And second (and more importantly), the new Wegman’s in Celebrate Virginia, a store I’ve never been to, but I only hear good things about. I wasn’t thrilled with this pristine acreage along the river being turned into a huge commercial development (I know the alternative could have been hundreds of homes, and I’m not saying I would have liked that any better. Wildlife refuge would have suited me just fine.), but now that the fate of the land is sealed, I can only hope we get some interesting new businesses out of the deal, like Wegman’s. I don’t need a waterpark resort or four new hotels (Are travelers really streaming to the ‘burg, as the addition of the finished or planned 1,233 new hotel rooms at Celebrate VA would suggest?), but an upscale supermarket will be an exciting addition.
This was taken about a week ago, and things have progressed quite a bit since then. This store is scheduled to open June 21, 2009.
3 comments:
There's a major conservation easement between Celebrate and the River.. running roughly from the tops of the slopes down to river level.
There are hiking trails there and the hike is beautiful.
go to the Slavery Museum park and take the dirt road up to the top until you see the water tanks and billboards and then walk left across the open area and into the woods and you'll run right into the trail.
This trail runs along the ridgeline for about two miles and then descends to the river where it runs another two miles back to the quarry.. where a trail will take you back up to the Slavery Museum Park.
There are several ways to shorten the 4 mile circuit.
It IS possible to hike all the way from the quarry up to when the river comes close to River Road (on the way to Mott's Run).
Check it out.. and then perhaps thank the Silver Companies for preserving some of the land (though their motives are not entirely altruistic [tax credits sold to investors].
Thanks for the tip about the hiking trail, Larry...I’ll definitely check it out. As for development, I know it’s unavoidable. And I understand that the Silver Companies have brought a lot of good business to the area, while trying to pay attention to environmental concerns. It’s just a general sense that in the 30 years I’ve lived here, I see more and more green space being lost each year, and it makes me sad. We lose peaceful, natural viewscapes and wildlife habitats in return for more asphalt and more buildings. Don’t get me wrong—I’ll be right there when Wegman’s opens. I just reserve the right to look wistfully back at “the way things were.”
yup - I've been here for by than 40 years and have seen a lot of changes...in land use.
I've grown to the point of view that what we save..what we can save... and protect counts.
On other Rivers.. the Cliffs on the Rapp would be high dollar homes... or on other rivers... travel trailers.
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