A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
"Find the Season's Best Color" is from the October 2007 issue of Southern Living.
Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all
information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.
We're the first to admit it: We play favorites.
Our Travel staff hits the road this time of year, looking for scenery to
admire and air so crisp you can hear it snap when the wind rustles. Each
of us has a place of the soul, a place where we return to celebrate the
season.
We hope you find the magic of your own discovery along the roads of the
South this autumn. Here are a few of ours.
Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's Eastern Shore
People here love
the beauty of the season--autumn glowing on the wooded fringes of the
Bay around the old Maryland towns of Annapolis and St. Michaels--but
they're not the only ones around. In fields of tawny grasses at
Assateague Island National Seashore on Virginia's Eastern Shore, I love
to breathe the salt air and watch wild horses toss their heads and race
the wind. --Les Thomas
New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, West Virginia
If I'm
lucky enough, I schedule myself here for Bridge Day (October 20 this
year). The day includes the chance to walk the bridge by foot (this one
day of the year only), the daring to peek over the edge to glimpse river
rafters far below (876 feet, to be exact), and a paint-box panorama of
hues on mountains that hug you on all sides like a mama. Perhaps one
year I'll ride those waters with the river runners, just to see the
scene from the opposite angle. For now, the view from the top is just
that--tops. --Carolanne Griffith Roberts
Staunton, Virginia
When the fires of autumn blaze across the
mountains, I return to Staunton. Known as the "Queen City of the
Shenandoah," this small town provides the perfect placeto base any
exploration of the valley. It sits at the crossroads of I-81 and I-64,
halfway between Winchester and Roanoke and less than an hour from
Skyline Drive. I love to snuggle at the newly restored Stonewall Jackson
Hotel & Conference Center and dine at delightful hometown restaurants.
And when it's too dark to admire nature's art, I head to the American
Shakespeare Center for performances that would make the bard himself
burn with pride. --Cassandra M. Vanhooser
