28May2008 Southern cooking - all you can eat

Last night’s dinner was so good we decided to return to Brown’s, especially when we heard the locals loved to breakfast there. To start off the day right, it had to be grits. We also tried livermush – liver blended with cornmeal plus other unknown parts of a cow and deep fried ! It was not bad.

Left Sparta NC to continue southwards on the BRP. It was drizzling but conditions got
worse when fog set in, rendering almost zero visibility. There was no choice but to leave the parkway and duck into a BW in nearby Boone. Yes, the town was named after Daniel Boone. Might as well do our laundry and to talk to travelers similarly trapped by the foul weather. Many bikers were really nice people and we exchanged views on a lot of topics. Dinner was at the Daniel Boone Inn – a restaurant that specialized in family style Southern cooking. There was no a la carte. Dishes were laid in front of us piled high with food - steak, fried chicken, cold slaw, salads, beans and gravy. The steaks and fried chicken were hot and freshly made. If one needed more, the plates will be refilled. The exception was the ‘sandwiches’ - substantial biscuits with thick slices of country ham in between. It was two for each person but it was plenty. No wonder the restaurant was a favorite with the locals. They kept on coming in. Between bites, we prayed that the weather will improve tomorrow. Even the bikers said riding in fog was crazy.

Distance traveled 58.3 miles


French toast for breakfast but with livermush - the brown slices!

All you can eat in Daniel Boone Inn.

This is the only dish they cannot refill - substantial slices of country ham in thick biscuits, but who would need more after this?

Part of the lobby of the Daniel Boone Inn

27May2008 A lesson in Sparta NC

Left Roanoke and ate up what seemed to us many miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not even a week into our drive, it felt as if we have been on the road for a long time. Considering we arrived the US on 5May, drove to Ithaca for Ro’s wedding, then went to Washington, New York and down to Baltimore, we have been away for quite a while.
We visited the famous Mabry Mill – an old gristmill at least a couple of hundred years old. Later on, we got to the Blue Ridge Music Center and admired its open-air auditorium. It was late afternoon and the musicians have left for the day. This only made us more determined than ever to seek out where bluegrass bands played.

We stopped at the Allegany Inn for the night. It is in Sparta NC, a small town with a population of 2800. The people were extremely friendly. We were not used to this effusive openness and it was embarrassing at times.
We asked to eat at a local restaurant. Brown’s Family Restaurant was just the place to be. It reminded us of a typical char-charn-tang (Cantonese version of a greasy spoon). We chowed on fried pork chop and steak, with coconut cake as dessert. Service was warm, relaxed and unhurried. Everything happened with a smile.

Later that evening we paid four dollars each to join a dance at the Allegany Jubilee. Remember seeing dance halls with mostly old timers in ten gallon hats on TV? That’s what it was. The band’s blue grass music caused our feet to start tapping even though we wanted to sit quietly in a corner and gawk. Fat chance! The other dancers insisted we join in. So, it was the line dance, the shuffle, whatever – they taught us really well. We got to talk with some of these new friends. They were very candid. Like elderly people all over the world, some had bouts with cancer, others lost their husbands or wives. Not a few also lost loved ones that served in Iraq or Afghanistan. However, these people were not there to moan their losses. They were dancing energetically with new partners. Some of the men were dressed to the nines. We will always remember the octogenarian in a heavily embellished red cowboy shirt. It had huge red rhinestones and nickel silver ornamentation for collar points. All this plus his bolo, he looked really swell. Thank you ‘Spartans’ for making our stay a truly enjoyable and memorable one. We learnt something about growing old – do not moan, just get on with it!

Distance traveled 142.6 miles


To be successful, one had to be a jack-of-all-trades - Mabry was at once a blacksmith, a miner, a farmer, a carpenter and he ran a mill that ground corn and sawed lumber; the mill, est 1910 n retored in 1945, is the most photographed site on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Do enlarge these photos to see how beautiful the place is and appreciate the efforts put in by the National Park Services to keep conditions pristine

Can't help including this shot of the millrace which directs water to power the wheels

Again this needs amplification to show the what's going on inside the mill.


What is this picture doing here? People ground bark from the oak and hemlock trees with this horse drawn mill; the resulting 'liquor' from mixing with water, will tan hide! How clever!

Remains of what was once a moonshine operation; my maternal grandmother knew how to make wine from fermentation of rice, similarly most settlers knew how to make liquor from corn; they allowed cornmeal, malt, sugar and water to ferment in barrels (a couple in the photo); after a few days, the fermented mesh, called beer, was heated in copper stills - see the white conical top container sitting on a small furnace lined with rocks, with a tube attached? The tube piped the alcohol vapour, cooled by water directed from an icy stream into a jug - of moonshine! Settlers either drank or sold it, I know what my granny did!


(Sigh)...it was so peaceful


Don't have anything to show of people playing blue grass music! Its a shame as the communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway are the epicenter of this genre; this music originated as a blend - those of early settlers with roots in the United Kingdom with that of Black slaves; it evolved over time, its development depended on the virtuosity of its instrumentalists - fiddlers, banjo and guitar players - and singers. We have only a poor shot of a poster, through a glass case, showing what a concert looked like; we decided not to show shots of the empty amphitheater, impressive as it was - it looked too lonely! We bought discs of blue grass music and recommend that anyone interested in music evolution do so too. The shots taken whilst dancing to the music in Sparta's Allegany Jubilee didn't come out right. In an effort to be non-intrusive, we didn't use the flash.

Some say green is the most restful and soothing color, our eyes smilingly agree.

