No parking
Roanokers love the Grandin Village. It’s a great place to have dinner (all local restaurants), catch a movie at the Grandin Theatre, shop at the Natural Foods Coop and stroll down the sidewalk.
And it’s the sidewalk that is the subject of this email. I was picking up a pizza from Grace’s Pizzeria (one of the two best pizza joints in Roanoke) and as I was walking out, I couldn’t help but notice this large SUV parked directly on the sidewalk. The hilarious part is the sign right beside the offending vehicle.
So all you bicyclists and skateboarders keep off the sidewalk. The SUVs need the space. :o)
A new design and I’m back from a break!
Well, it’s July, life is good and summer is in full swing. The waves are calling, folks are traveling (maybe not as far as normal with the price of gas!) and I’m back from a “blogging break” with a new site look and some new features coming down the pike for the site.
Every time I turn on the television, there’s bad news about the economy, real estate and the foreclosure crisis. There is truth amongst all the scare mongering, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Houses are still selling. If you’re looking to sell your home and buy a new home, it’s a good time. If you’re a first-time buyer with decent credit and income, it’s a great time to buy! So what are you waiting for?
Five things you might not know about me
Jeremy Hart asked Stuart Mease who tapped me for this meme as a way to share information from blogger to blogger to increase exposure and give a more personal touch to a blog. So here you go-
- I am an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America. As a Boy Scout I was able to do a lot of amazing things and take some really fantastic trips to places like Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico!
- I spent almost 7 years in jail from 1998-2005. (I actually worked there as a magistrate!) One midnight shift I smashed a giant jail roach with a volume from the Code of Virginia, quite literally throwing the book at it.
- While in college I volunteered with the Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department as a cardiac technician on the rescue squad. Saw many tragic things.
- We have a golden retriever named Rooster. He’s a mischievous fellow and likes to raid the laundry for his favorite item to play keep-away…our socks.
- I worked for 4 summers at Camp Bethel near Troutville on the summer staff. One of the things I enjoyed most was working as the naturalist and one of my assumed responsibilities was to rid the main areas of any snakes that wondered in. I was given the nickname “Snakeman” by the kids!
So it is now time to pass this along to someone else. I think I will tap Todd Hester and Rhett Fleitz.
It just makes me happy
I’m not sure if it’s the music, the carefree dancing or both together, but Matt Harding has it done right in his videos of himself dancing in remote and not-so-remote places around the world. His first video was a viral hit and landed him a second sponsored opportunity to produce a new video on behalf of Stride gum. Way to go Matt! Life should be this much fun for all of us! Thanks to my lovely wife Allison for pointing out this guy’s brilliance and zest for life.
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Steve Irwin
I just learned today that Steve Irwin, better known as The Crocodile Hunter, passed away yesterday while filming an upcoming show in Australia. He was 44.
I first encountered Steve on television many years ago on the Discovery Channel before he was wildly popular and instantly loved his enthusiasm, care and dedication to the animals he was caring for at the Australia Zoo and those he brought into our living rooms. I really gained a deep respect for Steve-O when I watched one of his episodes where he was rescuing partially burned lizards and other animals from a grass fire. He was truly emotional and genuine and the real advocate for animals showed through.
I am shocked and deeply saddened at the loss of such a great environmentalist and family man. Allison and I extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Terri, daughter Bindi Sue and son Robert Clarence as well as his dad Bob and the staff and friends of the Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast of Australia.
Steve, this simple memorial can’t express the joy and enthusiasm you’ve given to me over the years. Thanks mate.
Hiking in Botetourt County
It was my birthday on Friday so I decided to take a hike in the Jefferson National Forest in Botetourt County near Troutville.
It had rained during the night so the woods were good and wet, which normally can lead to an uncomfortable hiking experience, but I also know that certain woodland critters come out after a rain so I was keeping an eye out for them. The picture is several Red Efts I discovered during my Botetourt foray. They are the terrestrial stage of the Red-spotted Newt which is a salamander that can often be found in woodland ponds and springs. I also came across another species of salamander in a creek (not yet identified) when I was flipping over some rocks, and of course there were quite a few crawfish in the creek as well.
You can view more of my photos from this hike on my new Flickr account.
Happy Anniversary!
