Our latest travel adventure took us to the quiet
historic town of Abingdon, Virginia. It was the
first incorporated town west of the Blue Ridge
in the United States. Our home away from home
was Black's Fort Inn Bed & Breakfast, where we
were made right at home.
Jimmy and Cindy Patterson were our gracious
innkeepers and did every little thing to make
our stay comfortable and memorable.
Here's our B&B from the road view.
Here is the one acre pond out back, home
to countless waterfowl.
Here are two of Cindy's precious Gypsy
Vanner horses. More about them a little later.
Chickens were among the Patterson's
other domestic "family."
Judy and I enjoyed quiet mornings on the
patio outside our room.
Each morning at breakfast we headed upstairs.
When I saw the piano, I offered to play while
Cindy made final preparations. She enjoyed
"My Blue Ridge Mountain Home" and "Take
Me Home, Country Roads."
One of the views from the upstairs balcony.
The breakfasts couldn't have matched my
tastes better if Cindy had asked me to order it.
Imagine such delights as country ham, special egg
creations, bacon, pancakes with banana-walnut
sauce, apple-cinnamon danishes, and more.
And it was all you could eat!
The syrup caught my eye because Whitetop
Station is the highest point on the Virginia
Creeper Bike Trail, which was our main
reason for this trip.
Our "room," called the Waterfall Room,
was actually several rooms-- half of the
downstairs of this large home (built by
Cindy's grandfather!). Here's the front
room, adjacent to the patio.
This hallway with bookshelf and writing
table accesses the bathroom, kitchen, and
master bedroom.
Cindy's creative fingerprint is everywhere.
As she says, details are everything.
The country kitchen was a dream.
Here's our spacious master bedroom. Both
bedrooms had television and couches.
We slept very well indeed. Like royalty!
Here's a glimpse of the waterfall (right end
of the pond) which gave our room its name.
You don't have to be on the premises two
minutes to learn of Cindy's great love (besides
Jimmy). It's the wonderful Gypsy Vanner
horses that she breeds and nurtures. On her
website you can learn the fascinating journey
with these gentle, intelligent creatures, a journey
that is still going on.
I asked Cindy to write the names of her
four horses for me to share with my readers.
She provide names and nicknames:
"Queenie": Royale Queen of Heart (from the upside down white heart she bears on her left side in the black spot, and for her sweet, kindhearted nature)
"Royale": Her Royale Highness
"Blue": Out of the Blue
"Princess": All the Queen's Silver Princess
Peppy (their blind dog) says,
"What about me?" He's as gentle and
sweet as the horses.
The morning of our departure we got a real
treat. Cindy took us out to get to know her
"children" personally.
Cindy has an amazing gift with horses. On
her signal the children will "smile" or give
her a kiss.
Judy gets to know Fred, the gray
and white, and Puddin', the orange
and white. Loretta, their white cat
didn't make it for the picture.
Here, all four horses graze tranquilly
in their Garden of Eden.
In truth, Jimmy and Cindy have a little
paradise here.
And for 48 hours, Judy and I were blessed
to claim part of it as our own.
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| Our Waterfall |
You can learn all about this wonderful place at
I will have three more blogs following this one
in which I'll take you on a tour of historic
Abingdon, The Virginia Creeper Bike Trail,
and the unique Backbone Rock.
Stay Tuned!
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