Guys, I’m sick of rain. Sick and tired to death. Hobby Lobby already has their fall decorations up, and it truly is anxiety-inducing. Summer is going to be drawing to a close and with all of the rain we are getting – next to no sunshine. Fall is coming which always passes too quickly, and then we’re back to winter.
I don’t know if I officially deal with seasonal depression, but the older I’ve gotten the more the concept of winter terrifies me. Thankfully, last year was mild, but winter has the potential to be so cold, bitter, and dark, and I’m just absolutely dreading it.
If I’m going to be somewhere where it’s rainy all the time, I’d rather it be Ireland or England – somewhere where gloomy can be construed as romantic!
We were chatting with some friends this past weekend who are gearing up for their next Ireland trip. They rent a tiny cottage in a town they adore and travel out when they want from that home base.
L’s Facebook feed the other day reflected her longing for Ireland’s green hills and a warm fire in the cottage. With all the rain here lately, I could go for some of the same!
I can’t wait to live vicariously through her pictures and hear all of her stories over a cup of tea when they are back stateside.
I’m hopeful we’ll be able to travel some more in the next few years, maybe back to Ireland, or someplace new (maybe even sunny). But for now, I’m just going to sip some tea, with a fuzzy blanket, and avoid the fall section of Hobby Lobby until at least mid-September and dream of Ireland instead of dreading winter.
What are your tricks for beating the winter blues?
If you recall, I love a good, old-fashioned carousel, especially one that is in a trolley park!
Some friends invited us to join them at Kennywood near Pittsburgh. As it was only supposed to be about a 3-hour drive, we decided we’d make a day trip of it even though we knew it would be a little rough spending that much time in the car.
We headed out early that morning with the address programmed into my smartphone. Everything was going smoothly. I had some good coffee in my travel cup, GPS was working, and The Fellow was napping in the front seat. Then about an hour into our trip, the GPS whipped us off of the main road and onto an unmarked, dirt road.
Now, that doesn’t really merit mentioning as it happens fairly often on my road trips. What did cause a problem was me almost missing the turn, and the cell phone going flying, hitting its screen, and clearing out the map.
So there we are, no map, on a dirt road, and no cell phone service to be able to use our data plan to load a new map – at which point The Fellow wakes up from his nap.
Now, I have a few life rules. The two main rules being, never lend more than you can afford to lose, and the other is that as long as you have gas, you’re never truly lost (at least on the East coast side of the US). Eventually, you will find someone or someplace to stop and ask directions.
The Fellow, however, gets seriously stressed in these types of situations.
I figured we may as well keep driving, because we know we’ve got to keep going forward, and eventually we’ll get back into cell phone service or find a place or we can head home. No worries. Until we hit a fork in the road.
Now, once many years ago I was lost on a mountain road and called my father for help, and he told me, “Now, mountain ranges run north to south, which means the valleys run east to west, and moss grows on the north side of a tree so you should never be lost.” To which I replied, “By the time I’m out of my car looking for a tree, I’ve got bigger problems.”
Not concerned enough to go moss hunting, I suggested that we try the left fork.
As it turns out, going left took us in a circle, so we tried the right fork, and things started to seem a bit familiar as I’d been lost there before.
Finally, we hit Paw Paw, a tiny little town in WV, and pulled over to try to get cell phone service.
As The Fellow was fiddling with the cell phone, a car pulled into the next driveway over from where we were stopped, and a man hopped out with his morning coffee.
I rolled down the window and hollered across the road, “Excuse me!” (as The Fellow looked at me like I was crazy). He walked over to us, and I said, “We seem to have gotten ourselves a bit lost; we’re heading to Pittsburg.” He just chuckled and gave us directions.
Two hours later, and over an hour late, we pulled into the parking lot at Kennywood.
It was a really fun day with friends riding the rides, eating park food, and hanging out.
And that, my friends, is the story of how we made it to Pittsburgh via Paw Paw.
It seems crazy to me that summer doesn’t start until this far into June. That’s probably because as a kid I considered the start of summer when my mother let me (finally) start going barefoot!
