I took a vacation day so Bob and I could drive up to Sparta and take a look around. I have not been there in 15 plus years. Frances, mom, and dad, and I used to drive up every year to a choose and cut Christmas tree farm then go into Sparta to eat lunch. It is still a very small mountain town consisting of maybe three blocks of store fronts and a few restaurants. We stopped in the visitors center and walked around a few minutes then drove out through a recommended residential area just to see what it looked like. We ate lunch at The Pines which used to be downtown but had moved out about half a mile to a stand alone building.
From there we continued north through rural farm land to Jefferson and West Jefferson. West Jefferson is about the size of Mt. Airy with several long blocks of stores, restaurants, a cheese factory, candy store, etc. Much more touristy and bigger with a larger commercial base in the area surrounding downtown. I have been there several times on bus trips and with Bonnie on our road trips since they have a strong arts and crafts community. Again we walked around and stopped in their visitor center. From there we headed home arriving back here around 5pm.
Our neighbor let Colin out this afternoon. While Bob walked Colin I went to the grocery store to pick a few items and take out Stromboli from Coppola’s next door. Needless to say Colin was glad to see us.
Although it was cool and cloudy it never did rain. Today was the first time we have been on a long day trip in several years. We had a good time and now have some idea of the direction we are going to take next.