A Fun Day In Abingdon, Virginia

We celebrated George and Lisa's Anniversary by having a fun day away from the farm.  We headed to Abingdon, VA about 90 miles northeast of Parrottsville.  I have been wanting to go to Abingdon for quite awhile and I am glad we took the drive.  It is a historic city and county seat in Washington County, Virginia that was founded in 1778.  The downtown area of the city has several historic buildings including the Barter Theater, Martha Washington College now the Martha Inn & Spa, the Hardware and Sinking Springs Cemetery.  The Virginia Highlands Festival is going on in Abingdon.  This is one of Abingdon's biggest festivals that was started in 1948 by Robert Porterfield, founder of the Barter Theater, to showcase Appalachian arts and crafts.  What was once a week long festival has now grown into a 16 day event offering various venues, food and entertainment.  After walking through the festival and downtown area, visiting lots of Antique stores, we decided to have lunch at the BoneFire Smokehouse restaurant.  This restaurant is located in a historic building that was once a Hardware store.  The food and atmosphere was great but the service a bit slow but that was okay because we had plenty of time to sit, relax and enjoy our meal.  After lunch we took a stroll through the Sinking Springs Cemetery where several of the founders of Abingdon have been laid to rest.  It is an interesting cemetery to visit and walk around.  The oldest grave is from 1776 before the town was even founded.  We then headed over to the Barter Theater that was founded in 1933 by Robert Porterfield.  He started the theater because during the depression it was tough to see show and there were also a lot of out of work actors who just wanted to perform.  Patrons who could not afford the 40 cent ticket could barter for it with food, livestock or other goods.  The actors were also paid sometimes with food and livestock.  One of the most famed actors that got his start at the Barter Theater was Gregory Peck.  We had a great day in Abingdon and I would highly recommend a visit to this historic city if you are in the western Virginia, eastern Tennessee or western North Carolina areas.  There is a lot to see and do and I will be returning for more fun soon.  On our way home we did take a side trip to Bristol, VA/TN to have a treat from the Blackbird Bakery, they are famous for their donuts, but their desserts are good too.  It was a great way to spend a day with good friends and celebrate an Anniversary.