Ten Things I Didn’t Know About Roanoke, Virginia

A pastoral scene near Roanoke, Virginia. Photo by Clark Norton

In my previous post, I talked about my trip last week to the Roanoke, Virginia, area, and what I regard are the smart marketing techniques of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau by hosting travel writers and photographers from around the U.S. and Canada to experience an area they might otherwise not visit.

The trip was organized by the Florida-based public relations firm Geiger & Associates, who work out every activity down to the minute and somehow manage not to lose any writers — who rank right up there with cats in the “herding difficulty” scale — along the way.

Now I want to detail some things I learned about Roanoke and surroundings — well branded as “Virginia’s Blue Ridge” —  that might be of interest to baby boomer travelers.

So in no particular order, here… Continue reading →