After winning her 10th Virginia Green Travel award in 10 years, Pickett Craddock is setting her sights on Earth Day this Saturday. She’ll be passing out reusable shopping bags donated by Food Lion at the Halifax Farmer’s Market with others. And she’ll be cleaning up some of the trash on county roads with Community Cleanup bags available at the Halifax Farmer’s Market and other locations.
“For me, the coming Earth Day is a good reminder of the importance of protecting our planet.,” says Craddock. “We should use renewable energy and avoid wasting our resources.”
Once again, Craddock’s Oak Grove Bed & Breakfast in Cluster Springs has been given the Green Travel Leader Award by the Virginia Green Travel Alliance
At the group’s annual conference in Virginia Beach on March 22, Craddock received the coveted award from Tom Griffin, the executive director, who cited her outstanding commitments to the environment for many years.
The inn is known for its extensive array of solar panels and its pioneer electric car charging station. The B&B dries sheets on a clothesline, waters many plants from rain barrels and weighs its trash and recycling and compost in attempt to reduce its carbon footprint.
Craddock noted that information on the harms of plastic bags will be given out at the reusable bag give away at Halifax, and a collection of cigarette butts will be taken to be converted into timbers for construction. At the South Boston Farmer’s Market on April 29, tree or plant plantings will be given away and information will be handed out on composting.
Caption: Pickett Craddock (center) with Rita McClenny, president of Virginia Tourism Corporation (left) and Tom Griffin, executive director of Virginia Green Travel (right).
Spring is early this year! Daffodils and tulips are out! Don’t wait until May. Come visit us now. Enjoy our three miles of trails and the many activities in South Boston, VA.
Need a remote office for awhile? Writing a book? Want a peaceful, quiet place to work on your art project or update your database?
Oak Grove’s new 1850 Cottage is a perfect place to get away and focus on the tasks so important to you.
We have good high-speed Internet, (40 mbs), a fully equipped kitchen with a table and a quiet environment.
Between sessions on your computer, you can walk on our three miles of trails and enjoy the birds singing, and a multitude of trees. Breakfasts are optional.
For more information, go to www.oakgrovebb.com.
The first guests have stayed at our new 1850 Cottage and have given it a big thumbs-up. From Sept. 7-11, three women, including one in a wheelchair, enjoyed the large living room, two bedrooms, full kitchen, long porch and handicapped-accessible bathroom for a nearby music festival. They re-booked it for next year. We are taking reservations now at 434-575-7137 before it gets listed with third-party agencies and on our website. Book now.
Mike’s column in the News & Reecord newspaper:
“You want to start a what?” I asked Pickett in amazement.
“A bed and breakfast. It would be perfect for the house in Cluster Springs.”
So began a 34-year adventure that I have enjoyed but never bargained for when I was a teenager growing up in the California suburbs.
I tend to stay in motels myself when I travel, but now I had the opportunity to meet all kinds of interesting people and not even have to leave home at Oak Grove Bed & Breakfast.
Pickett, who grew up in the 200-year-old house, loves to show it off to visitors. I am no repairman or bellhop, but I can help out with breakfast. After all, I was a PROFESSIONAL busboy in college.
Most guests have been wonderful. Friends come. Families with kids. Foreign travelers. A bike rider crossing the whole state. Even business and government people who gave me good tips to write about.
But there were a few who were a real challenge.
One traveler lost his car keys in the Staunton River while boating. We loaned him a car to drive to Richmond, where his son delivered spare keys from Washington.
There was the couple who was told to stay out of the attic, where there was a school over 100 years ago. Its children had written with lampblack on the walls, and when the guests entered the attic anyway and saw it, they thought it was haunted. They left in the middle of the night without telling us. They even demanded a refund, and we even gave them some of their money back.
Then there was the man just a few weeks ago who called Pickett with news that someone was banging on the front door at midnight. No one was at the door, and Pickett went back to bed. It turned out that the knocker wanted to use our Tesla charger. When she reappeared at the charging port, the man called the police, and vehicles swarmed to our B&B only to see the woman charging her car.
Certainly the most difficult for me was the time I was asked to make breakfast when Pickett was traveling. A woman who provided a two-page list of her dietary restrictions did agree to a parmesan cheese omelet but only if the cheese was from Italy or France. At breakfast, I spilled a glass of water on her. She didn’t complain, but her sister didn’t want her dish and asked for an alternative. I came up with French toast, which I hadn’t made in years. In her devastating online review, she wrote that it was really just fried bread. Well, she wasn’t completely wrong.
I was never asked to make breakfast again.
But these were exceptions. Almost everyone is friendly, helpful and kind.
City lights may be exciting, but the dark skies of Halifax County are much more peaceful. At Staunton River State Park, about a half-hour from here, you can hear “stories of the stars” while looking up to the heavens on Friday, April 1, from 8 to 10 p.m. Story tellers from the Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observing Center will talk about constellations, planets, astrophotography, and the distance from the stars to the Earth.,
If you just want to stay here, you can see stars and planets clearly from our yard. And the frequent full moons are beautiful!
Details at Dark Sky Event, at Staunton River State Park, 1170 Staunton Trail, Scottsburg, VA 24589.
Observation Field. Phone: 434-572-4623
Email Address: StauntonRiver@dcr.virginia.gov
Nestled in the beautiful trees at Oak Grove is a new second-floor room we call the Tree House.
You’ll climb 19 outdoor steps to this scenic bedroom in the “Little House,” built in 1850 as the doctor’s office for Pickett’s great-grandfather.
The Victorian-style oak bed, with its hand-made quilt, gives you a view out the windows and doors into the trees.
The room, with a peaked roof, has a private bath and is dog-friendly (with a $25 fee.)
Nightly Rate: $115-$151 tax not included (Double Occupancy)
Visitors often ask us our favorite places to see in Halifax County. Here’s our list of five:
Cage’s Sculpture Farm: From the road, you can see amazing sculptures by an artist and tobacco auctioneer, Robert Cage. He used cast-off industrial and farm materials to make whimsical models of animals and other objects. He even made a bridge for his goats over his driveway. Located at Cage Trail just off of U.S. 360.
Berry Hill Resort: This historic Greek revival style home was built in 1844 by planter and politician James Cole Bruce. Now it has 92 guest rooms, a tavern and restaurant. Information on a self-guided tour is available at the front desk. 3105 River Road.
Tobacco Heritage Trail: Recently extended to four miles, this hiking, biking, horseback and walking trail is close to downtown South Boston. Nearby is the site of the Crossing of the Dan, where the Revolutionary Army held off British troops trying to cross the river. 196 Railroad Ave.
Toots Creek Antiques: A store with everything: furniture, glassware, pictures, signage, home décor and more. 5293 Halifax Road, Halifax.
Buggs Island Lake: Guests enjoy swimming, sunbathing, fishing, boating and water skiing at this lake, the largest in Virginia. It’s about a half hour from South Boston, near Clarksville.