Since summer is officially here, I wanted to share with you some of my summer must-dos!
1. Sit out on the porch and watch fireflies.
Call them fireflies or lightning bugs, either way, nothing says summer to me like sitting in the dark surrounded by the still, warm summer air watching those tiny lights go bobbing through the darkness. There’s something so magical about it – like you are getting to watch a fairy dance.
2. Get ice cream at a local ice cream joint.
I know your area has one, and if it doesn’t you can head my way to try one of ours! Locals know the place for the best ice cream. Once you find it, everything else just falls a little shy of the mark. Memories are made sitting in booths, licking ice cream cones. Some of my favorite places in the Tri-state area are:
There are a few Pack’s around, but my favorite is the little frozen custard stand on Route 50. It’s soft serve, and they have a phenomenal waffle cone. Order Mama and I’s favorite – chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles in a waffle cone and thank us later!
Nutter’s is the ice cream go-to for all of the Shepherd University kids. It’s on a side street in historic Sharpsburg, Maryland and has Hershey’s hand-dipped ice cream. The best part? The prices! Serving their college market well, they give you a big serving of your favorite sweet treat for a reasonable price!
Mikie’s also has some awesome food to go with your ice cream. My favorite is a chicken tenders platter with curly fries while Mama loves their pizza burgers. Mikey’s is a neat place because not only do they have ice cream and food, they also have an arcade and a gift shop! Something for the entire family!
Farm fresh, creamy, delicious ice cream. Here you will find something unique that both The Fellow and my Father love – grapenut ice cream. Yupp – like the cereal. While you’d think this wouldn’t be appealing, it is an absolute must try. Now, I will say that Antietam Dairy’s isn’t quiiiite as good as Daddy’s homemade ice cream, but it’s as close as you can get for sale to the public!
3. Have a campfire (and eat a s’more).
You know I’m all about a good s’more, and nowadays with Pinterest there are so many other yummy campfire treats to whip up! There’s something I truly love about waking up in the morning with the smell of campfire smoke in my hair. I truly believe that some of the strongest bonds are formed by firelight.
4. Watch a parade.
Seriously, it’s not summer without a little bit of celebration. It’s American summer at its finest watching the kids in their band uniforms, firetrucks, 4-H groups, and pageant queens ride by as you wave and cheer. Go ahead, run, and grab one of those Tootsie Rolls they just tossed while you’re at it. You know you want to.
5. Read a good book.
Be it on the porch, by the pool, or on the beach, summer is for relaxing and doing some light fun reading. Head to your local library or order something online and fall into a magical world. Summer is also the perfect time to get the kids involved in a summer reading program!
Bonus 6. Star gaze.
Just as summer starts to wind down and the air gets the tiniest bit of a chill to it is when I love to star gaze best. It’s the most magical time of the year for me. I like to lay out in a hammock and try to pick out constellations. If you can get a hold of a star-gazing book, the history/stories behind the stars are truly fascinating. If you get a chance, check out a planetarium, and then star gaze at home!
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Hey There!
So, this is kind of a strange post for me. I’m going to be sharing some awesome background on the new Fallout 76 video game!
Now, as you probably can guess, I’ve never been a video game person – even playing Mario is stressful – seriously. I’m terrible at it. My exposure to video games as a kid was basically, occasionally playing the full-size Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom arcade game my brother bought at an auction in our basement.
The Fellow plays video games which means that I end up watching the games while he plays. His list of games includes the last few Fallouts.
As soon as the trailer for Fallout 76 hit, my social feeds went crazy. Friends from all over West Virginia were posting about it and listing the WV landmarks they were catching in the trailer. At the same time, I saw an out-of-state friend misidentify The Greenbrier resort as the White House. I figured if you’re going to be (virtually) in WV, you may as well know where you’re standing.
