When you are only staying somewhere for a short time (like 3 months), you don't have time to leisurely unpack and settle in and get to know your surroundings. You have to hit the ground running!

That's exactly what I have been doing for the past two weekends.

Last weekend, I hopped on the bike, traveled down that convenient bike path, and got to know the downtown area. Roanoke has one of the oldest continuously running open air markets in the country. Or so the tourist literature says. I'm not so much interested in myth busting that particular piece of information, but rather in GOING to the open air market. Which I did.

The market was pretty easy to find, what with signs like this:

Kind of kitchy, but fun. The rest of the downtown area had other such old-fashion-y signs, too. Including a giant coffee urn on a roof top that features a neon tube sign of coffee emptying into a cup! I'll get a picture of that on here, too, once I figure out how to take a picture without risking my life doing so (it's on a major roadway). 

Once I parked my bike (lots of secure bike racks around -- SCORE!) I got some nice fresh fruit and veggies for the week. Then I decided to mosey around and explore a bit.

The downtown area is pretty small. It didn't take long to explore. There are cute little shops, restaurants, and a bunch of blues clubs/ comedy clubs a couple streets over from the market. (Dustin Diamond -- Screech from Saved by the Bell -- was performing in one of the clubs that night. Understandably, I decided to forego seeing Screech in lieu of a good night's sleep.)

But I was completely enamored by this:

I think from now on, I will take to calling dresses "frocks". It has sort of an old world charm doesn't it? Or maybe it would simply make me sound like a raving lunatic. Whichever. 

Across the street from La De Da, the frock shoppe, I encountered a pathway with little fountains all along its length. 

Or maybe they are planters. Not really sure. The important thing here, is that they lead me to this:

An outdoor amphitheater! Oh, there is just about nothing better on a warm summer night than listening to music under the stars! And since the warm weather here is about 3 to 4 weeks ahead of New England (excepting last week's freezing cold bike ride, of course) I'm thinking music should be starting soon.

Sunday I decided to leave the downtown area and take advantage of Roanoke's greatest feature.
 

It's proximity to the Trail! Oh how I've missed that trail. Life really is a lot simpler when all you need to do to know you are heading in the right direction is look for a white blaze. (There should be metaphorical white blazes everywhere) 

I wanted to go back to one of my favorite places along the entire AT. 

I have to say: going to McAfee Knob as a day hike is a completely different experience than as part of a thru-hike. 

It kind of felt like cheating.

First off, I wasn't carrying a pack. Just a little day pack with some food and water. Secondly, I just parked at the trail head and walked 4 miles to the outlook. No scrambling up Dragon's Tooth with a full pack, no sprawling outside a gas station and eating my body weight in gas station food, no picking at the skin on my feet, no hiker funk, no feeling of "where the heck is this stupid outlook?". Just an hour and 15 minutes and BAM! There it was. 

It's still just as breathtaking, though. And,yes, I did have to take THE picture. Even though I really didn't feel like I had earned it.

Then I scuttled on over to Tinker's Cliff to round things out.

Since my memory of McAfee's Knob had me dedicating and entire day to the hike, I had plenty of time left over when I got back to the jeep. So I decided to check out another of Roanoke's attractions, the Roanoke Star.

The star is essentially a gigantic neon star that sits up on Mill Mountain and is visible from the downtown area. During the day, when it's not lit, it is not nearly as impressive. But it is big. Very very big. 

An observation deck sits in front of the star, and has a great view of Roanoke from above.

And that really, really pointy peak right in the middle? Mc Afee Knob! Two views of one of my favorite places in the world! 

Not a bad way to spend the first weekend here.

A little more than a year after the start of my epic AT hike, I decided to take on an adventure of a different sort: tackling the challenge of travel therapy once again and doing some trail magic to support this year's batch of hiker trash! So now I'm here in Roanoke, Virginia.

Lucky for me, almost halfway between Plymouth, MA and Roanoke, VA is the town of Chatham, NJ -- home to my college roommate, Isa. Perfect for an overnight stop! As we so often do, Isa and I decided to go out for food and drinks that Saturday. Delicious Heights, a fantabulous restaurant near her place, really lives up to its name. I was taken to whole new heights of deliciousness. (I spent a bit of time searching the internet for mango slaw recipes, thanks to ol' Delicious Heights. I have yet to make it, but I'm looking forward to it) And then Isa introduced me to her new favorite after dinner drink: sambuca with coffee beans. Somehow, the coffee beans, which you crunch up with your teeth whilst sipping the sabuca, end up tasting like little candy pieces. It's super good. But super strong! After dinner, I went to an entirely other height of deliciousness.

In the morning, we went to the Broadway Diner, home of "the world's best pancakes", or so the sign says. I've seen that sign before! Except that in this instance, I believe the sign is actually true. Broadway Diner has if not THE best pancakes in the world, then at least in the top 10. They are light and fluffy and golden and tasty. I generally go with the blueberry pancakes, but on this particular Sunday morning, the smell of cinnamon buns so overwhelmed my olfactory sensibilities, that I went with cinnamon pancakes. YUMMY!

Sunday's drive was a bit longer than Saturday's, possibly because I was still reeling from the effects of sambuca with coffee beans -- something that even a stack of the world's best pancakes couldn't completely eradicate. However, my drive west on 78 and south on 81 pretty much paralleled the trail, which made the drive like a trip down memory lane.

As I drove along passing signs for Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Hamburg (with that gigantic but essentially useless Cabella's), Maryland State Line, Front Royal, Luray, Shenandoah State Park, Waynesboro, Troutsville, memories came flooding back. Its funny how precisely I can remember certain sections of trail, down to what foods I was craving! Also of note: those cheap-o car phone chargers they sell in Ocean State Job Lot? Totally do not work. Take note of it.

I ended up getting into Roanoke around 6:30 pm on Sunday. Because of a missed turn, I ended up finding my place of employment for the next three months before I found my house. Nice facility and only 2 miles away from the house. Once I got turned around, it was pretty easy finding the house.

In the past I had always gone with the corporate housing option, but now with the advent of Craig's List, its much easier to find short term rental options, which is a better option financially. In any case, I'm renting a furnished room in a house in a nice residential neighborhood. Me and 5 other roomies. All guys. So, much like the AT hike, I am --as Violet Beauregard so eloquently put it:-- "a badass in a sea of testosterone."

The bedroom is very nice -- airy with nice light, lots of storage, a desk, a TV, and a plethora of decorative bed pillows. 

The kitchen and living room (or, as I call it, that room that I walk through between the kitchen and the staircase) are spotless. I live in a sea of clean-freak testosterone.

Since I live only 2 miles from work, I can ride my bike there and back each day to give Cherry Valence (the Jeep) a much needed rest. It's been good, except for Wednesday morning, when the temperature dropped. It kind of felt like my face was going to fall off during that ride!

I also discovered a nice bike path that runs from a couple blocks away from the house to the downtown area. 

So things are going well, I'm settling in, and ready to do some exploring of the Roanoke area!