Once again it was all about country roads. We flew in to Charleston, WV on a chilly Friday night and set out to explore Saturday morning.
First stop - the just as amazing as it sounds - Tudor's Biscuit World!
After a hearty and biscuit filled breakfast we took off to explore the New River Gorge.
The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel suspension bridge over the New River Gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. The scenery is stunning and definitely worth a visit.
After enjoying the views from the top of the New River Gorge we drove down to the bottom and hiked around a bit (hiking was definitely needed to work off that delicious biscuit breakfast). Did I mention it was really cold? Well for that time of the year it was colder than expected and now that we have been hit by our third blast of Arctic air here in NYC it wasn't really that cold....I just needed some perspective.
The river was a great photo spot and we saw lots of people go by in kayaks and river rafts.
Next time we visit I want to take one of the river raft excursions - it looked like a ton of fun. Like a Disneyland ride, but for real.
Our return trip on Sunday was via the rails - we were so excited to find a Piggly Wiggly to get some snacks for the ride. I still am holding on to some of the Piggly Wiggly grocery sacks, they just make me laugh when I see them. They have to be used for something special and not just your everyday trash can liner.
Our final stop of the day was at Hawks Nest State Park. Once again the scenery was breathtaking. We rode the aerial tram down to the bottom (at $4 per person to ride round trip, it was the deal of the day) and did some more hiking along the leaf strewn trails.
On Sunday, we boarded the train about 8am in Charleston and were back in NYC about 9pm. The ride was a full day of nature's t.v. The early part of the train ride follows the river and the scenery looks like you are travelling next to the Rivers of America in Disneyland. (I kept looking for the careless settlers that set their cabin on fire - but everyone is apparently more careful these days.) We seemed to miss the peak season for the fall colors but it didn't matter, the time flew by because there was so much to see along the way.
We booked this trip because of a show the Smithsonian channel airs called, 'Aerial America'. Each episode features incredible aerial shots of a single state in the US. It was a great way to spend a weekend and really enjoy the beauty of somewhere that is often overlooked. West Virginia, we'll be back!
