​We got up early and did a long paddle board trip with the dogs to uninhabited Turkey Island. We saw a burst of color in the midst of the sea of green forest and paddled in to investigate. We found a beautiful flowering mountain laurel bush. Hank decided it was the perfect time and place to pop the question. After all – our first date had been on paddleboards. And the dramatic beauty of the laurel bush that popped out of the green background seemed symbolic of the beauty Angie brings to Hank’s life.

She said “Yes!”

Hank had already ordered a ring, which was delivered to his brother Roger’s house in Locust, NC, the previous day. Roger is bringing the ring to the family reunion in Radford for the weekend. 

We packed up and headed to Floyd, VA, 50 minutes away. The campsite in Floyd was a pretty isolated spot in a large, open, hilly field in a former farm about 10 minutes to town. We drove into town in time to see some live music – first at a brewery and later in the city park – part of summer series on alternate Thursday nights. We were treated to fun Cajun two-step and waltz tunes from a mostly girl band from Louisiana – The Daquiri Queens. The token male was the accordion player.

The people of Floyd love to dance. The dance floor was full for every song, right from the first tune! The crowd ranged in age from a few weeks to people in their 70s. Someone at Philpott Lake had told us that Floyd was a bit of a “hippy town”. We certainly saw a lot of tie dye and tatoos and even a girl with a braided mohawk! Who would’ve thought we’d find this in rural Southwest Virginia!