Just as I traveled around Vermont last year, this spring I went to West Virginia for a long-overdue road trip. I’d previously passed through with the family all in search of the New River Gorge Bridge and now I was staying right near it and the national park that surrounds it.
Sammi and I mapped out our journey, driving from our home and plotting several towns and antique stores along the way. I was going to a conference, but she was happy to tag along for a few days before making the trek back.
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Milton
We started in Milton, which is where one of our favorite glass companies is based. Sammi and my mom had come a few months earlier and were able to explore the Blenko Visitor’s Center. But luck wasn’t on my side as we arrived when their power was out.
Instead, we went to a nearby antique mall, the Old Timey Shoppe, where I found a few treasures for myself. We didn’t stay long in town, but some folks in the glass-collecting Facebook groups I’m a part of (nerd) recommended Shaffer’s Drive-In and Shonet’s Country Cafe.
Charleston
We spent the night at a less-than-charming hotel in Charleston, the largest city in the state and the capital. But a few blocks from the run-down Quality Inn, we found several great restaurants and shops and met up with my friends Kim and Suzanne, who rode with us to our next locale.
I was surprised to learn at the Shoney’s Big Boy Museum, an outdoor panel of mementos, that the brand started in West Virginia. We browsed the stacks at Taylor Books and sipped craft beer at Short Story Brewing and dined at Fife Street Brewing, where a girl was walking around with a bearded dragon. We had breakfast at Coco’s before driving to Fayetteville.
Fayetteville
I returned to Fayetteville, where the conference was held, for the second time, where I’d previously done the Bridge Walk in freezing temperatures. The town itself is charming as hell, filled with cute shops and restaurants like the appropriately named Cathedral Cafe, Range Finder Coffee, and Freefolk Brewery.
It’s also well located for day tripping, whether it’s in the New River Gorge National Park, known for its rafting and hiking, Thurmond, a ghost town within the park, the Tamarack arts center in Beckley, or the Hank Williams Memorial Marker in Oak Hill where the country star’s life came to an untimely end.
Lewisburg
Lewisburg was probably my biggest surprise from my trips to West Virginia. The town feels like it could be in New England with its antique stores and charming downtown. It’s also home to Lost World Caverns, the alleged home of Bat Boy, a tabloid favorite.
I enjoyed browsing at Robert’s Antiques and Wine Store and Tattered & Worn Antiques and Primitives before heading out to Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company for a well-earned pint. They even have beers named for West Virginia cryptids and legends like the Mothman and Braxxie, the Flatwoods Monster.
White Sulphur Springs
The Greenbrier is the most popular reason people find themselves in White Sulphur Springs, which has its own Amtrak station just across the street. The stunning hotel offers tours of the bunker created to protect world leaders and brightly colored decor designed by one Dorothy Draper.
But the town itself is interesting, surviving a devastating 2016 flood. In 2022, the Schoolhouse Hotel opened in town in the former high school. It is the world’s first completely accessible hotel, with unique design features to be inclusive of those with different needs.
Rock
I met with the folks from Mercer County months before and the Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park had already been on my list after seeing it on TV. It had been a 1920s attraction for its lake and amusement rides. Sadly, the land faced several setbacks as accidents and deaths occurred at the park.
Today it’s a must-see for ghost hunters, but after touring the space with the third-generation owner Chris, the family has such respect for the land and the people who lived and died there, including pioneers and Indigenous tribes, that they offer tours as a way to keep it undeveloped.
In fact, the park is also the site of a massive burial plot of Shawnee people as archaeologists discovered in the 90s. I highly recommend making the detour and booking a tour with Chris.
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