You might’ve seen this on the WV State quarter. It’s without a doubt one of the most memorable landmarks in the state. Construction began in 1974, and for a time it was the longest single-span arch bridge. It now is the fourth longest. Bridge Day (which is always on the third Saturday in October) is West Virginia’s largest one-day festival and draws tourists from all over the world. Bridge Day activities include BASE jumping, music, ziplining, food, and more!
The capital of WV shifted several times between Wheeling and Charleston before citizens finally voted Charleston as the official and final capital. There have been three different Charleston capitol buildings. The first was leveled by a fire in 1921, and a temporary building was hastily raised to replace it. The third and current capitol building was designed by the architect Cass Gilbert.
Construction began on this building in 1924, and Gilbert liked his design of the West Virginia capitol’s interior so well that he reused part of the design for the United States Supreme Court building. You really can’t tell from the screen shot/video, but that dome is gilded in 23 and ½ karat gold leaf applied to the copper and lead roof in tiny 3 and 3/8 inch squares. Also, the 293-foot gold dome is five feet higher than the dome of the U.S. Capitol.
OK, so Watoga Estates may be a fictional place. (If not, let me know!) BUT Watoga State Park is a real place! In fact, Watoga State Park is the largest of West Virginia’s state parks at just a bit over 10,100 acres! You’ll have plenty of outdoor activities to entertain you if you rent an onsite cabin (which are open year-round) such as hiking, swimming, fishing, boating, an observation tower, and a museum for those rainy days you may want to stay inside.
While I picked quaint, artistic Sheperd University for my college experience, there’s no denying the overwhelming love for WVU, both its sports and college experience. I went home to WV the other day and had aaaalmost forgotten how many WVU apparel items you’ll see in a WV group setting!
I know blue and gold are Vault-Tec colors, but I can’t help but be reminded of a WVU game when I see those blue and gold banners in the vault. My friends who went to WVU were going crazy when they saw WVU and Woodburn Hall in the trailer.
Woodburn Hall was completed in 1876 and is the best-known symbol of the university. Designed by Morgantown native architect Elmer F Jacobs, it is considered one of the finest examples of Second Empire architecture in the state of West Virginia.
As students are wont to do, they find a way to leave their mark. In Woodburn Hall, the place of choice is a small cupola room in the hall’s upper floors. The hall has seen the inaugurations of university presidents and been the setting for the reception of US presidents, but always most importantly, each new generation of Mountaineers.
The Greenbrier is the absolute best place I can think of for a post-apocalyptic game to be set. Why you ask? Well, despite being a 5-star luxury resort, The Greenbrier is home to one of the worst-kept secrets in WV. This secret is precisely why I think it’s so perfect for Fallout – The Greenbrier secret underground bunker, or vault if you would like. This bunker was built during the Cold War to serve as an emergency shelter for the U.S. Congress. It’s since been declassified, and code name “Project Greek Island” has become more common knowledge.
I love old amusement parks and have a thing for old carousels. That’s why I’m so excited to learn more about Camden Park. This old trolley park has immediately gone to the top of my “Must-Do” list.
Camden Park was established in 1902 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company. It is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Its location was unique as it was on the trolley line between Huntington and other cities, so passengers could stop, picnic, and enjoy rides before heading to their next destination.
Its attractions include the Big Dipper – a wooden roller coaster, the Little Dipper (You guessed it – a miniature wooden roller coaster), the Camden Princess (a customized Zamperla Rockin’ Tug), the Carousel, and swan-shaped paddleboats among other rides!
The park is typically open six days a week from late May to early August, with a more limited schedule in late August, and select dates in September and October.
I’ve been to some of the places on this list, and I’m so excited to see them shared with thousands of online players. I’ve heard rumors that the Mothman may be featured, and I can’t wait to watch The Fellow play.
As with all things, when I hear WV is going to be highlighted by a nationally-reaching medium, I tense up. (I’m looking at you, Bones. What is with those accents?!) But I have high hopes that Bethesda Games will do my West Virginia proud.
I wanted to give you all a heads up about an upcoming West Virginia Event – The Almost Heaven BBQ Bash. You’ll forgive me if I tell you it should be a crazy good time!
