Hittin' the Road, Jack - Day 4

Day 4 was short, but sweet. After sleeping in, we hopped on the road and headed north. We needed a relatively cheap activity for the day (visiting caverns is expensive - who knew?!) and chose to explore Roanoke, VA. Nestled at the base of the Appalachians, this lovely little town took me by surprise. Not knowing what to expect, I pictured a small, homely town with a little main street and a few shops - no big deal. Wrong again! Roanoke was a lot bigger than I expected, and let's be honest, a lot more exciting. We roamed the streets, checking out all the window displays. We stopped in a gift shop that specialized in African crafts, an art gallery or two, and even a free VA historical museum. One thing that stood out to me about Roanoke was it's food scene. There were so many interesting, unique, totally delicious looking restaurants. Every foodie needs to stop by Roanoke at one point or another.

Once we had built up an appetite smelling all the delicious aromas and drooling over the menus posted in the street windows, we chose Bread Craft as our bakery of choice. We both got the most amazing, melt-in-your-mouth croissants and a cup o' joe. 

We wandered the streets some more, and found an awesome farmer's market. We saw everything from fruits and vegetables to freshly grown herbs and hot-out-of-the-oven bread. Unfortunately, we didn't get anything for ourselves, but seriously, it was so unexpectedly cool. Note to self: Go back to Roanoke! 

After our short jaunt in Roanoke, we hit the road for our final few roadtrippin hours. It was the most beautiful sunny, cool day. The scenery between Roanoke and DC is absolutely gorgeous - the steep mountains had turned into a rolling hilly countryside, dotted with red barns and silos. In the distance, the Appalachian Mountains glowed that deep blue hue. It was the perfect ending to the perfect roadtrip! We arrived in DC late that afternoon, and were greeted by my favorite mom in the world and my darling Aunt Colleen. We made it! 

Thank you, Dad, for an awesome, memorable trip!!