Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060239
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
``I think they've already had a vision, and it's tunnel vision,'' said Margaret Ray, who fears officials are spending too much time talking and not enough time acting.
Ray, who operates The Oaks, a historic bed and breakfast in Christiansburg is one of several inn owners who have joined dozens of antique, art, crafts and specialty dealers to offer an inn and antique tour of Salem, Christiansburg and Pulaski during the winter months.
The deal includes reduced winter rates in the bed and breakfast establishments and discounts at participating shops and restaurants.
The various inns will serve as hospitality centers; innkeepers will serve as tour guides.
Visitors will be able to book one bed and breakfast and visit others for refreshments as they explore the variety of shops along the Interstate 81 corridor from Roanoke to Interstate 77.
Merchandise includes fine and hand-painted furniture, collectibles, antique linen, one-of-a-kind dolls and other items, fine art, primitives and, as Ray puts it, ``wonderful junk.''
The inns will offer country food, a stress-free atmosphere, nearby restaurants and outdoor activities even in winter.
``It's just a little effort, but it is a good beginning. Everything has to begin somewhere,'' Ray said.
The idea has the enthusiastic support of Roscoe Cox, director of the Pulaski Main Street program which has brought many new antique and other kinds of shops to downtown Pulaski in the past year.
Cox said he has a vision of tourism-related businesses from the Roanoke Valley to Wytheville and beyond cooperating in future ventures of this kind.
Networking with other businesses is nothing new to Ray. She has been recommending attractions like the antique shops in Pulaski and the Pioneer Maid cruise boat at Claytor Lake to her lodgers.
``But we are very dependent on the other businesses giving our guests something interesting to do,'' she said. ``We plan trips for our guests all the way from Natural Bridge to Abingdon.''
Further information on the package tour is available by telephoning The Oaks (381-1500), The Inn at Burwell Place (387-0250), The Bell-Capozzi House (382-7372), Count Pulaski Bed & Breakfast (980-1163) or the Claytor Lake Homestead Inn (980-6777).
``We're friends. We might be competitors, but there's no reason why we can't work together,'' Ray said. ``If we're all going to do well, we're going to have to work like that.''
The venture will be advertised as a winter getaway in the quiet valleys and historic towns of Virginia's mountains. The multistate advertising will note that the region is four hours from Washington, D.C., three hours from Richmond, two hours from the North Carolina Triad and three hours from Charlotte, N.C.
by CNB