Virginia Visit: Roanoke Cousins & Final Goodbyes (02-01-2023

Today we visit our Roanoke cousins.  We visited with our younger Roanoke cousins at the wedding.  Our elder cousins weren't able to attend due to health limitations.  We couldn't be this close and not see them.  

The younger cousins tell us that the elders enjoy Chick-Fil-A.  BB and I, actually our whole family, are CFA fans.  As Alaska does not have CFAs, BB and I are looking forward to the visit and the meal.  

 Roanoke is two hours and 130 miles east of Abingdon. We leave Aunt Mays a little after 11:00.  We told the cousins to expect us around 1:30. Passing familiar communities along the way brings back nice memories.  We go by Marion and I remember visits to Hungry Mother State Park.  Wytheville, where Dad grew up, has a water tower painted like a hot air balloon.  We go by Christiansburg and mention family friends that live there.

We have a mission on the drive to Roanoke.  One of our Anchorage friends is from Draper, VA.  We form a plan to take pictures of all the signs containing 'Draper' that can be seen from I-81.  We manage to get pictures of the highway sign and of Draper Valley Pentecostal Holiness Church.

Our 'Draper' mission accomplished we are approaching Roanoke.  Time to order lunch.  The next 20 minutes showcased the best and worst of modern technology.  It certainly is convenient to place the order using your cell phone and have it ready for pick up when you arrive.  It can also be frustrating when the app doesn't display an item you want to order and doesn't want to let you add payment methods.  We overcame the difficulties. We have CFA.   We pull in the cousin's drive shortly after 1:30.

It's a great visit!  There is all kinds of news to share;  wedding stories, Alaska adventures, health statuses, who's moving to Abingdon and when, downsizing advise and stories, grand and great-grandchildren updates.  We start saying goodbyes around 3:30 and are on the way back to Abingdon by 4:00.

We pick up dinner on the way to Aunt Mays.  There is a variety. Some of us have salads from Food City.  Others have hamburgers and hot dogs from Pal's.  K&D join us with their dinner from Jersey Mike's.  K&D don't stay long.  They work tomorrow.  We want an early night to be ready for an early morning,

All good things must end.

Sal