I needed forgiveness for that sentence because this BBQ festival is being held in a place that (strangely) holds some awesome memories for me – the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
Yupp. You read that right. BBQ at an insane asylum.
Now, if I were you right about now I’d be wondering how an insane asylum is on my list of fun memories, and I can’t blame you.
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (TALA) is one of the first WV trips I went on. Way back in high school, my WV Tourism and Hospitality class went on a field trip to TALA. We went on both the historical and the supernatural tours.
After that first visit, I was hooked. I went back with friends a few times for their Halloween festivities. (They put on a truly terrifying haunted house and a “Witches Ball” which is basically a metal concert on the front lawn). I even went on an overnight ghost hunt as a first date! (Ya know those early warning signs in relationships you should listen to? Yea, I was never good at reading those . . . )
Don’t mind me. I was just chatting with a resident ghost.
I love old buildings, and there’s something phenomenal about standing in a place that has spanned years before your life and feeling the energy of that space. It’s breathtaking. But this energy is well, different. The grounds total 666 acres and since TALA operated from 1864 to 1994, it has a lot of dark history. From civil war soldiers to lobotomies, it’s no surprise that ghost hunters from all over have come to meet the former patients.
I’ll let you make up your own mind if you believe in spirits, but either way you should head over to Weston, WV for a beautiful scenic drive to some delicious BBQ, and if you’re in the mood for some history or a haunting check out the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, since you’re in the neighborhood.
This past weekend I got to head back to my dear West Virginia for a festival. WV has a ton of festivals, and I’ve made it a goal of mine to try to go to more of them. From small festivals to large ones like the Mountain State Forest Festival, there is always something to be celebrated.
This particular adventure was to the Ramps & Rails festival in Elkins, WV. It made the top of my list because my dear friend “A” (my maid of honor) and her fellow “C” were assisting at a tie dye booth, so I was able to hit the festival and spend the weekend with her.
Now, you may be asking – what’s a ramp? I’ve always heard them described as a wild onion, perhaps a better description is a wild leek. Ramps have a bulb, flat leaves, and a sharp garlicky taste. They are also rather, well, pungent.
The festival was held at the Elkins Depot Welcome Center. There was live music, about 50 different vendors, and lots and lots of ramp-inspired foods.
Everyone knows the best part of a carnival is the food – kettle corn, cotton candy, and other classic favorites. Festivals are no different. There’s just something about food from a festival vendor that tastes twice as good. “A” laughed at me as I hopped completely on board for all of the ramp food offerings.
We had a deep-fried ramp wantons (which were sinfully good), a pulled pork sandwich with slaw and a mild ramp BBQ sauce, a chocolate ramp-infused cupcake with ramp buttercream icing (Yup, you read that right.), and just when I thought I’d tried everything – I saw it. There, scribbled in dry erase on the window of a food truck, was – rampperoni rolls!
Now y’all, I am a pepperoni roll purist. Nothing belongs in my pepperoni rolls, but well, pepperoni, but you don’t get much more Appalachian than a rampperoni roll. The ramps made the whole flavor change. Honestly, it had a green pepper vibe to it, and it was like eating a supreme pizza roll.
The Fellow was super bummed he couldn’t make it to the festival, so I brought him home a Rampperoni roll (They were originally made to be carried in coal miners’ lunches, so they travel well and don’t need refrigerated.), and he loved it.
We hung out with some old friends, listened to the live music, and watched a little square dancing. It was absolutely the WV fix I needed.
What is your favorite festival (or your favorite part of a festival)? Let me know in the comments!
Hey, there! I am excited to bring you the next and final story from our Irish Adventures – our stay at Dromoland Castle.
After leaving the Cliffs of Moher, we headed to our last hotel. This was the one I was most looking forward to – Dromoland Castle. Yupp. We stayed in a for real, stone walls, big towers, horse-drawn carriage, and a suit of armor in the lobby – castle.
