Finding Floyd: The Gilmores Hit the Mountain Roads

After a long week of work and hitting the books, we decided to venture out last night for a little local culture. We heard from friends here at Hollins U. that we should check out the Friday Night Jam in Floyd. We piled in the car and headed about 45 minutes up the 221 in search of the famous Floyd General Store where mountain musicians, locals and tourists converge.


Ericlee was the official taster for the evening and he chose the "Old Glory" - a scrumptious, old-fashioned sundae with blueberries, blackberry ice cream, vanilla ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. Meilani helped out with the blueberries. Yum-o!


We found out the jamboree is the official live music performance inside the general store. The place was packed so we couldn't get too close to the front with Meilani in the backpack but we did spy some fiddlers, banjo players and even some ladies flat-footin' - a dance something like the Irish River Dance. We did get a closeup view of some of the street musicians. There were four groups outside on the streets who had their own impromptu jam sessions. This was interesting to watch, especially since the musicians were intergenerational.


Before we left town, we caught a breathtaking sunset. We also ducked inside a mountain coffeeshop. A folk singer with long red hair and an acoustic guitar was playing the Indigo Girls tune, "Closer to Fine." Dorina sipped hot chocolate with coconut syrup and sang along, reminiscing about college days. This place was a little more our style.


We enjoyed our taste of local Virginia and Dorina welcomed the break from schoolwork!