Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409200072
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By JOANNE ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Situated less than a mile off the parkway, the wood chalet at the end of a spruce-lined driveway is nestled against a forest of pine, oak, spruce and dogwood. Deer and rabbits are everywhere, all too often snacking on the garden corn. At night, screech owls and bobcats can be heard in the hollow.
There's a rope hammock, oak swing and multilevel deck near the house, along with cedar furniture and a year-round hot tub. The deck has been purposefully constructed at varying heights so the railings do not interfere with the view from the house. Inside, curtains are draped over deer antlers. Grapevines from the forest frame the dining room window. Owners Pam and "J.B." Simpkins and resident innkeeper Ruby Simpkins, J.B's mother, hauled in the sandstone, quartz and slate to build the 12-foot interior chimney.
The house was built in 1977, but no one lived in it until Floyd County native Simpkins bought it in 1979. After close to 10 years in this wilderness mecca, J.B. and Pam and their twin daughters, Gabrielle and Jordan, 8, moved down to Christiansburg.
"We rented it for a few years," said J.B. "When the tenants left, we wanted to do some renovations." Then the bed and breakfast idea struck. It would provide Ruby with a job and nice place to live, while J.B. and Pam could keep the property for a getaway for themselves.
The term "do-it-yourself" took on a whole new meaning when they started expanding their mountain cabin. "A couple of our friends deserve much of the credit for advising us and instilling confidence in our ideas," J.B. and Pam said, almost in unison. They were referring to Christiansburg interior designer Brenda Lucento and Pilot carpenter Dale Buckner.
J.B. learned to lay tile by laying tile. Pam learned to sponge paint and featherpaint by applying those techniques to the upstairs bathroom walls. Ruby learned how to plaster by smearing joint compound over cheap paneling, filling the crevices and sanding it smooth enough for wallpaper.
Together, the family trio laid its first parquet floor, built shelves and tables and even raised the roof. "We had a little help with the roof when we put the dormers in," concedes Pam, but it was her first experience buying and installing windows.
Pam stenciled the kitchen cupboards to match the blue in the wallpaper. J.B. made interior molding out of cedar from a deck he tore off the chalet years before.
While Pam continues working as a buyer for the physical plant at Virginia Tech, and J.B. stays on at Roanoke Electric Steel, Ruby manages the bed and breakfast. She prepares a real Southern country breakfast of sausage gravy, bacon, eggs, homemade foxgrape jelly, stewed apples, hash brown potatoes and her locally famous homemade biscuits.
The Blue Spruce has four guest rooms. Two have private baths, and one has its own porch. "Guests have asked us to put a chaise lounge out there so they can lie down and gaze at the stars," J.B. said.
And up there in parkway land where there are no street or city lights, there are millions of stars to gaze at.
The Blue Spruce Bed & Breakfast
Route 4, Box 185-A, Floyd, Va. 24091
(703) 745-4377
Milepost 56.2 on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Four guest rooms, two with private baths
From $55 to $65 per night, including taxes
Smoke-free
Children welcome
Memo: ***CORRECTION***