Eat well on your near-home vacation

By CAROLYN R. WILSON/Correspondent

There are many sites to enjoy along the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop to Damascus.
Bikers can visit Green Cove Station, a restored 19th century railroad depot that currently serves as a U.S. Forest Service visitor center and trailhead for the Virginia Creeper Trail.
Creek Junction offers a good spot for fishing. Waterfalls are picturesque.
About 10 miles from Whitetop is the Creeper Trail Café located in Taylor’s Valley. Susie Dotson and Beth Richardson have operated the café since 2000, offering country food, such as pinto beans and cornbread, meatloaf sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and french fries, as well as upscale entrees such as Northern-Style Philly Cheese Steak. Dotson made a deal with one of her out-of-town guests that if the steak was not as good as ones served at her home in Philadelphia, she did not have to pay. The customer was surprised that the steak was one of the best she had tried.
Dotson said her customers enjoy the tranquility of eating by the creek or inside the café. One of her greatest joys of operating the business is meeting new people each day. The café displays a map on the wall for customers to mark where they live.
“We have every county represented except Greenland and Iceland. We’ve met people from Australia, China, Russia and all over the world.”
The owner is particularly proud that their unique three-tier chocolate cake received attention in the April 2004 issue of Southern Living magazine. The little café along the trail also has been featured in newspapers along the East Coast since its opening.
The café is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed December, January and February.

Bikers can complete their bike trek by eating at Damascus Eats! located on the trail next to J.C.’s Outdoors on Douglas Drive. The restaurant offers a family-style menu with a wide selection of food, such as pulled pork barbecue, cheeseburgers, Alvarado Au-Jus and Shrimp Po-Boy.