Well Visit to West Virginia

Sandy and Denny's House--Berkeley Springs

Last weekend we went to West Virginia. I am missing a tooth, so we were immediately let across the state line. My tooth has been cosmetically corrected, but we were still let in. Okay, enough cheap shots at West Virginia.

We are fortunate to have friends with a weekend house in Berkeley Springs, and it is really lovely there. Really. We started a family tradition of going at least one night each summer since the boys were little; and we do the same thing every time we go, sort of a West Virginia version of Groundhog's Day. We drive down on Saturday in time for lunch; the men go to Tony's Butcher Block to hunt and gather dinner; we go to the Capacon Resort State Park Lake, which we fondly call The Redneck Riviera, where we swim and count the tattoos; we go to the live music concert (featuring everything from Zydeco to rock and roll cellists) in Berkeley Springs State Park; then we go home and eat very well--Tony's exquisite steaks, really good corn on the cob, and Sandy's delicious peach cobbler; enjoy some time on the deck under the crystal clear skies; sleep like babies with cool breezes and open windows. The next morning we eat a nice breakfast; go to the farmer's market to buy local produce and homemade pie; and then we hit the road.

Last weekend there was a slight variation--no boys; they both had their own getaway plans, so Darr and I went on our own. We still stuck closely to the program, but we chose to skip the Redneck Riviera and were able to go to a Happy Hour before the concert in the park. Also, we had missed last summer and our friends had moved to a nicer bigger house higher up in the hollers which we had yet to see. Gorgeous.

Although you are only about an hour and a half from Washington, DC, you feel a million miles away both through the presence of nature and the absence of stress. People are a little different there too, artsier, friendlier, hippier, with a sprinkling of hillbilly. We often spend our time at the concert chatting about the local characters. One of the prominent women in the community believes in fairies and talks to cats. There are hundreds of such stories. I think there's book material there.

Meanwhile, I plan to book my trip for next summer. It's a rejuvenating, joyful jaunt every time.