We're in a special group that started with a few Corvette owners/lovers in about 2018. Our founding father/leader was Galen Shank. He organized the Power Tours and he started saying he'd be at our local Dairy Queen on their outside patio on Sunday evening. RIP Galen.
One week, my bonus daughter, Krista, observed that all the Corvettes and other sports cars parked in a row at DQ were owned by men who were raised Mennonite. Thus our unofficial name "Mennonite Corvette Club" was born!
Sharon Menefee suggested we go on an over-night trip to Roanoke this summer. Roanoke is about 100 miles south of Harrisonburg. Sharon gets full credit for doing all the legwork to get us going - Thank you, Sharon. We left on a Tuesday and returned on Wednesday..... a short time but we packed our activities in.
One of the highlights is in their outdoor railyard area. The "star" of the show is the Norfolk & Western J Class 611 steam locomotive .
The Hotel Roanoke was built in 1882 and had 54 rooms. Now it has become a hotel and a conference center with 384 rooms.
It certainly is an impressive place and they've preserved the classy "old" look featuring beautiful wood everywhere.
(Click on any photo for an enlargement.)
(Depending on whether you're viewing on your phone or computer, the pictures might appear rather helter-skelter.)
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| Bill and Becky |
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| Gail and Larry |
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| Whit and Sharon |
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| Gary and MaryMay |
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| Wilmer and Shirley |
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| Marietta and Richard |
The TV series "Salvage Dawg" was filmed in Roanoke and other places. It lasted for 8 seasons! Mike Whiteside, one of the guys who starred in the show, stopped to talk to us.
I asked how the show started. He said it was one of those drinkin' and fishin' deals with a Navy buddy. These guys dared each other and it worked!
Here's the history: https://blackdogsalvage.com/about-us/history/
A few of our group had watched the show so it was like seeing a movie star. Mike was very down to earth and friendly.
We checked into the hotel and got ready to go to dinner.
We used a walkway that went from Hotel Roanoke, over railway tracks and to the downtown streets. We came out near the restaurant.
On Wednesday morning, we walked over that same bridge for breakfast at Scramblers. The guys had heard of the famous Roanoke Wiener Stand so they went to check it out. Larry Martin just had to try one - even though he'd just eaten a full breakfast!
One of the most famous tourist spots in Roanoke is their star. The Roanoke Star, also known as the Mill Mountain Star, is the
world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star in the world.
It
can be lit solid white, red, white, and blue, or any variation thereof,
and has also been known to blink or pulse.
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| The Guys |
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| The Dolls |
The highlight of our trip happened just as we were leaving the lovely view on Mill Mountain. Along came people with big cameras and video cameras. One gal was carrying a mysterious black box.
All the cameras were from two TV stations who came to film the hawk's release.
Turn your volume up. 1 minute
THE RELEASE
Click on the links below to see previous blog posts about the "Mennonite Corvette Club!"
