National Gallagher Vacation Part #2

Posted by Chris Gallagher on Jul 1, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Quite a few times I felt like Chevy Chase in the hilarious national Lampoon’s Vacation. As our family vacations through the mountains of West Virginia, my father got us a train ride on Cass Scenic Railroad. With a two hour quick ride through the mountains in our minds, I decided to take the family on an overnight tour of some scenic sights in the eastern mountains of West Virginia. having traveled those very roads before, I thought it would be no problem to sketch out a brief tour and end up spending the nice at a quaint Bed and Breakfast near our final destination.

All too simple = all too frustrating. Our morning adventures were met with great delight as we told stories of the places we have been and the site we saw. Around lunch time we felt the urge to eat a nice local home cooked meal and went to a place which was highly recommended to us. The place was a small restaurant off the side of the road with excellent food, the only problem was we never got any. Stop #1 = CLOSED!

Having met our first obstacle of the day, we proceeded to America’s favorite restaurant delight, McDonald’s! I have to say, dead giraffes with no legs could have provided better service than the McDonald’s of Elkins, West Virginia. The time spent in line made me appreciate not going to the fiery pits of the underworld. The food finally arrived and we ate.

After sucking down a couple cheeseburger substance sandwiches, we piled in the SUV-like minivan (after installing a third row yesterday) and headed to one of the most peaceful spots in West Virginia. The place is a simple serenity because the river cuts through the mountains until it arrives on the rocks atop Blackwater Falls. The color of the water is a beautiful white, with a tint of a tea color green due to the organic mixture found in the river from the trees along its side. Falling water has a powerful influence over the peace that overtakes you in wonder as to how God makes all of this happen. The 214 steps we took down to the falls are very much worth the trip to see the beauty that awaits.

From Blackwater Falls, we hopped back on the winding, snakelike West Virginia roads and headed to our second destination. The children rode in the back like children of yesteryear. The TVs blared with the latest Disney movie and the Nintendo DS games were flying. Caleb sat in his seat with his Discovery kids camera and snapped pictures of everything from the ceiling in the car to the mountains outside to the bag of Doritos laying at his feet. The children of yesteryear would have appreciated the gadgets and playthings instead of counting cows, deer, chickens and the occasional goat in the side of the road. Did I mention we saw a goat tied to a tree? Anyway, off to destination #2.

Seneca Rocks is always an outspoken piece in the scenery of West Virginia. The large rocks scale above the close mountain peaks giving rise to the sense at any moment one will topple over bringing the entire mountain down. You can stare and wait for it all day but won’t happen, believe me, I have tried! The rocks are pinnacles that many in the world will never get to see or appreciate how they stand upright despite storms, high winds. Amazing and spectacular. One of the many pictures we took of Seneca Rocks now adorns my laptop background of a tribute to God’s wonderful handiwork.

While at Seneca Rocks, we decided to visit the gift shop, education center, restroom facility and found the Department of Natural Resources officer locking the door as we began to grab the door handle. 10 minutes! We missed it by 10 minutes. I really wanted my children to see the professional pictures of Seneca Rocks found inside, but I was beginning to fell like Chevy Chase. This trip was becoming closed!

Since Seneca Rocks was closed,we thought of heading to see some caverns at Seneca Caverns a brief 14 miles down the road. (Remember, this is West Virginia not South Carolina. 14 miles in West Virginia equals a long Sunday drive along a narrow, winding road.) Off we headed to Seneca Caverns to find out they too close at 4:00 pm. Not only do the caverns close, but the restaurant was closed as well. Tell me how you close a restaurant at 4:00 pm. They never open until 10:00am! Chevy Chase and I were growing closer by the minute! I figured the thought of closing a restaurant before the 4:00 pm early bird special would send the Senior Citizens’ Brigade into an immediate strike/riot/hostile takeover, but oh well.

Since all of Seneca appeared done for the day by 4:00 pm, we headed to another recommended home cooking restaurant called, “Gateway.” Not sure exactly, where it was a “Gateway” too, but it was a gateway back in time before the use of credit cards. Now with every restaurant taking every manufactured credit card, Gateway uses cash and personal check – no credit cards! When I asked, they looked at me as if I was some big city spender with my fancy “plastic money promising card.” (Remember I am from West Virginia, so I have a right to speak as such.) After getting the checkbook, we sat down to a decent meal of traditional diner food: cheeseburger, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, hotdog, fries and a cup of soup. For the price the food was good. As I began to fumble through the checkbook, I began to think back to the last time I wrote a check. it must have been with hammer, chisel and a slate slab, because I could not figure it out. After scribbling my name and what looked like the same total I was given, I thanked the waitress and headed to the car for destination #3!

Quick recap incase I lost you:

• Destination #1 – Good!
• Destination #2 – Closed!
• Destination #3 – Closed!
• Food – well…anyway!

 

While I drove through the winding roads, I felt at ease knowing that sooner or later, I would be arriving at Destination #5 to lay my head on a pillow. I was not sure when that would be, but hopefully soon. While we drove we rolled down the windows and froze out the family in the 70 degree mountain air. The radio played as our car wondered why there were so many turns and hills. Local folks passed me like I was an old lady with a walker and coupons in the grocery store. Carrie and the girls do not take to my driving the winding roads as I do. I grew up on these roads and anyone who did could easily place in a Nascar Race. You learn the power of coming into a turn with the brakes on only to come out of the turn in full throttle before settling the nose of the car into the next turn. As a result of previous driving experience, I have learned I must either have the family hang their heads out the car while I drive, lest they re-fabric my car’s interior or I just drive slower. I opted for choice #1, they out voted me with choice #2.

Driving toward Destination #5, you could see part of it off in the distance. The Green Bank Observatory is home to some of the largest telescopes in the world. They rise into  the landscape giving wonder to what they do. Their purpose is to seek the distance of space all the while providing a simple comfort at home. Amazing to see in a distance and even more amazing up close…but that will have to wait. Green Bank Observatory = CLOSED! Yet another 10 minutes! (so we got a picture beside a small replica, satellite thing.)

As Chevy Chase and I are now brothers in arms while doing our best to plan an awesome vacation, I decided I had enough of the 10 minute time gaps and I headed the SUV towards our nights rest at a quaint little Bed and Breakfast. With the thought of a night’s rest ahead, I gradually increase the pressure to the gas pedal and the family SUV scooted across the West Virginia valleys like a minivan on steroids. Apparently, I was going a little too fast, because I overshot the Bed and Breakfast and proceeded to drive 30 minutes past it to a different town in a land I had never seen.

I felt a “Chevy Chase” type breakdown coming on, so I spun the SUV around and headed back in the right direction. It had to be somewhere, just not where we were. The girls were asking when were we getting there and all I wanted was to arrive there with all my hair intact and the same color. Finally, like with an angelic glow, the Bed and Breakfast was shining on the side of the hill just as the website had it pictured. We stopped, unloaded, met the owner and here I sit, still wishing for the bed.

Good night all! More to come tomorrow!

Just my rambled, traveling thoughts…

Chris

 

 

One more thing, did I mention we say windmills?