Vacation 2008: The Final Day

Roanoke to home is Known Space, and so the last day of the trip could have been very routine. But I remembered that long ago, in the pre-Sarah era, Tam and I had visited the Science Museum of Western Virginia, in Roanoke's Center in the Square, and thought it would be a great place to bring a kid someday. Roanoke is a great place, a city of about 100,000 which, with its neighbors Salem and Vinton, has a metropolitan area of close to 300,000. But unlike the other major urban areas of Virginia -- Richmond and the agglomerations of Northern Virginia (where we live) and Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth and Chesapeake) -- it's surrounded by mountains. Its City Market, right in the center of town, is a great farmer's market, and adjacent is the aforementioned Center in the Square, which in addition to the Science Museum of Western Virginia also has a Historical Museum, an Art Museum, and a Theater. It's an arts center with added stuff right off a great street market. And on the day we were there, they were having a 25th anniversary celebration and all the museums were free.

Sarah loved the Science Museum. We stopped for a while and ate at the food court in the old market building, then went back for more. Weather exhibits, neon exhibits, touch tanks of water animals, snakes she could touch, all sorts of good stuff. And even if the museums haven't been free that day, because we're members of the Maryland Museum of Science in Baltimore, we get free admission to other member museums of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), as long as they're 90 miles or more from Baltimore, which has gotten us into the Franklin Institute in Philly, several museums in Hampton Roads and other parts of Virginia, and even works for a few overseas sites. It makes joining one science museum an economic boon. Suggested for other parents reading this.

After spending nearly all day in the Science Museum and nearby sites, we had chili dogs at the Roanoke Weiner Stand. It's now in the Center in the Square Building, though I think Tam and I may have eaten at the original 1920s style place on our first trip to Roanoke long pre-Sarah. A classic. Sarah declared the chili dog better than any others other than the Snow White Grill in Winchester, on which I've previously blogged. We'd also tried a hot dog stand in Franklin, but Sarah didn't like the chili there.

We avoided Interstates coming home, coming up Route 11 as far as Greenville, VA, then 340 through Waynesboro, Elkton, and Shenandoah and then 211 through Luray to Warrenton, where we picked up 29 on home. Didn't get home till 9 or so, but that had allowed us to stay in Roanoke till past 3, which gave us, in effect, another whole day.

Last night we were exhausted, hence my laconic post. Today we're getting ready to plunge back into work, cleaning out the car, restocking the larder, napping, doing laundry, etc. We're home, rested, relaxed, and I hope ready for work.

Unlike last year's vacation, which suffered from the beginning (we all had pinkeye setting out) and had its problems, this one was a gem. More as I can.

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