rider who knew where he was going, so I decided I would follow him.  I was curious to see how well I could keep up with his pace, and it turned out Shadowfax and I did just fine.  Granted, he wasn't traveling at his top speed, but then again, neither was I.  The Brompton's small-wheel design doesn't seem to drastically affect its performance.  I maintained a constant distance, but stayed back enough so as not to make my unwitting guide nervous. I followed him to downtown Roanoke, through an industrial district, and eventually back to the Town of Vinton, near where I was yesterday.  He turned down a quiet residential street, and I decided it was a good time to end my tour.  He was too far to hear me, but I thanked him for the lift and headed back.  I returned in time for a final meal by Anne Marie, a vegetarian breakfast burrito; today was already off to a good start!  We packed up the van, said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts, and hit the road towards Blacksburg, VA.  Brett had an appointment to see a man about a canoe.

After our kayak adventure yesterday, Brett found a canoe on craigslist.  His plan is to replace Papaw's damaged boat and do some fishing on the property's larger pond.  We drove an hour and met the seller at his home.  He was a friendly guy, and the canoe, a Coleman Journey, seemed to be in good shape.  The price was right, so Brett sealed the deal.  It took us all a while to figure out the best way to secure the Journey to the top of Mini Pearl, but eventually, we tied it down to the roof rack and headed to our friend Tara's house in Blacksburg.

 This guy's story seems to hold water.

Mini Pearl ready for the Journey

Tara is part of our extended camp family from Suwannee Springfest and Magnolia Fest in Live Oak, FL.  She was at FloydFest and introduced us to Anne Marie and Keel, our hosts in Roanoke.  Tara lives in Blackburg and invited us to stay at her house with her husband, Chris, and their three kids while we're in town.  We're also playing a concert for her family and neighbors tomorrow.  We arrived at her place and got settled in.  The Journey seemed to have done just fine atop Mini Pearl, so we figured we'd just leave it there until we return to Brett's grandparents' place.  Mikey and I had shared a room at Anne Marie's, but I got my own guest room at Tara's.  We didn't have a whole lot of time before today's gig, so I knocked out some push-ups and planks, and we headed to the gig.

My new digs

Tippecanoe and Mikey, too!

We played the Steppin' Out Festival, which turned out to be pretty awesome; it's a huge street festival spread out all over downtown Blacksburg.  We played from 5:20pm to 6:20pm on the Acoustic Stage.  The weather was perfect, the soundman (whom we had worked with at Martin's Downtown in Roanoke) was pro, the crowd was amazing, and we played great.  Today was a good day!  After talking with some nice folks after the show,  I got the chance to walk around the festival for a bit; it was no small affair!  I hope we can come back again.

By the time we returned to Tara's house, I still had about an hour of daylight, and Shadowfax was itchin' to see some of Blacksburg.  Tara's husband Chris suggested a quiet two-lane road up into the hills for a quick bike ride.  It was a great suggestion and a good workout.  It's a good thing I've been training -- Such hills!  I was able to make it to an area called Heritage Park which had a short bike path that cut through the farmland.  It's probably for the best that I found this trail and that it had a clear end.  The two-lane road went on for I don't know how long, and I might have been tempteed to follow it longer than was prudent considering the encroaching darkness.  However, the sense of completion provided by the path helped me make the sensible decision to head back in the waning daylight.  During my ride, I saw two deer, a rabbit (sorry, Brett!), and a creature I didn't recognize.  When I described the mystery critter to Brett as a kind of skinny beaver without the flat tail, he said it sounded like a nutria.  Sure enough, when I googled nutria, aka coypu or river rat, it looked about right.

So how did outlaw bluegrass band Grandpa's Cough Medicine spend their rare Saturday night off?  We stayed home with Tara's family and a few neighbors who stopped by.  We're in bars and other venues late on most Friday and Saturday evenings, and none of us is a family man himself, so it was a pleasant change to simply relax with our friends and their kids.  As for tomorrow, there are plenty of bike paths to explore around here, and a nearby waterfall hike we've heard about.  Of course, there's also Tara's block concert in the afternoon.  Plus, I know Brett's eager to get back to his grandparents' and try out his new Journey canoe.  I'll just have to wait and see where the day takes me.

Keep on rockin'!

- Jon