If you’re looking for hotel deals in Virginia then Virginia Hotels Online is the right place to be. With the service offered by this website you can search through the hotel rates offered by over 30 different hotel sites online to make sure that you get the lowest possible price on your hotel reservations.

Instead of wasting your time looking through all of those sites yourself, you can let Virginia Hotels Online do it for you in just seconds.

You can either click on your destination city on the left or type it into the destination area in the search box on the upper left corner! Either way it’s easy to get a complete list of hotels that you can then sort however you want.

For instance you can click on the box for “swimming polls” in the Hotel Features area on the left of the hotel search results page and all of the hotels that do not have swimming polls will be instantly removed! Another good example is “pet friendly.” If you need a hotel that will allow you to bring your dog then you can just click the “pet friendly” box and all of the hotels that don’t meet your needs will be taken off the list.

You can also sort the hotels by price, star rating, & location.

Sorting by price lets you find the least expensive hotels & sorting by star rating lets you find the nicest luxury hotels. Sorting by location allows you to find a hotel near a particular landmark in the city you are visiting. Large cities will have many more landmarks to choose from (smaller cities & towns will not have this feature.)

For example if you are visiting Richmond you can choose the “Virginia Museum of Fine Arts” from the Location Distance tab on the left sidebar and then you can sort the hotels by distance from that landmark.

Virginia Hotels Online Features

• Search for the lowest room rates at over 30 hotel sites simultaneously.
• Find great hotel deals in any city in Virginia (and Washington DC.)
• Sort hotels by features, price, stars, & location.
• Saves you time & money.
• Verified customer reviews.

Elizabeth’s Heritage Clothing Company makes unique handmade upcycled clothing that’s made right here in Virginia. Elizabeth’s Heritage is based in Floyd and its grand opening is this Saturday (10/8/2011) at the St. Pierre Gallery in downtown Floyd.

The St. Pierre Gallery is located in The Station which is hard to miss on South Locust St. not long past the one stoplight in town.

Every piece made by Elizabeth’s Heritage is unique. When you wear a dress or a jacket made by this clothing co. you will know that no one else will be wearing the same thing.

Like Elizabeth’s Heritage Clothing Co. on Facebook.

Each piece of clothing from Elizabeth’s Heritage has its own unique name…

“Bessy Mae”

“Lola Reese”

Like Elizabeth’s Heritage Clothing Co. on Facebook.

Colonial Williamsburg was a destination in 1607 for the first settlers to the East Coast of the United Stated from England.

Today Colonial Williamsburg offers a destination that will take you back in time. Three hundred and one acres of historic sites and eighty eight, 18th century structures make up Colonial Williamsburg. Here are 5 historical destinations in Williamsburg that you are sure to enjoy visiting.

The Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum – This museum houses a large collection of British and American Antiques. Items from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries are on display; textiles, furniture, paintings and much more. The museum begins in a 1773 Hospital and as you make your way through the museum you are walking through parts of American history.

Bassett Hall – A fully restored 18th century home, remodeled in the 1930’s and 40’s as a residential home, offers tours to the public. The extensive gardens around the home are a must see in the Fall and Spring.

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum – Featuring the work of Contemporary and Colonial craftspeople and artist. Work representing interpretations of life outside of the everyday using materials that were readily available. The exhibits rotate so there is always something new offered for viewing.

R. Charleston’s Coffeehouse – Visit a historic 18th century coffee house, located just across the street from the capital. A historic location where gentlemen gathered to enjoy, coffee, meals and discussion.

The Capitol – The Capital building of Colonial Williamsburg is the 3rd building to stand on this location. This historic building was where the colonies gained their independence, where laws and great men were made. This building is truely a gem of United Stated history.

As many find themselves watching the economy make its ups and downs staycation is  becoming very popular. The idea behind staycation is staying at home for vacation; exploring local restaurants, events, and happenings. The town of Blacksburg, VA has a lot to offer its residents for a relaxing and exciting staycation.

Spending time outdoors in Blacksburg is a great way to spend the day and there is so much to do. Blacksburg has many parks, trails and picnic areas to be enjoyed. The Huckleberry Trail, Nellie’s Cave Park, Blacksburg Dog Park, Heritage Community Park and Natural Area, and Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech are just a few.

Blacksburg also offers an outing to Historic Smithfield Plantation, an 18th century plantation where you can see first hand what life was like at that time. The Lyric Theater downtown Blacksburg offers movies and live music in a historic theater setting.

For art inspiration the Armory Art Gallery, 203 Draper, offers exhibits open to the community. A walk through downtown you will also find; Miller Off Main Street Galleries, Blacksburg Regional Arts Association, Beaux Arts Galleria, Matrix Gallery, Art Pannonia, and Main-Lee Art.

Among the many shops in downtown Blacksburg you will find many really good places to eat. The Cellar always offers great food, Gillies has a wonderful vegetarian selection, Bollo’s is a nice coffee shop and Awful Arthur’s is always pleasing. If you want something a little more exotic for your staycation; More Than Coffee-Mediteranean Restaurant, Cafe de Bangkok, Excellent Table Ethiopian, Souvlaki’s and Boudreaux’s are all great options.

These are just a few offerings that Blacksburg has to offer you on your staycation. There really is so much to do to make your day really special. And don’t forget the Blacksburg Aquatic Center if getting your feel wet is part of staycation for you and your family. I hope you enjoy you stay!

There’s a new blog about Floyd, VA featuring the “untold story” of Floyd: FloydBlog.com.

The first blog post about Floyd is this one about the Slaughter’s Garden Center. Many more posts about Floyd (and maybe some about the surrounding areas: Christiansburg, Blacksburg, & Roanoke) are to come!

