Blogs from West Virginia, United States, North America - page 8

Tuesday June 21 Just crossed over the Appalachians in Virginia and West Virginia and just kept on going till I got East of Lexington, Kentucky. I made several stops along the way to rest a bit and stretch my legs.It has been a long day. I left at 11:00 out of Wythville, Virginia and stopped at about 8 PM. I ran into several thunderstorms off and on but found a place to stop and wait them out. It is so nice to have the luxury of time. The weather has been cool and the plants lush and green but I am starting to come to the hot weather again.....sigh. Drove 340 miles today, a lot of them in the mountains. Sure has been pretty.... read more

Most of the people in my sleeping car were also bound for Pittsburgh, so the sleeping-car attendant simply banged on our doors to wake us up, calling, "35 minutes to Pittsburgh!" I thought it seemed a bit early, and it was; the train was ahead of schedule. That was only appropriate, I suppose, considering how very late it had been when I set out. I dressed and packed my suitcase quickly enough, and then spent all the rest of the time looking frantically for my CozyWinters scarf. Eventually -- but not before I had searched every inch of the roomette and gone to check the restroom and shower room -- I found it in my jacket pocket. I stepped off the train into predawn darkness, and there at the station door was Jim. He took my ... read more

Introduction Every year, from late November to early March, I must travel south for the winter. If I fail to drag myself away from the comforts of home -- 45 West Virginia acres euphemistically described as "rolling," some of which are so steep that I, with my bad knee, have literally never been able to set foot on them -- I am reminded of my need to go by a reactivation of my chronic bronchitis. If I do not go -- and this actually happened for five years running before I began my annual migration -- the bronchitis becomes pneumonia by February. Normally, I spend my enforced exile in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. But last year was unusually cold in Myrtle Beach -- snow even fell, and stuck, on the beach itself. And I thought of ... read more

...Indeed! I arrived in Morgantown yesterday, after driving over 1000 miles! But first.. Went from Kansas City to Wichita, about 200(?) miles or so outside of KC! Got to meet my best buddy in the whole wide world, Josh! Yeah - about time! I kinda occupied him from thursday - sunday, sorry about that :) drinking beer,hanging out, at the drive in,goofing around and stuff. See pictures - I got zhe proof :D Stayed at "Days Inn", no complaints! Smoking room, pool right outside my window, free parking, free wifi... will most def be back the next time! Didn't really get to see a whole lot of Wichita, except for the shops I blew alot of money in - so I'll do the whole tourist thing next time :) However, I did see Old Town, or ... read more

Friday, May 21 One of the pleasures of road trips is the excitement of a find that you didn’t expect. Our traipse through AP US History has had us trying to recall so much that we had forgotten - education is wasted on the young - but many of the places and names certainly did ring some familiar bells. But our real find today was a new one - Montpelier, the home of James Madison, outside Charlottesville. We started out Friday morning meandering along a country road lined with the famous Virginia horse farms on our way northeast of Charlottesville - absolutely gorgeous country. Montpelier was the family home of the Madison family - he was born there and died there - and clearly shows how the Virginia aristocracy lived two hundred+ years ago. Until 25 ... read more