Day 238 - Marion, VA

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Virginia Bluebells in Virginia!

This sign has seen better days.

My friend Norma and I left Tennessee in the rain.  Because it was not good weather for traveling the back roads and stopping to photograph whatever caught our eye, we decided to make headway by sticking to Rt. 81 and settling on a place to do my walk whenever we felt that there would be a break in the rain.

Raindrops on tulip petal

Flagpole Detail

Norma found Marion, Virginia, on the map, and then she researched it a bit in her iPhone, so once she read me the description, we left Rt. 81 and got on Rt. 11 near Marion.  I did my normal routine of driving through the entire town on the main street, to see what the town offered, then turning around and finding a good place to park.  In this case, it was at one end of town on the main street.

We got into rain gear and walked on the sidewalks in the downtown area.  Marion is named for Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero, also known as the Swamp Fox.  The only information on Marion, VA, is from Wikipedia, because the town's web site is undergoing renovation.  Marion is one of only a few Virginia towns to be both an official Virginia Main Street Community and National Main Street Community.  I read further about General Francis Marion, for whom a luxury hotel in the small town is named, but I could not find any connection he had to Virginia.

The General Francis Marion Hotel

Marion also lays claim to being the birthplace of Mountain Dew.  Although the drink originated in Knoxville, the current formula that Americans know and love today was developed in Marion.  Nolan Ryan is also from Marion.

The J.C. Campbell Home

The downtown area had the usual small antiques shops, hair salon, cafes, furniture store, gift shop, churches, and a few professional offices.  However, hardly anything was open today, even though we were there in the afternoon.  There was a restored theater that now offers live performances and a large, impressive courthouse.  There were a number of beautiful homes, particularly the J.C. Campbell home, with a manicured lawn and a C monogram on the peak of the roof.  The unusual yellow brick of the 1906 home was shipped from Pennsylvania.

Yardsticks in Antiques Shop Window

The rain held off, and we were glad for the opportunity to get in a good walk from one end of the town to the other after being in the car for several hours.  Marion, VA, was a good choice for the walk, as well.  Good call, Norma!



 

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Visit my photography show, "My Maryland," at the public library in Urbana, Maryland, on the lower level of the building.  It is there until the end of April.

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots
Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so