Roanoke 2021

Sharp Top, National D-Day Memorial, Mill Mountain Star

Memorial Day Weekend

Greetings! Over Memorial Day weekend, Faith and I decided to drive to Roanoke, VA to visit some friends, CJ and Christina. You might remember them from our Asheville Trip a couple years ago. CJ and I were roommates at App, and Christina and Faith have known each other their entire lives. This won’t be my usual full-fledged travel blog, but I thought I’d at least briefly share about our trip.

Friday after work, we drove up to Roanoke via Jefferson and the Mouth of Wilson. We’d originally planned to take the Parkway all the way up, but it was raining and we were short on time. Maybe another day…

Bedford Boys Tribute Center

After our hike, CJ and I drove to Bedford to visit the National D-Day Memorial. While driving through downtown Bedford (unsuccessfully attempting to visit their closed farmers’ market), we spotted an old corner drug store that had been converted into a museum. The center was dedicated to the memory of the “Bedford Boys”, a group of 20 soldiers who perished fighting on Omaha Beach, Normandy during Operation Overlord (D-Day). Bedford County had the highest casualty rate per capita on D-Day, so it was selected as the spot for the National D-Day Memorial.

We got a personal tour of the Tribute Center, and learned a great deal about the lives of the “Boys”, and saw a great deal of WWII memorabilia. It was an interesting stop, but might be worth skipping if you’d rather spend more time at the memorial.

The national D-Day Memorial

After visiting the tribute center and grabbing some lunch, CJ and I went to the Memorial. We took the ~1h walking tour in the rain, which I suppose added to the Normandy-esque ambiance. The tour largely focused on the events leading up to D-Day, including Operation Fortitude. There are over 400 plaques describing the events of the day and the roles of various people and entities, making for some interesting reading.

Roanoke College // Salem

Sunday afternoon, after church/lunch, the four of us drove to nearby Salem, VA to visit the beautiful campus of Roanoke College. We also walked around downtown Salem for a while, and saw their 9-11 Memorial, made from beams from the 33rd and 36th floors of the north tower.

Mill Mountain Star

On the south side of Roanoke, Mill Mountain provides a north-looking panoramic view of the city. Shortly before sunset, we drove to the top to enjoy a view of the city, before descending to seek out some dinner. Originally, there was an incline railway up the mountain, but it was dismantled, and only a road and walking/biking trails remain.

Downtown Roanoke

On Monday, we got drinks from Sweet Donkey Coffee, and enjoyed them as we walked through some of South Roanoke’s historic neighborhoods. Then, we drove a couple miles to downtown Roanoke, popping into a few stores and enjoying the architecture.

Food

Beale's - Bedford, VA

While in Bedford for the Memorial, CJ and I ate at Beale’s, a barbecue joint/brewery. They had excellent brisket and good pulled pork, but mediocre mac & cheese and wanting portions. After we ate, we spent a bit of time in a neat salvage store next door as we waited for the rain to subside.

Leonore Restaurant

Saturday night, we headed to downtown Roanoke to try Leonore Restaurant, a combo Venezuelan/Italian joint. While a bit of a strange menu combination, the food was good. I got an pabellon arepa (cornmeal pita stuffed with pulled beef, beans, and cheese, Faith got a personal supreme pizza, CJ got chicken marsala, and Christina got a Venezuelan street dog, which was a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, slaw, and potato sticks.

Scratch Biscuit Company

After church on Sunday, we ate lunch at Scratch Biscuit Company. Faith and I split a cajun catfish biscuit and the “Cowboy Crippler”: a giant biscuit with brisket, pulled pork, a country-fried sausage patty (yes, you read that correctly), a hash brown cake and cheese. We also tried their grits. 

Not Pictured

On Friday night when we first arrived, we all got gyros from a delicious local Greek place just down the road. Our other edible endeavors included much coffee, a bag of frozen tater tots from Kroger, bacon/eggs/toast, and some sandwiches.

The End

That wraps up the weekend. It was great to see CJ and Christina, and we really enjoyed getting to explore Roanoke and the surrounding area.

Monday afternoon, we drove back to Boone via Galax and Independence, once again opting to skip the Parkway because of crowds. Plus, a 15+mi section of the Parkway near Roanoke is closed because of a road failure caused by heavy rains.

We capped off our Memorial Day with a fire in Boone with some of Faith’s family.

Thanks for reading! Soon we’ll be leaving on a major trip , so keep an eye out for that. Click the button to subscribe to new post notifications.

See you soon.

– Isaac and Faith

8 Responses

  1. Thanks so much for sharing!
    It has probably been 60 years since I’ve been in the area-we had family nearby!

    The pictures were spectacular, and the “history lesson” was so interesting.
    AND of course, I ALWAYS enjoy hearing about what you ate!

    I look forward to your next adventure.

  2. Such a beautiful area! Glad you got to spend time with CJ and Christina!
    I enjoyed reading about your adventures!

  3. Always enjoy your posts. They just don’t seem often enough. The food sounded good (as usual). Looking forward to the major trip.

    1. There will hopefully be more post-pandemic now that we can travel again! There should be at least a dozen posts coming in the next couple months.

  4. Thanks for sharing your adventures! Hope to see you in Charlotte on 9/2!

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