In November 2017 Ye Olde Photographer, accompanied by his Faire Spouse, motored down to Roanoke, Virginia where we joined friends from the western end of Pennsylvania at the Hotel Roanoke to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. We have made many previous treks to various parts of the state, but this was our first stay in Roanoke.

On the trip that started this gallery, our wanderings included visits to the O. Winston Link Museum and the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

There are many more things to do and see than the ones we covered, but this was a short stay. There is a covered walkway from the hotel and conference center grounds that crosses the sizeable Norfolk-Southern (former Norfolk & Western) rail line and has an escalator and an elevator that descend right into the Market Square area in the historic downtown. There must be at least a dozen or more eating places, as well as a number of museums, within two or three blocks. We stayed there from a Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning and never used our car. Our "Turkey Day" dinner was an awesome buffet at our hotel.

The Thanksgiving Day festivities included a 5K run and family walk, the "Drumstick Dash," an event to raise funds to help the homeless and disadvantaged. There were several thousand participants and we were impressed by the spirit of community that was evident. In general the city appears to be forward thinking and has many signs of civic improvement that makes it a worthy tourist destination. As of late 2017 there is Amtrak passenger rail service.

Yes there are quite a few shots of railroads and rail activity here. Ye Olde Photographer has always enjoyed trains, model and otherwise. What was neat in Roanoke was that in spite of the proximity of the tracks, there was little noise because there are no grade crossings requiring warning signals.