Hillbilly's at Heart...Professionals by Trade

THE HILLBILLY SHACK - Authentic Appalachian Cookin' located in Boones Mill 
"Hillbilly's at Heart...Professionals by Trade"

I couldn't find any photos so thought I would share this part of Appalachia with y'all!

PHOTO CONTEST featuring SW Virginia Landscape!

LAND + LINK = PHOTO CONTEST     

The O. Winston Link Museum and the Western Virginia Land Trust present their first juried photo contest, Land+Link, as an opportunity for photographers to document the landscape of Southwest Virginia while competing for prizes and inclusion in the resulting group exhibition. We are asking photographers to submit an image (or images) that reflect their interpretation of this year's theme, "Preserving Our Landscape." The competition will be held during the summer of 2011. Subjects are limited to southwest Virginia.

The contest will be open to all. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three winners, as well as the winner of a special "People's Choice" award. The top three winners and People's Choice award winner will be featured in the Roanoke Star Sentinel, on the websites of the Link Museum and the land trust, and in upcoming issues of the land trust's magazine Saving Land and the Link Museum's newsletter Link News. Finalists will also be displayed at an exhibition at the Link Museum from Sept. 7-16, 2011 and at the Western Virginia Land Trust's Conservation Celebration on Sept. 18.

All entries are due August 12.   

Article shared from Roanokeoutside.com see what there is to do OUTSIDE!

VIRGINIA IS FOR LINK LOVERS

Life is too short for bad coffee...Shellie your innkeeper @ The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, VA - Blue Ridge Country! You can book your room online at any time right here http://www.claibornehouse.net/

The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is 15 miles to three exits off The Blue Ridge Parkway.  We are located at the half-way point of this beloved road in Virginia, exit at MP 121.  We were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor - click here to see our certificate.

UPCOMING OUTDOOR EVENTS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON

PETE'S PICKS        

There is a reason FloydFest was voted "Best Outdoor Festival" by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine - it's simply an incredible experience you don't want to miss.  It's much more than just a music festival - four days of camping, 10 music stages, beer and wine gardens, performance art, global village, kids' universe, craft workshops, disc golf, mountain bike trail, and lots more.

Let me cook your breakfast!

Family cooks take a vacation! Stay with us at The Claiborne House B&B and I will make a home-cooked hot delicious breakfast just for you.  

Let me cook your breakfast!

You got that right, I wear the apron in this family!

Spend the day at the lake, or hiking the Blue Ridge and come back and sit a spell on the porch or hold hands by the ponds.  We want you to relax to kick back and soak up your stay with us, that is what a B&B is all about!

VIRGINIA IS FOR B&B LOVERS

Life is too short for bad coffee...Shellie your innkeeper @ The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, VA - Blue Ridge Country! You can book your room online at any time right here http://www.claibornehouse.net/

The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is 15 miles to three exits off The Blue Ridge Parkway.  We are located at the half-way point of this beloved road in Virginia, exit at MP 121.  We were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor - click here to see our certificate.

*PS image is compressed I am not really fuzzy

Unleash Your Inner Redneck

Okay so that got your attention! I knew it would. 
But of course this was written by your innkeeper at The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast you thought I was just kidding...

It's a family event (but we warned as the track heats up so do the tempers!)

The Blues Legend Buddy Guy in Roanoke November 19th!

Buddy Guy will be performing at The Jeff in Downtown Roanoke November 19, 2011.

Meet the Infamous Shooting Creek

Of the Shooting Creek Road fame!
This is a notorious moonshine runner road just on the outskirts of our Franklin County in Endicott Virginia.  

Moonshiners with souped up vehicles would out run the revenuers along this road

Where y'all from?

I mean really, do you know where you are from? 
Visit this website for The Wilderness Road: Virginia's Heritage Migration Route then come and see us here in Virginia.  THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN!

Wilderness Trail in Virginia

We said goodbye to an old friend this week...

OUR BEAUTIFUL SUGAR MAPLE 

Keepin' it local

Guests often ask me after check in and I point to the restaurant list in their room "But where would YOU eat?"  
This always seems like a crazy question to me, as I do not know their likes and dislikes, I mean come on, I grew up in Mexifornia (San Diego) so for me something spicy is always in order!  

After dinner, come back and sit a spell on the porch and let the lightning bugs entertain you

Escapes: Searching for stones and serenity in Virginia’s Fairy Stone State Park

"Serenity for the soul was our goal. And Southwest Virginia’s Fairy Stone State Park didn’t disappoint.

My 20-year-old daughter and I settled into our lakeside cabin, trading television, cellphone service and the Internet for two rocking chairs on a screened porch with a view. A supply of groceries, hiking shoes, kayaks and books rounded out the necessities for the weekend. " 

By Ann Cameron Siegal

Howz this for scenery?

