Tuesday, March 19 2024
About an hour south of Marlinton, where I stopped last night, is the luxury Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. They organize activities for their guests that are available to non-guests and “Plan A” was to join their Mountaineer Experience which involves 2½ hours of learning Archery, Air Rifle targeting and tomahawk throwing. It is only offered at 9:30 am and 2:30 pm each day and the plan was to drive there for breakfast, do the 9:30 activity, and then drive on to Charleston, the State’s capital. Unfortunately, the cold spell that arrived yesterday would have meant standing outside for 2½ hours when the temperature was 25° F (-4° C) and the wind was so strong that the National Weather Service had issued a fire danger alert for the area. I would have to pay close to $200 for this privilege and decided to leave it for another time.
Plan B was quickly formulated to drive directly to Charleston, using scenic byways instead of highway, with a quick stop along the way and then visit the State Capitol Building (which was also part of Plan A). If anything, the roads were even more scenic than yesterday and definitely more fun to drive.
The quick stop was at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. I visited the area in 2018 (blog post here) but the visitor center has been fully refurbished with new exhibits and just re-opened earlier this month. This came about with the re-designation of the area as a National Park from a National River.
After more enjoyable driving I arrived at Charleston and, eventually, found parking near the Capitol. Even in the bright sunshine of the afternoon I still needed to wrap up in a heavy coat and gloves to be comfortable in the stiff wind as I walked to the entrance.
The building is a traditional design but had the first “official” Instagram setup I have seen at a Capitol. Visitors are encouraged to sit on the swing, mount their phone in a slot in the map and post using the hashtag #AlmostHeaven.
The interior of the building is very simple with plenty of open space, few statues or decorative elements and two identical chambers for the House and Senate (apart from the number of desks).
Plan A would have been fun too. Safe travels, dear Steve.
Yes, in decent weather.
Your idea of Plan A and Plan B is very different than mine. I would have just checked into the resort, had a massage and a martini! Nevertheless, you seem to be doing pretty well on your end! As always, reading, and learning!!
That sounds like a Natasha plan, not a Steve plan. Each to our own. Thanks for reading.