January 2020 Travel Update

Hello Everyone! It’s been over two weeks since my last post, but we have been on the road. We were gone for 9 days, traveled almost 1700 miles and stayed in four cities. It was busy, but we had fun visiting family and maybe finding a retirement city.

Our first stop was Williamsburg, VA to visit with my father-in-law.

Duke of Gloucester Colonial Williamsburg

Of course a visit wouldn’t be complete without a walk down the DOG (Duke of Gloucester street) in Colonial Williamsburg. As you can see, it was a beautiful day. It was also the coolest day we had. After this day, it warmed up considerably.

After two nights in Williamsburg, we went to Fredericksburg to visit with my parents. I don’t have any pictures, but we had a nice visit. It was 70 degrees on Saturday, so we had a walk downtown, then had a nice family dinner with my parents and my sister and her family.

After another two nights in Fredericksburg, we went to Winchester. My brother-in-law lives there and it’s been over 5 years since I’ve been. It was another beautiful day.

From Paris looking towards Winchester and the Valley

Crossing the Shenandoah River

Winchester is a pretty area, too. My husband was born here and lived here until he was 9. He always thinks of it as coming home when he crosses the Shenandoah. We went to lunch with my brother-in-law and his wife at a really nice restaurant at Lake Frederick which was in an active 55+ community. It sure put a new perspective on retirement plans. We toured the model homes and drove through the community. It had all the amenities and the newer homes were not as close together as some that we’ve seen.

I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley

We just spent one night in Winchester, then headed out early the next morning to Boone, NC. It was a pretty drive through the Valley with some early morning fog. We are still in agreement that we could retire anywhere between Winchester and Blacksburg. It is just a beautiful area. However…

Just outside Boone, NC

We had an appointment to look at a community just outside Boone. My pictures just don’t do it justice. The views were breathtaking! The community was on 6200 acres with miles of trout streams and hiking trails within the community.

The community also had outstanding amenities except a pool, but they are building a brand new recreation and aquatic center in Boone. After our tour of the community, we went back to hour little rental house and had a cocktail on the deck. It was warm and overcast our entire stay in Boone. Not typical weather.

View from the rental house

What we learned during our stay is that there is not much flat land around Boone and that to get to most homes, you need to go up! Boone is in the mountains, not in a valley or on a plateau (Blacksburg). We visited several different communities, both resort style and regular neighborhoods to get an idea of what’s available. Boone is a lovely place, and I could live there. My husband was happy with all the trout water just minutes from wherever you might live. I visited the quilt shop and learned a few things about the quilting community, too. Another interesting thing was that a place might be only a few miles away, but the drive time was 10 – 15 minutes. Lots of mountain roads to travel. It was quiet, too. No highway noise and no airplanes flying overhead. Lots to be said for living there. Lots of decisions to make over the next couple of years.

I’ll be back soon with a quilting and stitching update. Thanks for stopping by.