Small Towns

I cannot stand living in a big city. I'm not going to sit here and list the reasons, for they are legion. Every day it is a struggle for me to just tolerate living in an urban area. So, as soon as we are able, my wife and I plan to flee the city for a rural life.

Here are scenes from some of the small towns near the place we have staked out as our probable refuge once we can leave Charlotte behind for good.

I couldn't live without a bookstore. They have a good one in Sparta.

Downtown Sparta. All sorts of cool shops.

The nearby village of West Jefferson. I have to say...West Jefferson is about as cool as it gets for a small town.

Another view of West Jefferson.

They still have a downtown movie theater and a live theater.

Carole checks out part o the wine selection at the cheese shop.

Want to escape even the small town for the wilderness? You don't have far to go. And, yes, we're talking about real wild country. This spot is at Mount Jefferson (a state natural area) where I paused to look down on the charming town of West Jefferson.

Looking for a Small Town

Carole and I are always searching for a small town where we can retire. We don't like the city. As soon as we're able, we'll take our leave of urban areas and go where things are more quiet.

We're pretty sure we know where we're going to retire. We have it narrowed down to a couple of places, but we're always on the lookout for a spot that will replace either of those. Thus, Carole wanted to check out a place called Narrows, Virginia. And since we were just a few miles away when we were at The Cascades, we drove over to take a peek at it.

It was nice enough, but if anything it was too small. It just didn't have enough to offer for our tastes. But it was picturesque and maybe if we'd looked in more depth we might have been charmed.

We stopped to have a bite to eat at a park there on the New River. Here are some photos we took while sitting and scoping it out.

The roadside park in Narrows where we stopped to have a bite of pizza and a soft drink. (And feed the geese.)

Across the street was a residential neighborhood with a school and ball field.

I said, "Hey, look!" It appeared the kids were walking on water across the small impoundment, but actually they were wading across the top of the dam.

Another view of the nice houses across from the park.