parade time

Four hours of sleep before the busiest day at Pearl Buck?  I'm responsible!
And it's not busy anyways.  The Little Levels Heritage Fair is underway, but not much is happening.  The parade lineup is on the front lawn, so there's a lot of people here, but none of them want to talk to me.  And I am just fine with that.  Lots of tractors and a couple of old cars.  And little girls running around in tiaras and sashes, with titles such as "Little Miss Roadkill Stew" and "Teen Miss Mountain Salamander Queen."  This makes me miss the Thompson Fourth of July parade when I was a kid.  I always thought it was so cool that I could be in the parade, even if I was just riding my bike. 

I thought I was gonna have to work the PSBB booth in the elementary school gym, but somehow I got outta that so I'm sitting in the office waiting to give tours.  I'm looking forward to the cake.  That's what's getting me through the day. 

I went to the schoolhouse last night.  Due to parking problems, I wasn't able to make it to the masters concert and the big finale of Allegheny Echoes in Marlinton.  But that does not mean that I missed out on great music.  The Carper Family was playing at the schoolhouse.  They're three chicks who are totally bad ass bluegrass players.  Bass, fiddle, guitar, and three voices that harmonized perfectly.  The schoolhouse was pretty packed and for good reason.  The ladies were definitely great performers and I hope to see them again.  I apologize for the quality of my video.  It's hard to take a video when you're bouncing around trying to dance.

After the ladies were done singing, then it was time for some Texas two step.  Having sat out square dancing earlier in the week, I felt it was my hillbilly duty to try some two steppin.  I had no clue what I was doing of course.  But it sure was fun.  Everybody was just spinning each other around the dance floor.  And I've got to admit, I had a pretty good partner.  After dancing, the Tent City Boys (Josh, Clay, and Andrew - and if they decide to start an actual band and use that name, I better get some credit) started jamming outside.  Of course.  These dudes never stop playing. 

Instead of being able to watch the parade, or really participate in any fair activities, I get to sit here at work and write this blog!  So I've got some more pictures for you.  Yet again, more flowers.  I know I know.  Enough with the damn flowers already! 

These guys were in the parade.

stormin'

I'm missed the croquet tournament meeting on Tuesday because I was floating the river and it took way longer than expected.  And to reward me for my irresponsibility, and because I'm the intern and this is my job, I am putting together the sponsor booklet for the tournament.  I've never used Publisher before, and I have no idea even how to get it on my computer.  So this is gonna go really well.  I feel like most of the stuff that we're doing for the tournament, which is in two weeks, should have been done about a month ago.  So again, this is gonna go really well.

The Little Levels Heritage Fair starts today.  I can't believe June is almost over.  This month has flown by.  But the fair starts tomorrow and of course, just like everything else at PSBB, there is mass confusion and nothing is set in stone about what is happening and I don't even know when/where I'm working the next two days.  Very efficient.  I'm the kind of person that likes a plan, an itinerary, as basic concept of what is going down.  PSBB, being run by people from West Virginia, run on the idea that things will get done eventually if it really needs to be done.  Veeeery efficient.  But as much as I complain, I'm trying to go with the flow and just deal with the cards I've been dealt.  I mean, if it all goes up in flames, oh well.  I'll just move on to the next thing.

Last night I didn't go to the Motor Inn.  I needed a bit of a break, as did my liver.  But tonight there is much happening.  The schoolhouse is having a show (you might remember that the schoolhouse is the hipster Mecca of Pocahontas County) and Allegheny Echoes is having their masters' concert tonight as well.  And I'm sure they're gonna jam again afterwards at the Motor Inn.  (PS to Justin: there was a fiddle player Tuesday night.  He was pretty good, but not as impressive as the others, hence he got no mention.)  Tyler was kind enough to lend me his mandolin for the next week.

aint it purdy?

He gave me a scale to practice, but I don't think I'm playing it right.  The library must have a book for me.