I know I’ve said it the whole way through these posts, but we were seriously unprepared for the level of hotels we had booked. We headed through the estate gates and started winding our way past the golf courses and gardens to the main entrance of Dromoland Castle.
It was beautiful. The Dromoland has many activities you can take part in such as golf, falconry, archery, and more. I wish we had more time there. Our room was in one of Dromoland’s wings. On the way there, we caught a glimpse of a giant chess board. If it had not been raining, I would’ve been all about playing a game of giant chess!
Our room was smaller than the last two hotels, but private and cozy. We got settled in and discussed what to do for dinner. You know how towards the end of a trip, no matter how much fun you are having, you get exhausted? The only thing you want is your own bed. We were at that point in the journey. We figured it would be a good night to just grab dinner at the hotel restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t pack the appropriate clothing to meet their dress code. I learned later we could’ve eaten at the clubhouse. Hungry, we decided to bumble into town and grab dinner at the local pub.
We opted to split a final pub meal and then stop at a store to grab some snacks/ beverages and head back to the room to snuggle up and watch some Irish Tv. After asking directions from some locals, we wound up at a store that was similar to our Target, but I cannot for the life of me recall the name. (I think it also started with a D. If you know, help me out!)
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I love The Great British Baking Show. While we were running around the store grabbing chocolate (They had kinder eggs!) and beverages, we swung by the baked goods section. The bakery had pre-made Mary Berry cakes! It came with an icing pen, so you could do your own lettering, and I very nearly bought it. (Hey, it was our honeymoon. Cake is allowed for celebrations, right?)
We headed back to our room with our prizes to discover our bed had been turned down, and there were chocolates on our pillows! We really enjoyed that low-key evening.
The next morning we went to eat breakfast in the dining room. Breakfast has a much less formal dress code.
It was drizzling, and we were seated by a window overlooking the lake. I could’ve stayed right there with a cup of tea in my hand forever.
Unfortunately, that was our last morning in Ireland. We went back to the room, packed up, tossed our bags in the car, and since we had a bit of time went for a quick stroll through Dromoland’s gardens.
I’m so glad we added that little stop because the castle’s gardens were adorable! Along one of the walls was a fairy garden. It featured art pieces, little fairy doors on the trees, and signs which said things like, “Shh . . . fairies sleeping.”
We finished exploring the gardens and headed to the airport, turned in our rental car, and headed back to the States.
Home is always the best place to be, don’t you agree?
Blarney Stone, Ring of Kerry, and Cliffs of Moher were places I truly wanted to visit, and the Fellow, as much as he disliked driving, made sure that I made it to them.
The Princess Bride, with its cheesy plotholes and loveable characters, is one of my favorite movies. For those of you who love the story of Butter Cup and Westly, you recall the scene at the Cliffs of Insanity. Westly scales the cliff side to rescue his true love. What you may not have known is that those cliffs were actually the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland.
The drive to the Cliffs of Moher from Killarney was half the fun. You go from motorways onto the tiny countryside roads that you imagine when you think of rural Ireland. These roads are lined on either side by shrubs and stone walls and are tiny and winding.
One thing that we passed on our drive that stuck out was the golf courses. Golf originated in Scotland, so it makes sense to see it in nearby Ireland, but these courses looked nothing like the golf courses we have here. They were like the “Tough Mudder Competition” of golf. You are playing around crumbling towers, deep hills, rocks, and (that day) in the whipping wind and rain. No, thank you. I played mini golf in the rain at the beach one year and that was enough for me.
We kept winding our way up to the cliffs, and as we got closer, the Fellow’s drive got more nerve-wracking. As we were headed up to the cliffs, there were tour buses coming back down which we had to let pass.
Once we finally made it to the top, we bought our tickets. The lady at the ticket stand was none too happy with us Americans. As she put it, “You all come over here and always bring a storm and rain, never any of that American sunshine.” (I think I’ve mentioned it, but a common theme on our trip was people assuming all of America was California or immediately telling us they liked John Denver.)