Today is the 9th anniversary of the day my lovely wife Allison and I were married! We spent a lovely day traveling to Warm Springs, stopping along the way at a lovely tea room on Route 11 (in Amsterdam) in Botetourt County where we enjoyed a piping hot kettle of strawberry tea and freshly made (and I do mean fresh) bagels. It was an excellent stop. We made it to The Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs where we spent over an hour soaking in the warm mineral springs and then drove to Lexington for dinner at the Southern Inn. It was a wonderful day and evening!
I-81 Community Building
As I was travelling down I-81 yesterday near Dixie Caverns, there was a furniture truck that had overturned and was in the process of being righted. The entertaining part of the whole scene, was my fellow travellers headed southbound who had obviously been waiting for quite a while for the accident to be cleared up (it was blocking both lanes).
There were people gathered in groups just talking and interacting with their fellow stranded motorists. I saw a little girl rollerskating on the Interstate, several boys throwing a football in the median and a man chipping golf balls in the median. It was an interesting sight and I enjoyed it. Traffic was backed up for over 5 miles, yikes!
Green Frog gives one for the team
Today I was fortunate enough to stand for my friend Ric as a groomsman at his wedding in West Virginia. It was an outside wedding and started to look like it was going to rain but we were fortunate that the rain held off until the tent was being packed away many hours after the ceremony.
It was a harrowing day for me personally and I’m glad to be back at home in Roanoke, dry and frogless. My adventures starts when I was walking up to the front of the tent to stand with the groom and groomsmen and I passed by a flaming torch which quite nearly engulfed my shoulder (while I was blissfully unaware). During the ceremony, a black wasp was flying around harrassing the soon to be wedded couple, minister and best man. It soon turned its attention to myself and as I watched it fly around me (while trying not to make a move) it soon disappeared. I found out later from Rocky behind me, it had crawled up under the back of my sports coat. I feel fortunate not to have aggravated it at that point. And finally, during the reception I spotted a Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota). Being the amateur herpetologist that I am, I decided to step in front of him to prevent his escape into the creek. Hong Kong Froggy then takes a flying leap over my foot while at the same time letting loose with a stream of frog urine that would make many a horse jealous. His stream of watery defense strikes me square in the ankle and leg, wetting my pants leg and sock. At this point, I find it’s best to leave him be.
All in all it was a fun and exciting day. Many heartfelt congratulations and blessings to Ric and Sharon!
Back in Roanoke
Well I’m glad to be back in Roanoke after a week-long vacation in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. I had a great time with my family (even though I spent the first two days sick and in bed) as we visited the beach for many walks at all times of the day and night, dining and general all-around beach activities.
It amazes me the price of real estate down there. A single half-acre lot near the beach can go from $399,000 to $699,000. That’s just for the land people, it doesn’t include the home to go on it! It makes me glad to live in an area like Roanoke where the real estate is much more reasonable!
I’ve had several people contact me recently after locating my blog on the Internet while searching for real estate in Roanoke. I am very thrilled naturally to have potential new customers to help in their search for Roanoke real estate, but also that the blog is bringing interested (and interesting) people to me. I’m looking forward to talking with more of you!
Furry creatures beware
It’s been a harrowing few days for the fauna of the Roanoke Valley. Recently I myself have inadvertently (and with much regret) run over with my car a bird and a rabbit. The bird I hit traveling down I-581 in Roanoke City and the poor rabbit ran underneath my car while traveling in the Hollins area. I never saw it, my wife pointed it out. Sad. I also witnessed yesterday a squirrel get run over by someone else and I have noted more than the usual number of dead animals on the side of the road, including a beagle on I-81 heading back to Roanoke from Christiansburg yesterday.
My conclusion- there must be some sort of El Niño effect over the Roanoke Valley now causing mass confusion and hysteria amongst the animals. If you’re furry and you crawl around on four legs best take shelter for a few days until this is over!
Fishing the James River
This morning I spent several hours in the morning with a good friend floating and fishing the James River. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the fishing started out pretty good but they stopped biting after about the first hour and we didn’t really catch anything else.
The canoeing was excellent. The river is a little low though and we had to walk the canoe through one set of riffles and we were unfortunate enough to swamp in a very weak class 2. We hit a rock under the water which turned us sideways and pinned us against another rock and it turned us over. Ah well, it’s bound to happen every now and then. Except for a few bruises and scrapes, we survived and recovered all the equipment so that was a bonus.
The James River real estate is beautiful. I saw several pieces of property with new homes right on the river that were absolutely beautiful. It was a great morning for admiring the weather, the James River and the adjoining real estate. Fantastic!