Philpott Lake Overlook

Claiborne House daughters at the overlook near the Philpott Lake Dam

Nestled among the rolling foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge, Philpott Lake is a scenic wonderland. The lake covers 3,000 acres with 100 miles of shoreland. Visitors to the lake are always amazed at the natural beauty of the area. Most areas are under forest cover. There are numerous recreational opportunities, including: boating, swimming, picnicking,hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation. The lake has eight campgrounds, six beach areas, and nine boat launches. Visitors to Philpott should begin with a trip to the Visitor Center. Lake was built by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1948 and 1951, with it opening in 1953. Philpott Lake is convenient to Greensboro, NC (60 miles), Roanoke, VA (50 miles), Winston-Salem, NC (60 miles), and Raleigh, NC (130 miles), and Richmond, VA (190 miles).

To go to this spot and see this view and hike some of these trails, go here:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philpott Lake Visitor Center

1058 Philpott Dam Road

Bassett, VA 24055

Phone: (276) 629-2703

Don't forget that your Claiborne House B&B innkeeper has a fantastic picnic package available, you can take the picnic basket here and overlook this beautiful lake!

VIRGINIA IS FOR LAKE LOVERS

Life is too short for bad coffee...Shellie your innkeeper @ The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, VA - Blue Ridge Country! You can book your room online at any time right here http://www.claibornehouse.net/

The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is 15 miles to three exits off The Blue Ridge Parkway. We are located at the half-way point of this beloved road in Virginia, exit at MP 121.We were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor - click here to see our certificate.

Meet your Innkeepers at The Claiborne House

"G'day Ya'll!" says Tony your outside innkeeper at The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast, and Shellie your innsider innkeeper says "Welcome!"

Tony & Shellie Innvite you to the Inn!

Now in their 8th year of innkeeping at The Claiborne House in Rocky Mount Virginia, they want to take the opportunity to share a bit about themselves and what keeps them busy. They would like to say thank you to all past guests who have made this journey very worth-while! You are the reason we innjoy what we do at The Claiborne House B&B.

Tony was born in New Zealand and lived in Australia (where he served 10 years in the Royal Australian Navy) and met Shellie in 1988. They were married down under and lived in two different suburbs of Sydney for 5 years before moving to the USA. Shellie was born and grew up in San Diego CALF. Moving back the states after Tony left the RAN they decided to build a house smack-dab in the middle of some acreage in Western Washington (Port Orchard).

Got tired of the constant drizzle and grey days of Seattle and decided to move east where they purchased The Claiborne House. It was already an operating B&B, although the focus was primarily on functions and small weddings (which they currently do not do, fyi.)  The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is exactly that - a Bed and Breakfast.  The work load is heavy, so the focus is on providing comfortable rooms without the doilies and granny-esque atmosphere many older B&B's have, and making it a fun place to visit!

They want you to come out and celebrate something special! Hike these Blue Ridge Mountains, rent jet ski's at our lake(s), visit some fantastic Virginia wineries, or just kick back on the porch and play yahtzee!

The Claiborne House sites of interest page has more innfo for you, as well as the itinerary page. This blog is chock full of articles on stuff to see and do around here.

Have you ever been to a B&B and the website gave zero innformation about the innkeepers? I may be odd, but I wanna know who I am sleeping with! Without a huge biographical page on our website to bore you, I decided to toss this blog article together. Sometimes guests like to innquire about our background, why we are where we are and what we innjoy doing as innkeepers other than serving guests. We love our guests and are grateful for every one (well maybe there were a few we could have done without "AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!")

Oh yeah about us, in a nutshell: 

We have two lovely high school aged daughters in Marching band and both play the violin as well, we attend a local Baptist Church (where the girls are involved in youth group), Tony is a scuba diver and loves NASCAR (now that he is in the heart of NASCAR country with Martinsville Speedway just down the road and says "If you have never been you gotta go!) he is a handyman extraordinaire and has been called the Aussie Bob ViIa and the Rocky Mount Russell Crowe (since there aren't a lot of Aussies around here). 

We love to go to Virginia State Parks on vacation where we rent a cabin and bring our dog Junie (Irish Jack Russell) with us to paddle the rivers, lakes or ocean. Shellie is the photographer of the family and the website/blog/social media guru, she has created and written this blog (at time of this article that is 594 articles all with photos, links and info for our guests) and a couple other blogs she contributes to as well. 

She is also a Virginia Master Naturalist and created the blog for the BRFAL Chapter, plus is a blogger for VA State Parks. 

Tony's main job is I.T. Admin for our Franklin County VA, so he is in the backbone side, or as he calls it "the infrastructure" not the pc or internet side (so he asks to "NOT ask him to fix your computer!" innside joke - but everyone assumes he fixes computers, he doesn't work on PC's but networking gear).

