West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful

A few weeks ago, I took to the sky! I went to West Virginia to visit one of my best friends - Janice - and her husband Jeremy. I had enough frequent flier miles to fly down, but will explain later how I got home. My flight had me leaving from Philadelphia at 6am, so I had to wake up at 3am to shower and head to the airport to be there for security checkpoints. And I'm glad I got there when I did because the line was looooong! I finally boarded the plane and sat next to a woman who slept the entire flight. Sleep doesn't come easily for me on planes, so I opted to stare out the window for most of the flight. And while I liked my view, I wish I were on the other side of the plane....because that morning I saw one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sunrises. Oh, the palette of colors!! Oranges, red, pinks, yellows, and blues that danced across the morning sky!! And just like that, the flight was over.

I landed in Dulles Airport at 7:15am. My layover was over 5 hours long. Ugh! And even more annoying is that my ability to sleep in airports is even worse than my ability to sleep on planes. So there I sat, watching people, (secretly) eavesdropping on people's conversations, and trying to pass the time with my laptop.

I don't know if I can accurately describe to you the slight commotion that would ensue as the announcers prepared us for boarding. We were in a small section of the airport, and out of ONE gate MULTIPLE flights would be called off. Plus across the way there was another single gate with four departures scheduled within 20 min. of each other. So thus commenced the battle for the announcements. One staff member would call a flight, then would try to keep the button depressed before the other could start her announcements. And when I realized our lady was trying to tell us to board, four of us walked through the door just as they were closing the door to begin boarding the next flight. And for a second, all four of us questioned if we were even getting on the right plane. Thankfully, we did, and off we went.

I arrived to a very small airport (the second smallest airport I've flown into besides Presque Isle, ME) and was greeted by Janice. I immediately noticed the mountains and knew the next few days were going to be a treat.

Saturday morning, we headed to Jeremy's granny and paw paw's for homemade biscuits and gravy. And let me tell you, if you've not had homemade Southern biscuits and gravy (with sausage), you are missing out!!! It was one of the most delicious meals I've had to date. I'm just glad it's not a meal I'll eat with frequency, because it's hard to stop eating!! After we spent the morning with his grandparents, we headed off on our drive around Jeremy's hometown. The ride lasted about 5 hours, and took us through the countryside. It was one of the most wonderful drives I've ever been on. We saw all kinds of animals. Beautiful homes nestled away in the mountains. Cows like I've never before seen (for the sheer number of them). At one point in our ride, Jeremy took us on "the loop". I thought the loop would last 5-10 minutes. Oh no, once on this loop, to get to the other end of the loop takes over an hour. So there are only two ways out. And on the loop we saw coal mines, abandoned buildings, and a really eye-opening area of town.

Friends we saw along the way...

When our ride concluded, we went to Big Daddy's, a local restaurant, for some much-desired dinner. And what an experience Big Daddy's was. It's a local ma-and-pa restaurant, and the small-town feel was just what I expected.

But...awaiting us on Sunday was a pretty large snowstorm - about 8 inches - that would knock the power out and cause us to twiddle our thumbs and sit in silence for a few hours Sunday evening. But as quickly as it came, it left...the temperatures on Monday were warm enough that the roads were clear, the snow fell from the branches, and life carried on as scheduled.

The power came on through the night but then went off again Monday morning. Janice and I were planning to head 5 hours north to her parents house (outside of DC) on Tuesday, but we decided to leave Monday, not sure if the power would come back on. Thousands were without power. BUT, just before we walked out the door, the power came back on. We decided to leave anyway, and made our trek 5 hours north. My mom drove down from NJ to VA and we met at Janice's parents house, where we were spending the night. Can I just say how absolutely wonderful it is to have family friends that you can be yourself with, laugh with and know that even the simple things are considered special and exciting?? We had a wonderful time with the Tilleys and Mom and I left Wed. AM to head back to NJ.

It was a great trip, and I am so glad I could go and see the place my dear friend calls home. Seeing the Appalachian Mountains surround them was so beautiful (I can only imagine what it looks like during the fall peak). Maybe I'll go back during the fall and see for myself :-)