With my parents coming Monday - Thursday, I have a whole week of activities planned.  And a lot is stuff I've never done before, so I'm pretty excited.  We're going to take the Cass Scenic Railroad and visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (the same piece of crap that makes cell reception impossible).  But I'm actually pretty pumped to see it and learn about science and stars and shit.  That's because I'm a dweeb and I fully embrace that.  If you're a dweeb like me, you might find this site interesting.

Yesterday a big storm came through.  During the day, it was the perfect summer shower.  No thunder or lightning.  Just light rain and the sun still shining.

Then at night the real storm came in.  Out of nowhere, rain began pounding on the trailer so hard that I just about jumped out of bed.  The lighting was so bright and so constant that lit up my bedroom like a strobe light.  Excuse me Mother Nature, but we could save the rave for another evening?  The wind was really strong as well, coming straight from my wind and smacking me in the face.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep much during the storm.

I gave two tours today.  Each group had children. The first group had a quiet girl and a super obnoxious boy.  The whole time I kept thinking about how much I hate children and how I wanted to shove a sock in this kids mouth to shut him up. I literally had to take a deep breath and calm myself down after every question, and here were about 13,000 questions.  The next group had about 5 kids, all boys ranging from ages 3 to 12.  I wen I saw them all I thought was "Oh shit.  I hate children."  But as it turned out they were really good kids.  A couple of them asked questions that were actually intelligent and all of them seemed attentive to my little speeches.  They actually reminded me of my three kid cousins, all boys who can be super rowdy but know when to settle down.  I was happy these kids showed up to restore my faith in children.  I hate children less because of these kids.

Now enough of that.  Here's some random photos!

This lil creeper was hanging out at PSBB.  I think I should convert the museum to a petting zoo.

 These next pictures were all taken from the same tree.  And each bloom is at a different stage and I think that's pretty cool.

I found a Pearl Buck quote that I really like: "To understand today, you must search yesterday."
I'm a history dork and all, but I think it's a good quote nonetheless.

I wanna jam it wit you

This week is Alleghany Echoes, which is a workshop for musicians and there are other activities throughout the week.  There's a writer's workshop too that stopped by PSBB on Wednesday.  But there are classes all week for a bunch of different bluegrass instruments and everybody stays at the Marlinton Motor Inn.  So Monday night, Andrew and I cruised down there to see if anyone would be jamming.  Well, duh.

I apologize about the crappy quality of the picture, but if I whip out my camera, I look like a freaking tourist, so I try to take covert pictures.  The guy in the middle is playing the dobro.  I thought I had never heard of it before until I actually heard him play it.  And man did he kill it.  This guy was totally kick ass at it.  When he walked up, I thought to myself "this guy is in the wrong place.  I think the Star Trek convention is next month" but man oh man was I wrong.  I could have listened to him all night.  Here's a video:

Tuesday, Clay asked if I wanted to float the river with him and Lynn Marie, another VISTA.  Apparently they had to do it for work.  Yep just another day at the office, floating down the river.  They were taking notes on specific areas of the river to make a better map for tourists, I guess.  So I got to kayak down the Greenbriar for 5 hours.

If you squint one eye and close the other, you might be able to make out the bald eagle just right of the center of the picture.

A couple hours into the float, Lynn Marie takes off and keeps paddling way ahead of us.  When we finally catch up, she tells us that she had been following an eagle down the river.  I definitely didn't believe her until it flow out of a tree just ahead of us and flew down the river.  It stayed with us for a while, flying just ahead of us the whole time, as if he were leading the way.  Yeah, just another day at the office.  Freaking A.

