Annette and I relaxing in the Floyd Country Store, with the stage behind us.

A Lazy, Fun Trip to Floyd

Floyd, about 40 miles southwest of Roanoke, is one of those little fun weekend/weekday runs that seems to always come equipped with a surprise or two.

The surprise yesterday was that Annette Marcuson and I didn't find my new pal Susan Huff at her Soup Shop ... which isn't open yet, but will be in a couple of weeks. As it turns out, we were 45 minutes late getting there because we couldn't stop talking to each other.

Instead, we got a tour of the under-construction, mustard-colored facility in Copper Hill and found it to be a place we will return to when it finally opens next month. Susan makes soup that is so good, it will make you cry.

We also met her famous-architect husband, John, who was actually helping put together the final shop--I mean like a construction worker. Good dude, that John, with a solid appreciation of his Energizer Bunny of a wife.

On into Floyd, we settled on the Parkway Grille for lunch and the little shop downstairs that reminds me of Roanoke's Co+op in Grandin Village: Lots of stuff that is good for you. Annette was thrilled ... until she discovered some of the prices. But it is a lovely store and I left with a couple of "everything" bagels, which I have no business eating. 

The obligatory stop at the Floyd Country Store where there was no live music on a Friday afternoon (that came later), but it presented a nice place to recon.

I think our best discovery was in leaving town and finding this tiny bakery across the street from a wonderfully-atmospheric abandoned old home. Annette is an artist and the house brought out the sparkling imagination in her. I shoot photos and jumped at the black and white opportunity the house presented. (The black and white shots of the house below are mine, the color photos are Annette's. Hers are presented smaller here because the resolution is small.)

This was one of those special days where not much went as planned, but everything turned out just as it was supposed to ... which meant we loved every minute of it. 

I mean, how are you going to resist this?

Annette loves barren trees, especially when the clouds provide the "leaves."

That's me sneaking up on the back to take a photo.

The sun bleaches the front of the old house.

That's the old man assuming the photo stance.

I like this towering view.

The devil is in the details.

The stories this old house could tell. We found a huge iron pot in the crawl space, that could have been used to double-double toil and trouble boil.

The roof shingles provide wonderful texture.

God only knows how many miles this old chair has on it. 

This decorative work is on the front porch.

Not sure what these vines are, but my guess is they provide great shade in summer.

Wonder if the local kids trick-or-treat here on Halloween.

The house is angles, lines and texture that invite the creative mind.