Greetings from VA!

[Charon]

Welcome aboard.

[Gramate]

Warm welcome from me [emoji1]

[nmoushon]

Are from the North end or the south end of the valley? or maybe somewhere in the middle?

[Scorpius]

Are from the North end or the south end of the valley? or maybe somewhere in the middle?

Somewhere near the middle I guess - in Staunton (about 30 miles south of Harrisonburg on I 81)

How bout you?

[nmoushon]

I know where thats at! My in-laws live in Waynesboro. I'm up in Stephens City near Winchester. Though looking to move a bit farther south near the Front Royal area. Moved from Chicago a year ago...bit of a change but its very nice here and the skies are MUCH darker lol.

[Scorpius]

Yeah Waynesboro's just a few miles down the road. Conditions aren't too bad most times if these clouds would just go away! Always hazy this time of year but conditions will improve this fall when the temps start cooling off...

I know Stephens City - we used to drive up to Double Toll Gate & check out that big flea market, is it still there?

[michigander]

Staunton Eh?  What an extraordinary coincidence.

We spent a couple of weeks in Virginia in late 2005 and spent some time exploring the Shenandoah Valley.  We stayed in a motel in Winchester (just across the street from a Waffle House - Yaaaay!), but travelled up and down the valley checking out different places.

Front Royal was my wife's favorite place and she's always said if she could ever be induced to live in the US (very difficult to get a London girl out of London) Front Royal would be the place.  It has more of a historic, village atmosphere than anywhere else. 

My favorite was Staunton, where we toured the Shakespeare Theatre (and got the T-shirt to prove it) and then watched a one man Christmas comedy show in the eveniing.  We also saw the bank with the really cool skylight, and took a tourist trolley ride round the town and saw the beautiful old houses.  There seemed to be a couple of good eating places and a proper delicatessen shop.

But there is more of a connection to Staunton which I will tell you about in a PM

Dana

PS.  Did you ever come across a minister called Jack Lovelace in Staunton?

[Scorpius]

I don't believe I've met Mr. Lovelace, which church does he belong to? Yes, the Shakespeare Theater is very nice. My wife and I have attended several plays and it's always been a lot of fun that's for sure. I actually work for the city and helped do the inspections on that project when it was built. I also inspected the Stonewall Jackson Hotel right next door when it was renovated some years ago (I think it actually re-opened in 2005) and you wouldn't believe how run down it had become before the city finally convinced the owner it would be a good investment to bring it back to its former glory.

I've lived here pretty much all my life, except when I was in the military (West Germany) and a few years after returning from service when I lived down on the peninsula between Newport News and VA Beach. Front Royal is a nice place as well and I'm glad you and your wife enjoyed the time you spent there in 2005.

Trying to think of which bank that was you mentioned with the big skylight (I should know since I'm a Stauntonian, right?) but I can't think of which one that is right now. Anyway, I'm glad you had a good time when you visited the "Queen City" and hope you get the opportunity to return again someday.

I've never been to England myself except once when I was in service. We flew across the English Channel in the middle of the night (I was a helicopter crew chief in the Army) to drop off some general and then we took back off before I even got a chance to step foot on English soil... Europe sure was beautiful though and I really hope to take my wife there someday as she's never been "across the pond"

I think PM means private message but I must confess I don't know anything about how that works...

[michigander]

Hi Scorpio.  If you look at the upper right side of the page you'll see an icon of an envelope and one of a bell.  They are for messages and for notifications (things likes 'likes' for your posts).  There should now be a number '1' on your messages, so just click on the icon and you'll go to your messages.

The skylight is in the SunTrust Bank on Beverley Street 

[Scorpius]

Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something about that skylight and after seeing your pic I can see why it's thought to be historically significant. It's pretty bad when someone halfway around the world has to tell you about something that's located just down the street from where you work *LOL*

Received that link to the story about Mr. Lovelace and I'm anxious to read it later this evening but have to get moving right now as it's time to start another week at work. I'd rather be doing some research for future observing sessions but suppose I'll need to keep the job to help pay for all this equipment I've been buying. Just ordered a TeleVue 2.5X Powermate and a TV star diagonal last evening and can't wait to try them out once they arrive and the weather finally decides to cooperate...

[Blind Pugh]

Hi and welcome from Tiree.

[entropia]

Hi, I live in Springfield but I am familiar with the Shenandoah Valley area. In case you are interested, there is this astronomy club http://www.novac.com/wp/ and they have several star parties every month. The next ones will be on July 25 and 26  at Great Meadow State Park (The Plains)

[Jim Steele]

Hello and welcome from the cloudy British Isles

[todd8137]

Hi and welcome to the lounge

Pat