She was right though; it was grey and misty and foggy. The Cliffs of Moher is a heavily trafficked tourist area, so they know this is an issue for people. When we got there the sign said, “Visibility Level: Low.” As we walked out of the visitor center towards the cliffs, my heart sank. The sign was right. I could barely see the stone steps in front of me, let alone the cliffs. It was like sitting and staring at a grey wall.
The Fellow tried his best to make me feel better, but I was so upset I nearly cried. Around us, people were voicing their own frustrations and leaving to get into their warm cars and head back to their hotels for dry clothes. I’m a bit more stubborn and wanted to wait around as long as I could because maybe, just maybe, the fog would clear. Not even twenty minutes later, it did! Let me tell you, the cliffs were worth the wait.
Just a little at first, and then it was pretty clear! It. Was. Breathtaking. I could’ve stood there forever.
We were up at the top near O’Brien’s Tower, and then walked out a bit to the left. At the end of the walkway and stone observation wall, there is a monument to all those who have lost their lives on the cliffs. It marks the end of the official tourist spot and has a big warning sign letting you know the road beyond the gate is “Enter at Your Own Risk,” and they recommend you don’t go any farther. Of course, everyone wants to go farther. So, over the barricade onto the red mud path we go. The Fellow went one step farther and went over that low stone wall as well to stand on the edge of the cliff.
Why is it we humans always want to go just a little bit into the danger zone? In the comments section, let me know where on vacation you’ve stood just a little too close to the edge!
After another delicious breakfast and a rough morning of planning (spontaneous planning sometimes doesn’t work out so well), we headed out. I wanted to drive the Ring of Kerry, and at this point in the trip, the only place the Fellow wanted to drive was to the airport – after which, he’d never have to drive on the “wrong” side of the road again. But he was very sweet the entire trip making sure I got to do whatever I wanted, and we headed out on a 4-hour drive in one big circle.
We started on the drive and maybe 15 minutes in, we saw a sign for Killarney National Park and knowing we had a drive the next day, I suggested we abandon 4 hours in the car and spend the day hiking and exploring. I have zero regrets about that decision.
Killarney National Park is home to Ross Castle, and Muckross House. While we didn’t go inside, the outside of the building was beautiful. It was so easy to imagine seeing faded shapes of servants, lords, and ladies floating past as we walked around the grounds.
This was hands-down probably my favorite day of the trip.
Muckross House
For me, the best part was when we headed off the main path down to a lake with a beach! I could’ve spent all day just there and wished we had a picnic tea to enjoy as we sat on a piece of driftwood.
After that, we hiked out through the pasture where we got to see some of the famous Killarney Red Deer before reaching Torc Waterfall.
It was chillier here than anywhere else on the trip, and the mist bordered more on real rain. The higher up on the path to the waterfall, the more the mist turned to rain. We got pretty soaked but had a blast.
Hello, Hello! I am so grateful to be back in the land of the living! The delay in posts was due to the Fellow and I catching the flu. Mine was followed by a sinus infection and my first experience with nosebleeds. (My mother confirmed; never had a nosebleed in my life prior to this, so as you can imagine, that threw me in quite a panic!)
I’m in fine form now though and ready to fill you in on the next stop in our Ireland trip!
We stayed over two nights at what is now the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney. The Great Southern was the original name for this old railroad hotel, but it was changed for a spell to The Malton and was undergoing new (reverted?) branding back to the Great Southern when we were there.
When we arrived, we were surprised to hear that we had been upgraded to a junior suite! The first thing that popped into my head when we saw the rooms was – “I feel like I’m in Gone with the Wind!” Which is a funny thing to be thinking in Ireland, but the room had these gigantic windows with velvet curtains.
The Fellow apparently has a thing about large objects and spaces; over half of the honeymoon photos are him in this pose!
We got settled in then headed out to find a pub. (Seriously, eating and music are my favorite things about traveling!) We didn’t find quite what we were looking for though but wound up in a very nice little restaurant. I had some yummy soup and Orchard Theives, and we just wandered around a bit sightseeing before we headed back to the hotel for the night.
video game!
