Read more about the article Quaint Town – Abingdon, VA

Quaint Town – Abingdon, VA

Normally most people driving to Beckley, West Virginia from Atlanta would take I-85 Northeast to Charlotte, NC and then I-77 north to Beckley, WV, passing through Southwestern Virginia. Because of that, I’d researched a few towns in the Blueridge section of VA with towns such as Wytheville and state parks called Hungry Mother and Grayson Highlands. I figured if time permitted in either direction, we’d explore or have lunch in one of these spots.

Plans changed when Hurricane Matthew made landfall in North Carolina on the day we left Atlanta. While halfway to Charlotte on a cloudy day, wind gusts picked up considerable. Weather radar indicated that Matthew’s outer bands were pounding Charlotte with lots of rainfall.img_2791

We detoured by heading north from Greenville, SC to I-26 in Asheville, NC. I’ll say the drive was pleasant. But once we went on I-26 north from Asheville to Johnson City, TN. The car climbed up the mountain and at the top of the peak we were totally fogged in. Making the descent towards Tennessee, the fog lifted and we saw the most beautiful scenery.

We then hooked onto I-81 northeast to Virginia through Bristol and Abingdon. My guidebook mentioned Abingdon as the “first English speaking settlement west of the Blue Ridge.” We needed lunch too so we stopped off at the Pepper Mill.

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Read more about the article The Omni Homestead Resort – Hot Springs, VA

The Omni Homestead Resort – Hot Springs, VA

Founded in 1766, the Omni Homestead rivals the Greenbriar. Remember these were both in Viriginia when founded as West Virginia didn’t become a state until 1861. A little less pretentious and right in the middle of town, we drove through a residential area (reminiscient of the Grove Park Inn) onto the grounds into a parking lot. the massive red-brick, Federal style hotel looked very Thomas Jefferson. The sun glistened on visitors sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch.

Come sit for a spell on the veranda

Inside, a large 2-story, classical lobby, also with palladium windows but not a zillion varieties of chintz, greeted us. At the far end, a more casual restaurant bar with more updated furnishings awaited. (more…)

Read more about the article Drive Along the New River to Charleston, WV

Drive Along the New River to Charleston, WV

We stopped by the New River Gorge Bridge en route to Charleston. Unfortunately, the clouds thickened and blocked the view. We didn’t really realized we’d driven over it until we saw the sign for the Visitor Center which had closed an hour before. We decided we’d return before leaving in a few days.

Our map took along a windy road, US 16 (Beckwith Road) to scenic route 60 through Gauley Bridge where we passed a waterfall and Glen Ferris. The road hugged the curves of the river was beautiful and we passed several small towns. Then we came upon Kanawa Falls. We turned into the parking lot which seemed to be a big fishing spot, but nothing else, to take a few pictures.

Kanawha Falls
Kanawha Falls
One of the coal towns along the route
One of the coal towns along the route

We drove past Charlton Falls, Alloy (which seemed a bit bigger), Boomer and Smithers – even passing a coal train. As we drove along the river, we entered Charleston. Although it only has 61,000 people, it seems like a huge metropolis compared to the small towns we drove through to get there. Two- story houses fronting the river dotted the road. Then, the capital popped up. It looked like there was a prom as students dressed in cocktail attire stood on the front steps. (more…)

Read more about the article Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum – Beckley, WV
Parlor for the Supervisor

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum – Beckley, WV

Our first stop in Beckley was the Exhibition Coal Mine, which includes admission to the Youth Museum. We drove into a mini-town (still in the center of Beckley) with buildings – a church, house, etc. It was almost hard to find the museum to enter. Once inside we purchased tickets for the coal mine tour. Departing every 30 minutes, we had 25 minutes to explore the museum upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, wide rectangular, black and white photos of entire coalworkers greeted us. Along the walls, montages displayed various themes with a placard explaining the items. One was rudimentary medical instruments used by the doctors – even if you didn’t need a doctor, the item was deducted from the miner’s paycheck – lunch pails – which were metal and had three horizontal compartments – the bottom was for water, then the food and on top was for pie/dessert. I guess you’d need pie every day to deal with those working conditions. Another montage showed tools – one with a tool you hooked on to your stomach to drill and a picture of a miner using it. Another display case showed miner’s id tags that were used to show who was in the mine.

The museum at the Exhibition Coal Mine
The museum at the Exhibition Coal Mine

The curator announced the “boarding call” so we walked outside to the depot where we sat on two – open air trolley trains. Leroy announced, “Ready for work?” The older, skinny man was a former miner and his father had been too. He drove us in into the black tunnel lit every few feet with electric lighting. I thought we’d go down, but instead we were horizontally inside the mountain. (more…)