The Long Road Home. {365 - Day 226}

You know how the last leg of the journey of an epic trip is always the longest?  Today was that day.  We drove from Martinsburg, WV back to our home sweet home in Charlotte.  We tried to plan a stop midway for lunch and something to do, so Roanoke looked like a good option.  I googled "Things to do in Roanoke" and came up with a little village-type shopping area with restaurants that sounded fun.  I plugged the address into Google Maps and away we went.

We quickly realized that Google did not account for safety and crime statistics when choosing the best route, because before we knew it we were in what you may describe as the 'hood of Roanoke.  Boarded up buildings, random mattresses on front porches, sketchy people eyeing our family truckster...not a good scene.

We made a hasty retreat and headed towards the downtown area, back towards the interstate.  On our way, we found a decent little area with some friendly-looking places to stop for lunch, so we parked the car and strolled around a bit.  It looks like they're trying to revitalize this part of town.  Lots of farmer's market space along with some neat new shops in these cool old buildings.

Not a bad place to stop if you're in need of a break on I-81, but do your homework when deciding which exit to take!

Day 226 {iPhone + photoshop}