I think that is about it, in a nutshell...more than you ever needed to know right? But guests are always curious and ask us. Oh yeah we have been married 22 years, we adopted the girls through the state system (foster care when they were 3 and 6 years old) and can tell you that God can perform miracles! We are proof of that!

Anything else you would like to know, we hope to meet you in person and can share our home and our beautiful part of the country with you. There is no place like the Blue Ridge of Virginia! "Come on out and let me cook you breakfast!" -Shellie

VIRGINIA IS FOR B&B LOVERS

Life is too short for bad coffee...Shellie your innkeeper @ The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, VA - Blue Ridge Country! You can book your room online at any time right here http://www.claibornehouse.net/

The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is 15 miles to three exits off The Blue Ridge Parkway. We are located at the half-way point of this beloved road in Virginia, exit at MP 121.We were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor - click here to see our certificate.

Is it a Blue Ridge Day Y'all? You better believe it!

COME ON DOWN TO THE ROANOKE VALLEY AND SURROUNDS
Southern Comfort Blue Ridge Style!

We innvite you to come out and see this gorgeous part of Virginia...


VIRGINIA IS FOR BLUE RIDGE LOVERS

Life is too short for bad coffee...Shellie your innkeeper @ The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, VA - Blue Ridge Country! You can book your room online at any time right here http://www.claibornehouse.net/

The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast is 15 miles to three exits off The Blue Ridge Parkway. We are located at the half-way point of this beloved road in Virginia, exit at MP 121.We were awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor - click here to see our certificate.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

...or, if you come to Rocky Mount give me your zucchini and your garden fresh veggies!
I am so serious. So many folks have gardens that overfloweth, bring me a little of that overflow cuz I LOVE FARM FRESH PRODUCE!  I just saw this recipe: 

Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread

In a Tangle in Roanoke

This is why Roanokeoutside.com is so dang cool!  Check out their blog today, it's hairlarious!
Bike Art Tour - a Comb?

Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Roanoke recently unveiled its newest piece of public art, which doubles as a pretty cool bike rack too.

Twenty-nine artists responded to the city's request for a one-of-a-kind bike rack, with artists Joshua Howell and Kagan Taylor creating the eventual winner - "In A Tangle".

Visit nearby Floyd Virginia

Floyd is a town unlike any other in Virginia—small and rugged, artistic and proud

A Magical Hideout

Virginia Living Magazine shares the magical hideout of our nearby Floyd Virginia.  We encourage our guests at The Claiborne House to go to this 3rd stop on The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail and tap their toes at the Floyd Friday Night Jamboree.  It is a 50 minute scenic country drive up and over the Blue Ridge Parkway to Floyd.

photo © 2009 Jeff Noble | more info (via: Wylio)

Read the entire article from VirginiaLiving.com here

Franklin County native reconnects with his roots

William Holland's Franklin County family reunion included a Cameroonian royal family to which he has traced his lineage.

photo © 2010 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | more info (via: Wylio)

William Holland, 42, left the corporate world in 2002 to trace his family's roots.

Paul Thorn in Floyd Saturday July 9, 2011

"I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love" Paul Thorn
Come out and stay with us at The Claiborne House and see Paul Thorn in Floyd VA Saturday July 9, 2011 2:00PM!

Paul Thorn website: http://www.paulthorn.com/

Welcome to Franklin County Virginia!

A few photos of interest of our Franklin County Virginia known as the "Wettest County in the World"

The real license plate of course says Virginia

6 Killed as Fire Ravages New Ulm MN Bed & Breakfast

High heat halts rescues at 112-year-old building

6 Killed as Fire Ravages New Ulm MN Bed & Breakfast

Updated: Sunday, 03 Jul 2011, 1:01 PM CDT

by Ted Haller / FOX 9 News

NEW ULM, Minn. - An explosive fire ripped through a historic New Ulm bed and breakfast house, killing six people in the town's deadliest fire in decades.

The fire destroyed the Bohemian Bed & Breakfast house around 1:45 a.m. early Saturday morning.

Family and friends say the owner, Bobbi McCrea, and her two daughters, Abby and Savannah, were among the dead.

Paul Macho, the New Ulm Fire Chief, says the fire killed four adults, a teenager and a child. Four people survived the fire, and two of the survivors remain hospitalized at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Read more: 6 Killed as Fire Ravages New Ulm Bed & Breakfast http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/6-killed-as-fire-ravages-new-ulm-bed-and-breakfast-jul-2-2011#ixzz1R4ewCWPJ

See Bobbi's B&B blog here

Our hearts and our prayers are heavy with grief over the tragic loss of this innkeeping family (Bobbi and her two daughters) and to their guests. Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast.

Claiborne House B&B is a member of Professional Front Porch Sitters

Will you join us on the Porch, and Sit a Spell?
RELAX ON OUR 130 FOOT WRAP AROUND SOUTHERN PORCH

Sit a spell on the porch