A piece of history in my back yard. The docents were great. Take the kids/grandkids.read more

This is a great side trip for anyone in the area sightseeing. Tours are offered from April to…read moreOctober on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but the grounds are open for touring even when the tours are not going on. I haven't made it to a tour yet but I really enjoyed walking around the grounds. Things to see include: the main house, a smoke house, a creamery, the family cemetery, a tobacco barn, the African American cemetery, and the friendship garden. They have been working on the African American cemetery, which needs a lot of help/maintenance. There is also a short woodland trail that goes to a platform within a dense grove of pines. If you can make it out in the fall, this place is absolutely stunning but it's pretty all throughout the year.

Super cute spot. Looked like someone had just gotten married there because there was confetti…read moreeverywhere. Great stop for pictures and easy to walk too. Wheelchair accessible as well.

A beautiful covered bridge in the Historic district. This modern (1998) covered bridge connects the…read moreVisitors Center with the Historic district. We stopped here for a little walk about on a Sunday morning so we didn't happen upon many people and nothing was open at the time. It was peaceful walk in a pretty area.

Looks like a house, acts as a hub for rotating art and history exhibits. This Queen Anne Victorian…read morehome used to belong to Alexander Black, a prominent figure in Blacksburg, but is now a cultural center for art, and also has a children's room, a small library and a genealogy center. I got to explore the space for a bit before they closed for the day. I was impressed with the children's area, which is fun and has quite a few things for kids to play with. Other than the children's area, everything else is mostly look-but-don't-touch. Art, historical objects and documents, maps, books, furniture and a few cozy places to sit are the rest of the cultural center. This is a nice place to stop into when you're in Blacksburg if you want to know more about the history of the city, but it's also a quick visit.

This house occupies a prominent spot in downtown Blacksburg. It is open for free visitation, but…read morethe hours are limited and it is not open on Sunday, which is a bit tough from a tourist perspective. When I visited, a weekend Street market was going on outside. It is a splendid looking structure outside and in, and had a variety of exhibitions on the history and natural environment of the area as well as some art on display. There was a gift shopped themed toward local history. One can also sit on the covered porch outside. Bathrooms and water fountains were available on the second floor, and it was a hot day.

A little broken down, but still an interesting local curiosity. If you like a little side of the…read moreroad fun, have a peek

This place is amazing, literally the best place to visit in Roanoke. Despite what some of the…read morereviews say, it is much bigger than expected. Neighborhood is beautiful, right next to the river. You are missing out if you don't make this a priority stop when passing by, near, around, or within a hour of Roanoke.

Very interesting self guided tour... Be sure to watch the short film in the visitor centerread more

This place is a dream!…read more This Victorian house museum is located in Kernersville, NC, about a 10-minute drive of Winston-Salem (about an hour drive north of Charlotte).  My wife and I came here for the first time during Christmas week to celebrate my birthday, and what a treat it was! I mean, WOW! We absolutely loved it. The entire house features 22 rooms, 7 stories, 15 fireplaces and the first little theater in the U.S., and as you will see from the posted photos they do a beautiful job decorating it for Christmas.  Parking is free but a bit limited, so make sure to make it ahead of time. Also, I highly recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time as the house gets pretty tight where there are large groups of people.  Overall, 100% recommended.

Carolina Field of Honor lives up to its name & promise to honor all Veterans!…read moreIt is a place of peace and proof of American Patriotism.

We recently visited Carolina Field of Honor as part of our day at Triad Park, and be sure to check…read moreout the full video on Dingus Guide, which includes plenty of kid friendly silliness and educational moments, since we are all homeschoolers now! Copy and paste the link into your browser and be sure to give a Like and Subscribe for more! https://youtu.be/GSBGgT7ojMY Let us know in the comments where we should check out next! The field of honor memorial is a beautiful and peaceful place to come and pay respects to those who served in the military as well as to learn and educate about some aspects of this country's history. My daughter especially enjoyed the fountain and the quotes from great presidents of the past, and she also learned a bit about 9/11 and the twin towers at the World Trade Center. My wife and I, having grown up on Long Island, NY, remember that day very vividly, and we had a moment of realization together to understand that our daughter never knew about those towers or the events surrounding that day. I recommend taking the kids sometime to Triad Park and making a stop there (or coming on your own, of course). There is also a playground within walking distance, so the kids were able to get a little extra enjoyment on top of their educational moment lol!

Took a little hike recently to one of the areas civil war battlefields. The Hanging Rock…read moreBattelfield Monument is on the north end of the trail heading towards Salem. A flat open parking area is at the entrance with easy access to the monument and surrounding signage. The trail is well marked going in but quickly disappears into the brush. There is an unmaintained path of sorts that goes a couple miles back into the forest. It follows the creek for quite a while and there are a few places to access the water back under the canopy. The "rocks" are back in maybe half a mile, even less and the outcropping is hard to miss. I followed the trail up to where it met the modern roadway and back through another section even more overgrown. Walking a part of history through an area that had more battles fought than any other state in our union. If you enjoy history, hiking, and getting outdoors. This is an easy access and fairly level spot. There is the Hinchee General store on the corner about 150' across the grass that has drinks, outdoor seating, etc. 3.5 Stars the monument and signage, along with about a dozen parking spots are right off the main road. 01027

Sunday, On the way back from Wanda's we stopped at Clover Creek Covered Bridge. It was free to…read morevisit and we are all about free and uncomplicated. The vehicle was parked in the small Pullover spot. Several other families were there enjoying the area. There was 2 picnic tables. Deacon enjoyed exploring around the bridge and area. Highly recommend if you are in the area.

Darlin family farm is not an actual farm. Instead it is a homage and building facade to characters…read moreof the famed tv show the Andy Griffith show in historic downtown mount Airy North Carolina aka Mayberry. This barn and truck are simply Photo ops and sit next to other Mayberry photo ops and the gift stores inside Wally's and the Mayberry hotel. Overall a really fun photo ops and it's cool to see an homage to the whacky darlin family that was lovable reoccurring characters in the show.

Darlin family farm is not an actual farm.My buddy and I visited Mayberry over the summer. We had a…read moregreat time and it was very fun to see all the sights and scenes from the beloved TV show. This is a great addition to the tour and the town. I would recommend checking it out as it has many fun tidbits from Andy and Barney. Goober says hey! Hey to Goober.