Floyd was a beautiful little hamlet as my cousin referred to it. What is a hamlet anyway? A hamlet can be defined as a small settlement, generally one smaller than a village. Well, how small is a village? A village can be defined by geographers as having between 500 and 2,500 inhabitants and is generally larger than a “hamlet” but smaller than a “town”.

Now that we got that out of the way, we noticed a lot of places in the South follow this sentiment. As we toured the South you could really start to see the difference between the towns, the villages, and the hamlets. We even found ourselves guessing the populations of the little places we’d pass through and then confirming with a quick Internet search. Turns out this is a fun game to pass the time in the car. Often times during our road trips we’d see a sign or a name of a place and we’d go down the Internet rabbit hole and we have learned so many cool things. Like did you know, the city of Brunswick, Georgia lays claim to the origin of Brunswick stew but so does Brunswick County, Virginia? Thousand Islands area of Alexandria Bay, New York is home of the famous Thousand Island dressing and Buffalo, New york is where buffalo wings made their first appearance on menus. Ok, so obviously there is a food trend happening here. But hey, we are in the car and snacks are a very real urge on our tours.

We enjoyed Floyd, Virginia so much. The natural beauty of this area is most appealing.

If you are looking for a secluded mountain getaway, this is your destination.

You are in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the views are absolutely endless. Take an afternoon to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is the best place to take advantage of many scenic overlooks. You’ll find the picturesque Mabry Mill at mile marker 176. It is a perfect spot to have a picnic. Or immerse yourself in nature with some pretty amazing hiking trails. Nothing makes you feel closer to Mother Nature than running into a mother deer and her fawn or spotting a bright, red Scarlet Tanager in the green canopy of the trees.

We discovered that this area is right on the Heritage Music Trail which is perfect for the music lover. Route 58 connects major heritage music venues in the region which celebrate traditional gospel, bluegrass, and mountain music. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, live radio shows, and informal jam sessions abound throughout. Floyd is also home to FloydFest as well as a couple of larger outdoor concert venues. And on the main street of Floyd, every weekend offers an opportunity for live music. We actually camped at one of the venues, Chantilly Farm. How cool!

There are several wineries in the area too. So if wine is your thing, this area is your jam! We enjoyed Villa Appalaccia Winery so much that JC found himself a couple weeks later ordering a case of wine to be shipped to our next stop.

Floyd checked all three of our things on our travel itinerary: wine, mountains, and music. You can bet we’ll be back!

This area post has us jamming out to that good ole’ instrumental bluegrass song, Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Be sure to turn the volume up and don’t be afraid to take them back-country roads!

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