Heading East...destination Keyser, WV

On Sunday, after breakfast and coffee chat, we hit the road, destination Keyser, WV.  I was excited to visit with my cousin and her family in the foothills of Appalachia.  Jill retired as the Librarian at the local university in Keyser, WVU/Potomac.  A mixture of newer and older areas, some quite depressed, but beautiful with the mountains as their backdrop made up the community.  Not much different from any other community, really...except, it's surrounded by mountains.

Jill showed us around, and we ate at a cute breakfast spot, toured the city library where Jill works part-time, and then retreated to her home for great conversation. Jill and I have just recently gotten to know each other, having found each other on ANCESTRY.  Long story, but a cousin on my dad's side.  We hit it off right away the first time we met a couple of years ago. 

Jill is a plethora of information.  A walking one-gal Chamber of Commerce.  Something she and I have in common; always promoting and supporting our communities in many ways.  There is a lot of Civil War history in the area. Jill shared several stories and historical facts with us.  Too much to remember, but interesting just the same. 

Jill's hubby, Biard, is an amazing musician we learned. He has his man-cave shed full of musical instruments, mostly guitars, along with parts and pieces to repair them with. He's been in bands, but no longer.  

It's so interesting to be in another area of the U.S.  Anywhere in the world, really.  But, to see our own country and the differences in the geography and cultures and learn the history of each, is really intriguing.  

We loved every minute with Jill and Biard, but we were on to Cumberland, Maryland, where Jill and Biard's daughter, Heidi and her husband, Kevin, live.  Heidi, too, is a librarian, but does not work in that field any longer. Kevin is a professor at another university in the area. 

Upon arrival to Cumberland, we settled into the B&B that Heidi got for us.  The Bruce House Inn was lovely.  We had the entire main level for ourselves, which consisted of the bedroom ensuite and gathering room with a fireplace.  

                  

Once settled, we met Heidi for lunch at a trendy cafe in the historical area of Cumberland. Heidi is such an interesting young gal.  Highly intelligent, active in the arts and social activism.  She travels quite

often to New York City, where she has friends on Broadway.  We'll travel to New York City with her someday. She knows the ins and outs of the city and will be awesome to go with.  Heidi gave us a tour of the Canal Place area, shared various stories of history of the area and took us to a great little spot where several original log cabins have been moved to this location. 

Both saving them and developing a cool artists' colony for tourists.  Each houses an artist either full-time or on the weekends.  Most were closed on this day, which was disappointing.  I could have spent a lot of time there.  Also, this area was up in the mountains. 

Jill was supposed to have come to spend time with us in Cumberland, but a road closure for a "standoff" did not allow her to come and meet up with us and the next day, she was not feeling well.  We were bummed that our time with her was so short.  Heidi and Kevin did a wonderful job of entertaining us over a couple of meals and wonderful conversation back at The Bruce House Inn.  Both are very delightful.

Before leaving, we asked Heidi to take us into a "holler".  One, because we didn't really know what one was, and we wanted to experience this cultural difference.  We came out saddened by the living conditions.  Extremely poor and run down, this area was just along the edge of town, down a gravel road at the foothill of the mountain.  

Our time here quickly ended and we headed east from Maryland to the Atlantic Coast.  

Here are some more photos for your enjoyment. 

            

 

Travel inspires me to be better!

 

We've had the pleasure of getting to do some traveling this year and I have many who want to know about the trip we just took out East. I thought I'd use this platform to share most of it with you.  I'll post a few times, breaking it down in a manageable way, throwing a few photos in here and there.

Firstly, though, I hope by sharing, it encourages you to get out and travel.  A day or long weekend trip, a few miles or several thousand.  It doesn't matter.  Make the time to do it.  I find it inspiring, transformational, energizing and refreshing. And home always feels better when you get back. 

Remember this tree and 
its beautiful color. Peoria

This trip I'm going to share has been a couple of years in the "saving".  When I started planning it, after Steve and I decided which direction we would be heading, I quickly realized that it was going to need to be three weeks long.  We had two sets of family we wanted to stop and see along the way and spend a couple of days with each.  Other than that, we had no specific time frame or scheduled events until the last week.  And there was no real 'planning' to be had, as we like to start, stop and stay as the mood or area inspires us.  The only thing on the agenda, after the family visits was Iowa to the East Coast for harbor hopping or bust.

We left home on Wednesday, October 12th, stayed overnight in Peoria, Illinois (a destination in and of itself) and arrived in Amelia, Ohio on Thursday evening, at the home of my cousin, Cathy, and her hubby, Marc.  Just outside of Cincinnati, they have a lovely, comfortable home in a little area of in-town acreages. 