28 year old Lorrie Fenn, who came to Floyd via Brooklyn in the fall of 2008, started the blog but other creative people in Floyd will also be contributing blog entries.

Along with being a blogger, Lorrie also works as a freelance graphic designer & makes original handmade jewelry.

Follow Lorrie on Twitter.

Shopping:

Unique handmade items made by local artisans. Jewelry, pottery, paintings, art prints, baked goods, and much more!

Times:

Friday, November 26: 11AM-7PM
Saturday, November 27: 11AM-3PM
Sunday, November 28: 11AM-3PM

Note that the start time for Friday is actually 11AM (not 3PM is indicated on the poster above.)

Location:

205 S. Locust St. (just south of the only stoplight in Floyd County on Route 8.)

Click Here for the Floyd Holiday Market Facebook Page!

Rick Boucher has been “fighting for the 9th” since 1983. Morgan Griffith, his opponent, doesn’t even live in the 9th district.

It doesn’t make much sense to me to vote for someone who can’t even vote for themselves.

Of course that’s not the real reason I would never vote for Morgan Griffith but it is a nice kicker. The real reason is that he is a part of the “Republican Tea Party” that wants to take our country back about 50 years (or perhaps even further.)

The Republican Tea Party “Contract on America” is frightening:

Letting the Republicans back in power when considering that they wrecked this country the last time they had power and their plan for the future of the country is even worse than what they did last time would be absolutely insane.

It’s important to vote against Republicans every chance we get. Hopefully some people who made the mistake of voting for Republican Bob McDonnell are already seeing that was a mistake. How many times must people be fooled into voting against their own self interest before they stop doing it? It’s never a good idea to vote for a Republican. Never.

Rick Boucher is far from perfect. He is often on the wrong side of the issues in my opinion. But he also clearly works very hard and he’s also been on the right side of many votes. With Morgan Griffith you can be sure that would not be the case.

Register To Vote if you haven’t yet.

The 9th annual FloydFest music festival is starting up in just a couple days (Thursday, July 22.) You can find the festival site off of MP 170.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The location is actually right past the Floyd County line so it’s technically in Patrick County but the spirit of the festival is entirely Floyd (it was created and is ran by Floydians.)

This four day (Thursday-Sunday) music festival has been getting bigger and bigger every single year since it began in 2002 and this year’s to be the biggest yet. There are many styles of music to be heard at FloydFest every year from traditional bluegrass to electronic dance music to everything in between. The focus tends to be on “roots” music but if that’s not your thing, there’s plenty of other music styles of music to keep you interested. There are many different stages going on at once most of the time. And for night owls, the Global Village stage is usually going strong well past midnight.

On site camping is included with all consecutive day tickets. Most campers are there for the full four days (four day passes are $140.) Camping can get quite crowded so you’ll probably want to get there as early as you can to set up your tent if you want to do this.

The headlining act this year is Levon Helm who is most famous as the drummer for The Band. Of course, those who know The Band also know that Helm sang lead vocals on some of their songs including “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

Levon Helm will be performing Saturday night (he’s scheduled to go on at 9:15 PM.) Among the many other bands/artists performing this year are Old Crow Medicine Show, Railroad Earth, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Hackensaw Boys.

Along with lots of music to listen to, the festival also features many different vendors with lots of different styles of food and a large variety of different goods for sale.

Past festivals have featured bands/artists such as The Avett Brothers, Blues Traveler, Los Lobos, Ani DiFranco, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Donna the Buffalo, Xavier Rudd, and Yard Dogs Road Show.

There is a lot of beauty in the state of Virginia and I think that can be seen quite clearly when looking at  Dorian Ashe Photography. Dorian’s principle subject for his photos is nature in Floyd County.

Floyd is one of the more unique counties in Virginia. There’s an interesting blend of “old country” with “new age” (to use two phrases that only scratch the surface of what it’s all about) that makes it quite unlike anywhere else I’ve been.

As I mentioned in my last post there’s the weekly Jamboree / Artisan Market which draws quite a crowd (locals & tourists) but that’s not all there is to Floyd. Judging Floyd just by Friday night would be like judging New York City by Times Square.

The evocative photo you can see below is a good example of Dorian Ashe Photography and the type of beauty you can find in Floyd County.

Friday nights in Floyd, VA during the summer are very busy. The biggest reason for this is because this is the night that the weekly Jamboree featuring traditional bluegrass music is held at the Floyd County Store. Not only is the store itself packed every Friday but there there’s also plenty of overflow of banjo and mandolin players into the streets.

And beginning this summer there’s also been an artisan market right every Friday evening featuring everything from hamburgers (local grass fed) from Oddfellas, to didgeridoos, to ocarinas, to handmade jewelry from Oliver Jewelry. This market is a very short walk from the Jamboree (right next to The Station shopping center which features art boutiques, a toy store, a wine shop, and a music shop.)

Downtown Floyd has a fun festival atmosphere on Friday. And I haven’t even mentioned the new pizza/bar place (Dogtown Pizza) that only opened up a couple of weeks ago yet. They’ve got great pizza (and beer.) They’ve also usually got live music there on Friday nights. The bands that have played there so far have been “groove” oriented. Decidedly not bluegrass (which adds some much needed variety to the musical choices on South Locust St.)

You should definitely check out Floyd on Friday nights if you haven’t yet done so.

And if you’re looking for a great hotel to stay at in town (that’s located within easy walking distance to the Floyd County Store and the artisan market) then you should stay at the Hotel Floyd (make reservations early, they often sell-out on the weekends!)