This little guy - about a foot and a half long (45cm) wandered onto the road and a local resident (there were farms in this area) managed to move it back to a safe area. Remember - Don't Touch the Wildlife


Green is not the only color on the Blue Ridge Parkway

26May2008 The Natural Bridge

We left Waynesboro and started our journey along the Blue Ridge Parkway from the north entrance. We visited a heritage museum comprising of log houses and other structures left by pioneers. It was really interesting to see how people lived a couple of centuries ago.

The highlight of the day undoubtedly was getting to see the Natural Bridge – a limestone arch carved by the waters of the Cedar Creek (a tributary of the James River) at least two hundred million years ago. It is over 215ft(66m)high (55ft higher than Niagara Falls), and the span is about 90ft(27m). At one time, locals even referred to it as one of the natural Seven Wonders of the World! George Washington, during his young days as a surveyor, was supposed to have done some done work here. Highway US11 still runs along the top of the arch – that’s how strong the solid grey limestone is!
It is annoying that one can only access this site at ground level by going through a gift shop and paying an entrance fee. Even so, it is still worthwhile see this natural wonder.

We spent the night in Best Western at Roanoke – a nondescript town along the BRP.

Distance traveled 169.7 miles







The Natural Bridge has been the subject of many artists. If one has a sense of deja vu when viewing these photos, the feeling may have come from visiting art galleries before.




Considering one doesn't get to stand directly under the Niagara Falls and this is 55ft taller, the size is awesome

The ancient 'Indians' called it the Bridge of God. Present day inhabitants of the town of Natural Bridge enact Biblical stories like the 'Drama of Creation', accompanied by symphonic music, with the floodlit 'Bridge' as backdrop. The seating for the performances can be seen.


Honey was often used in place of sugar and the early settlers had beehives in hollow trunks of gum trees - hence 'beegums'.


Into this contraption - a hopper - was dumped ashes from fires; water was poured on the ashes and the liquid that collected at the bottom - lye - was mixed with fat (from cooking) to make soap.

Hmm, interesting shaped squashes from the garden.


Part of the reconstructd narrow gauge railway used to ferry logs from deep in the mountains to the mills; the trees of the virgin forests were all but decimated by the logging companies from the early 1900's.


Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we came upon a Green Geology Trail - a short walking detour giving those interested in the geology of the area a titbit; signs point out greenstone lava (igneous rocks),quartzite and schist (metamorphic rocks), limestone and sandstone (sedimentary rocks) when there are convenient outcroppings, road cuts or exposed cliffs.

Some say green is the most restful and soothing colour, our eyes smilingly agree.

25May2008 'Story of the forest' trail

Left Harrisonburg, returned to the Skyline Drive - the road which bisects Shenandoah NP - by way of the Swift Run Gap entrance and retraced our steps northwards to the Byrd Visitors Center. There we were introduced to an easy trail named 'Story of the forest'. Examples of how a forest changed - plants died and new growth generated - were pointed out to us by postings along the trail. It was interesting to learn that some strange shaped tree trunks resulted from gnawing by wildlife whilst still saplings; extreme weather (ice and storms) could also cause damage leading to deformation. The appearance of a forest was also the result of competition for sunlight and nutrients in the soil. Natural enemies like certain bugs and other parasitic growths are everywhere in the forest. With the facts in mind, we regarded our surroundings with a different perspective. Animal sightings were quite common, we saw deer twice on this short trail; with their natural enemies all but eradicated, the deer population was flourishing. Two ladies ran towards us claiming excitedly they just saw a mama bear with her cubs. We ploughed ahead nervously - secretly hoping that we will be blessed by similar sightings BUT from a long long way off. I forgot to mention that a ranger gave a short talk on bears yesterday at Dickey Ridge Visitors Center. Bears that come out of hibernation in Spring are very hungry but they are vegetarians - consuming mostly berries, fruits, acorns, nut etc - unless they come upon food left by careless campers (hence the need to keep food out of sight or have it stored at least 12ft off the ground). When confronted by a bear (most of them in these parts are black, about 150 to 250 lbs and are 5 to 6 ft standing on their hind legs), do not turn one's back to run (HOW is that possible with chicken old me?! ) Wave, gesticulate, make a lot of noise by clapping and shouting (apparently a bear has very poor sight but has a highly developed sense of smell and hearing).

That night, it was Days Inn at Waynesboro after exiting Shenandoah's southern entrance Rock Fish Gap. Oh, it was like we travelled in a time machine backwards - the terrible Chinese food at a nearby eatery was something out of the seventies !! The journey on the 103-mile Skyline Drive was punctuated by many stops to savor the views of the Shenandoah valley with its famous river. We have not seen so much greenery for a long time. (BUT little did we know that the verdure along the 469 mile Blue Ridge Parkway will out do all of this.)
In retrospect, having rushed through Shenandoah NP in two days, we have missed a lot of sights and could have sampled more trails. We had no fix schedule and did not have to return to HK any time soon. Why did we rush? A habit from the frantic pace we lived our lives? OK, these are early days and we will learn to take our time and enjoy mother Nature.
Oh God, by the end of the trip, please let me come away with the ability to recognise a few flowers and trees - it feels so ignorant to be surrounded by so much beauty and yet not being able to relate or describe it.

distance travelled 116.1 miles


This trip has been so educational. I didn't know that lichens,the small scaley plants that grow on the rocks, secret an acid which eats into the rock. With the help of freezing water, cracks develop and allow soil particles to aggregate giving small plants a foothold. The rocks are eventually whittled down - everything changes with time.


This wonderful brown creature appeared suddenly and proceeded to feed calmly, oblivious of our presence; we stood quietly till it decided to move on

Everything was so green on either side of the road. We quizzed ourselves: "How many shades of green were there?" Little did we know it was going to be even greener as we continued south.


To really experience how wonderful it is, one must really be there - photos are only a very poor alternative.