Fall 2018 Western Trip: West Virginia

Fall Western Trip: Prologue

Well, Judy and I are off on another RV adventure.  This time, an 8 week trip to Oregon and back.  Along the way, we’ll catch up with family and friends, as well visit a few new sights in this GREAT country.  

Ready to roll.

Thursday 9/6:  312 miles and parked at Westfield/Lake Erie KOA, Westfield, NY

Site 22, Westfield/Lake Erie KOA

On the way here we made a short detour.  My aunt and uncle, Barb and Lester Mullen live in Stafford, which is just off the Thruway.  So we stopped for an hour and had a cup of coffee and a great visit.  I'm glad we did.

We pulled into the campground about 4:00.  We have stayed here before since it is a good halfway point between home and Matt's house in West Virginia.  It is right next to Interstate 90, so there is a bit of road noise.  However, that doesn't bother us.  Offsetting that negative, you can walk about 300 yards to Lake Erie via a public park right across the street.

Friday and Saturday 9/7 and 9/8:  254 miles, parked in Matt's driveway, Shinnston, WV

We left Westfield about 9:30 this morning and arrived at Matt and Jaime's about 1:30.  It is an Interstate drive that we have done many times.  The driveway is always a bit of a challenge because of it's steepness and curves.  They live on the top of a small (not so small when pulling a camper) hill with beautiful views of the valley below.  It was hot and humid, with thunder showers predicted for the next two days.

Saturday was much cooler, actually very pleasant after the last few days of hot and humid weather.  Judy and I met Jaime's parents, Gary and Linda, about 11:30 in Fairmont.  Linda wanted to show us some of the local craft breweries.  

First stop was a taproom for Mountain State Brewing in Morgantown.  Judy and I are IPA fans, so we tried their "Seneca Indian Pale Ale".  The taproom is neat in that there is a huge, and I mean huge, wood fired pizza oven located in the middle of the large taproom/restaurant.

Next stop was Screech Owl Brewing.  This place is located in a really rural area.  In fact, the final section of road is one lane gravel.  I didn't know what to expect.  What a surprise.  The parking lot was full with about 15 cars and the place was packed!  It is completely family run with a husband and wife along with a couple sons and daughters in law.  We sampled the "Hoo's-Your Daddy Pale Ale" and enjoyed it very much.  In fact, I wanted to buy a growler, but they are running short of that IPA and wanted to save it for the bar business.  They did sell me an empty growler to add to our collection.  Screech Owl turned  out to be our favorite stopping spot.

Screech Owl Brewing

Screech Owl Brewing.  The place was busy.

Jaime's parents, Linda and Gary

Last stop was Short Story Brewing.  Here we tried the "Sideways Glance" IPA, and we ended up buying a growler of this for the camper.  We had a great time with Gary and Linda, and got to sample some excellent beers.  Can't wait to try this again.

Back at Matt and Jaime's we watched a WVU football game on TV.  At the end of the third quarter, WVU was ahead by 30 points, and I was tired, so headed out to the camper.  Then, would you believe, we got sucked in to a Burt Reynolds movie marathon on TV and ended up watching two of them.  We finally hit the sack about midnight.  

West Virginia grandchildren, Kaylin and Chasen.

On Sunday we head to Alum Creek State Park in Delaware, Ohio