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Mid-Atlantic Vacation Blog
First of all, we are in Beckley, West Virginia, and we arrived without incident. Was it an adventure getting here? Not really, but I think I can tell a pretty decent story.
We knew that we only have a seven-hour drive today, so we didn't really rush to get going. I figured that as long as we left no later than 10:00 a.m., we would be OK. So naturally, we left at 11:45. And our first stop was at an auto parts store to replace the fuse that runs the power outlet. I was very relieved to be able to find and install the replacement fuse because first of all, I am generally incapable of fixing anything, but more importantly, it allowed Brooke to be able to watch The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. on the portable DVD player while it was plugged in in the car. Roughing it is for suckers.
We drove for a few hours through the non-descript countyside of Ohio and eventually got to a Dairy Queen and decided that it was time for an "evaluation". I deviated from my normal Blizzard order when I was that the DQ in Waverly, Ohio has a special on what they called the "Red, White, and Blue Parfait". I was so intrigued (i.e., it was only $1.99) that I ordered it without even knowing what it was. Brooke asked and they said it was like a Peanut Buster Parfait, except with layers of strawberry, marshmallow, and blueberry:
For something that didn't have any chocolate in it, I have to say that it was really good. It also helped that the ice cream seemed to be stacked very high. I give it an A.
When we resumed, we quickly got to the Ohio river and drove alongside it for about 45 minutes before crossing into West Virginia. The road is advertised as a scenic byway, but that must only be true if you're looking for scenes of the Great Depression. The town of Portsmouth, Ohio looks completely run down and as you drive along the highway, you can't really see the river. At one point, so satisfy by picture-taking curiosity, we took a quick side trip into South Point, Ohio (the southern-most point in Ohio and the place where West Virginia and Kentucky meet) to see if there was anywhere scenic to take pictures. We did find a small picnic area and I managed to see a barge going by:
After getting back onto the road and negotioting some scary hills and curves in West Virginia, we made it to our hotel in Beckley. We then decided to have dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We didn't order anything exotic, but it took a long time to get out food. The manager came out to explain to us that they just installed a new computer system that day and our order got "delayed". Of course, I can empathize with the whole "new computer system" thing and wondered if somehow they got their new system from Tradebeam. We got a free Chocolate Thunder from Down Under out of the ordeal, and by "we", I mean "I" as Brooke elected to try to eat healthy at dinner. Considering that we never initiated any complaints (although we did notice that it was taking a while), I think that getting free dessert was not a bad deal.
We'll be getting up bright and early tomorrow to go on a two-hour horseback ride that should give us a pretty good overlook of the gorge. Then we have the afternoon free to explore as we wish. Of course, that could mean anything from hiking through New River Gorge to checking out the menu at the Dairy Queen just down the road from our hotel. Either way, we're looking forward to tomorrow!
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