Summer Vacation 2010: 5th Anniversary

Disney World

Magic Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

Epcot

Hollywood Studios

The Resort

Salisbury, NC

We spent the afternoon of New Year's Eve in Salisbury, NC, a small town in the piedmont area of North Carolina. We wandered around downtown, in and out of shops, visited the local mall, and had dinner in town. Salisbury is the home of Cheerwine, originally called Mint Cola, so Cheerwine signs are found around town. We were sure to visit the soda fountain at the Drugstore to have a traditional Cheerwine Float.

We also saw the original bell tower of the Presbyterian Church that was destroyed in a fire.

Finally, along our downtown path, we found a large mural on the side of a building that depicts life over the years in Salisbury. We also discovered several relief, clay sculptures that honor the history of the Salisbury Cotton Mill.

Floyd, VA

We spent a fall weekend in Floyd, VA.




We lodged at Hotel Floyd. The office is seen in the above photo as well as the doorway of our suite. We enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and trees.

We had a wonderful time listening to music at the Country Store. We were surprised to find out that the Country Store was 100 years old in 2010.




We had good food and fun as we walked around town visiting shops and stores, such as Nancy's Candy Store.

We found out about local history at the Floyd County Museum.




One highlight of the weekend was a jam session in a local music store. We just wondered in, and I offered to play mandolin so the shop owner could play fiddle.

It was a very enjoyabe, relaxing weekend.

Tangier Island, VA

In early August, we took our last adventure of the summer to Tangier Island, VA. We left Reedville, VA on the Chesapeake Breeze Cruise Ship that took an hour and a half to arrive on the island.


The population of the island is around 500 people, who originate from the United Kingdom, predominantly Scotland. The island is only 7 acres in size.
Tangier is very isolated with the only ways on and off the island being by boat or airplane. With this transportation, (and Cable Television and Internet set up in the spring of 2010), islanders keep up with the rest of the world.

As far as attractions, Tangier Island has 4 or 5 gifts shops, 4 restaurants, and a couple places to stay the night, including the Bed and Breakfast.

Tangier Island is known for its seafood, but I actually had a chicken salad wrap, but it was a very unique, sweet chicken salad with perhaps honey in the recipe. We also had ice cream from a local ice cream shop that had a very modern, soda shop interior decor.

Much of the economy is based on the fishing industry, particularly crabbing, with some money being made from tourists. Most people on the island drive golf carts, and some people offer guided tours on extra long carts. I was interested to actually see speed limits signs with a speed limit of 15 mph! (We did see 2 or 3 trucks on the island.)

For years, the island had only one church, the Methodist Church, but now the Methodist Church and a New Covenant Church exist on the 7 acres.

The island also has a police force made up of 1 person. However, the most unusual aspect to Tangier Island is the accent, which sounds very similar to the accent of the people who settled Tangier Island in 1686.



Overall, we had an enjoyable experience, other than the fact that is was extremely hot and humid in late summer.


For more information about Tangier Island, visit the wikipedia link here.

To hear the unique accent of Tangier Island dwellers, watch a short video here.