A meal, a sleep and then we hit the road on Friday a.m. for breakfast in Cincinnati and a little site-seeing.  We ate breakfast in a cool, upscale, but nothing frivolous, restaurant right by the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge spanning the Ohio River and connecting Ohio to Kentucky, A Taste of Belgium at The Banks. I'm all about the atmosphere of a place first and foremost.  I would not consider myself a

Beltucky

 food snob, but if I were, the food here would fit the bill, as well. Goetta Hash and authentic Belgium waffles were on the menu. We ordered Bier Cheese & Pretzels to share (YUMMO), Steve had the Goetta Hash and Cathy had the Beltucky.  I think I had my usual, scrambled eggs and fixin's and a pumpkin hard cider. It was more 'brunch' time, than breakfast, I must add. The first cider of many on this trip.  

The last time we visited, Cathy took us into a really neat area of Kentucky. We made our way back into a different area of Kentucky on Saturday...more about that later.

Who remembers WKRP in Cincinnati?  It's still a 'thing' there.  The cities claim to fame, maybe?  Oh, maybe it's the Bengals, or the Reds? I don't know.  What I do know is that they have pretty impressive sporting arenas and areas dedicated to the tourism that comes into the area.  

This is the suspension bridge that connects Kentucky   and Ohio. We'll drive over another Roebling Bridge   as we make our way, eventually, through New York   City...how do you think we did?

My cousin, Cathy and I in front of the famous sign. 
 The weather was picture perfect

Next stop, Findlay Market.  A rough and tumble area of Cincinnati, but full of character with cool eateries and shops.  A farmer's market on steroids, I guess you might call it. Fresh meat, seafood, baked goods and more. Butchers and deli's that have been there for generations. Artists, makers, creatives, etc. call this area home. Permanent entities, open on the regular with the area bursting at the seams come the weekend.  Can I just say I loved everything about it?  EVERYTHING.

The sites, the sounds, the makeup of the area...the inhabitants.  It kind of has the feel of New Orleans, only on a very miniscule level. Cathy said it's pretty rough there after dark.

A nice Mexican dinner, where I had the first of many fish taco meals that I'd try on this trip. We ended the day over conversation at Cathy and Marc's. We were pooped.  

SATURDAY, October 15th

On Saturday, we found ourselves lazing around a bit, with coffee and chit-chat. Soon, we were off to Augusta, Kentucky, the hometown of George Clooney.  His parents still live there and his Aunt Rosemary's home is now a Museum, of which we toured.  She lived there until her death a few years ago.  The drive was beautiful, as we got off the highway and took a less traveled country road.  We drove alongside the river until we came to the ferry, to which we drove onto and ferried across to Augusta.  What a delightful and charming town.  A river town.  There's just something special about a river town, don't you agree?  

We were hungry and quickly went into another trendy, hip place, Beehive Augusta Tavern.  As I said earlier, atmosphere sets the tone, and this did not disappoint.  We were seated upstairs in this 1796 Landmark.  There is so much history here.  Click on the link I shared above for the Beehive and then click on the MORE tab, then click on history. 

 After a scrumptious, yet not ordinary meal, we perused the quaint shops housed in 300-year-old buildings before heading to the Rosemary Clooney Museum. Huge fans of White Christmas, the movie, Cathy and I were enamored with the costumes and memorabilia from several of Rosemary's movies.

Cathy new that the Clooney family still resided in the area and that Mrs. Clooney, George's mom, had an antique shop.  Well, it turns out that the one shop we didn't go in was hers.  We thought it was a gallery.  So, I high tailed it back over to see what it was all about and enjoyed a delightful conversation with Nina Clooney.  A darling lady, very tiny, but a real beauty.  Heck, I didn't ask her a thing about ol' George, we talked shop. Turns out we had a bit in common😊 

Rosemary Clooney Home,
now museum

Nina Clooney

My Cousin, Cathy and I
in front of the Sisters display. We learned 
that Vera Allen passed away
at a young age from Anorexia

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's
costumes

Steve and I with my cousin Cathy and her hubs, Marc

Thanks for coming along on the first leg of our adventure.  There's so much more to share.  Please leave a comment and share if you would.  I like to know your thoughts, too.  Have you traveled?  What has been your favorite place so far? Where would you go back to again?  Are you inspired and energized by traveling?  Our next leg takes us to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Maryland.
Beth