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Photos By Anne Sampson
This tiny community delivers dining, shopping and outdoor fun.
Sunday is a good time to head to Draper, Virginia, a “census-designated place,” otherwise known as a “wide place in the road.”
Here’s what you can do: bring your bike (or rent one there) and ride a portion of the New River Trail, a 57.7-mile linear state park developed from a Norfolk Southern rail bed. You’ll see parts of Claytor Lake, cross rivers along old railroad trestles, hear birds and frogs (the spring peepers are out) and see some of the hundreds of native plants preserved there. You’ll cruise past backyards and the cattle-dotted hills of family farms, past repurposed depots and cabins turned into vacation rentals.
Ride back and have Sunday brunch within sight of the trail at ‘The Merc:’ Draper Mercantile, a restaurant/retail experience that’s made Draper a destination. While you wait for a table (because other people are doing what you’re doing), browse the interesting art and merchandise found in the restaurant, as well the neighboring shops that make up Draper Village, the collection of renovated 19th century commercial buildings that once served the community in more prosaic ways.
An all-day breakfast and lunch menu features omelets, breakfast platters, fruity oatmeal, salads and sandwiches, served with house-roasted, Open Road Roastery coffee in an attractive rustic setting. There’s a stage in the corner which may soon showcase live music, and meeting rooms you can rent.
Owners Bill and Debbie Gardner have created an unexpected experience in rural Pulaski County, right off I-81. Remote and accessible at once, it’s the perfect day trip or weekend getaway.
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