It's good to have visitors come to town. My mom came in for Emma's high school graduation and stayed for nearly two weeks as she was waiting for Cameron's much heralded return from Hawaii, the Ukraine and Turkey. (If you are my facebook friend you have heard me herald, and herald again. Perhaps heralding to the point of nausea for some of you. So sorry. Kind of.)
We had a lot of time to putz together while Emma was gone on a high school graduation trip to Bonnaroo and Cam had not yet returned to the nest. We played tourist. One day we meandered through the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, ate lunch at Norah's Cafe and shopped in some of the great art galleries that pepper almost every corner of our lovely downtown Roanoke. We ate lunch two days in a row at the Blue Apron in Salem, which is an amazing addition to the great array of restaurants we have in our area. I had seared fois gras, also two days in a row. Actually, I am salivating and daydreaming of seared fois gras again as I am writing this. You've got to try it. Small portions but there are so many delightful flavors harmonizing in this dish that you can truly relish your meal and have room for dessert, which I rarely eat because I am a freak for savory.
Friday night we hit Oddfellas Cantina in Floyd (have you noticed a pattern yet?) and stayed to listen to some music spilling out into the streets near the Floyd Country Store. A fantastic line-up of local and regional Appalachian music fills the Store every Friday night, even in the dead of winter. But the street outside is just as entertaining and completely free of charge. Last Friday there were no less than six groups of musicians hanging out and jamming together. A lady with big hair and tight jeans was flatfooting with a farmer who had seemingly forgotten to put in his teeth. A well dressed couple with a shopping bag from the new Troika gallery sat alongside keeping time with their feet. A couple of dread-locked Floyd Folk were selling the most beautiful tie-dyes I have ever seen. A band of young indie types from Nashville were singing for tips across the street before they went in to headline at the Dogtown Roadhouse.
I wish real life was as diverse yet unified as Floyd County. Not Utopia, of course, we won't see that this side of heaven. But people respect each other here, and this community is different than most. Off the gridders live alongside old timers who are neighborly to retirees, even Yankee retirees. My kind of town. It was fun playing tourist and showing off a bit.
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