But 5 hours of paddling (and getting sunburnt) really wore me out and I was looking forward to gorging myself with food and passing out for about 15 hours but then I found out that that night would be hosting square dancing lessons at the Marlinton Opera House.  And seriously, how could I pass that up?  Having not square danced since 3rd grade gym class, I was interested to see what the deal was.  So I'm off the river for just over an hour and then I'm off to square dancing.  Jesus.  How hillbilly could I get.

swing your partner do si do

Josh and I show up and we're supposed to meet up with Clay and his buddy, but they're a no show.  We stick around for a while, although we don't participate.  I think being a spectator might be a bit more enjoyable than being a participant.  But by the time we got there, things seemed to have cooled down and Josh was interested in checking out the Motor Inn so hear some jams.  And yet again, bad ass live bluegrass music.  I can't get enough of the stuff!  And there certainly isn't a shortage here.  Another great night to check off the calendar.

Wednesday night, I again went up to the Motor Inn (I'm like a dorky groupie).  It was definitely more chill than the previous nights, but it was still pretty great.  I got to try some moonshine.  And that shit will put hair on your chest, man.  This week is AthFest back home in Athens, GA and I haven't been since 2007.  Somehow it worked out that I was out of town that weekend for the past couple years.  I kept getting updates on Facebook about it and I was getting a little bummed out, but I am definitely not missing it anymore.  I am on bluegrass overload.  And I've been convinced to take up the mandolin.  Tyler has offered to let me use his, so at least for now I don't have to buy one.  I'm kind of nervous to ask anyone to teach me because I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing, I gave up guitar because even that was too difficult, and I get really frustrated and I don't take criticism very well.  Which all adds up to me being a wonderfully positive student.  I wonder if they make one of those Dummies books for the mandolin.  I gotta get to the library.

I've found out that I have a lot more readers than I expected.  I kinda just thought it would be my mom and maybe Jordan and Bethanne.  But people I haven't talked to in years are reading, and I strongly support that.  I've also learned that my WV friends have found the blog.  I'm not so sure how I feel about that one.  Also mi madre is getting all her friends and fam to read.  Hopefully I am entertaining you enough.  I mean this has got to be better than watching paint dry right?  But I definitely encourage the new readers to leave some comments.  

bathing in the river

Apparently that's what hippies do: bathe in the river.
I went swimming yesterday with a buddy of mine and he and his friend whipped out some bio-friendly hippie soap and that, my friends, is how people from West Virginia clean themselves.  They kindly offered me some soap, but I declined for the fact that I have a perfectly good shower at the Belafonte.  Then I remembered that these fellas don't really have a home.  They live in tents in the wilderness.  I don't know if they don't want to pay rent, or they love camping or something, but there's a lil group of dudes that live in army tents.  So I guess I can't blame them for bathing in the river. Just as we were drying off and getting ready to leave, two deer came up to the river for a drink.  They were on the other side, but even though we were talking fairly loudly, the deer weren't spooked and stuck around for a while.  I thought that was pretty cool.  I've totally lost count of how many deer I've seen here.

I've also lost count of how many times I've heard live music.  Everyone here plays an instrument.  Most play guitar, but there are also mandolin players, banjo players, and bass players.  And they play together ALL.THE.TIME.  Seriously.  I heard music Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.  I need to learn an instrument.  I think I'm gonna chose the guitar because it's easiest, but I might be getting pressured into learning mandolin because there are way too many guitars up here.

Saturday night, I hung out with my buddies Andrew, Josh, and Clay at Grannys.  Andrew and Josh play guitar, Josh also plays the harmonica, and Clay plays the mandolin.  Dave, who lives at Grannys, plays the bass.   So I want to you use your imagination on this one.  The guys are all playing their instruments and singing, there's a bonfire blazing behind them, behind that is the mountain ridge and the sun is just setting over the mountains with pink clouds painting the sky.  The only word I can think of that accurately describes it is magical.  Un-freaking-believable, right?!  Jesus.  This is my life!  It's like living in a freaking postcard, or a movie.  If I didn't witness it myself, I wouldn't have believed it.  Later that night, we stopped by the Hefner home.  The family is part of the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, who are local legends, I've been told.  And man can one of them freakin pick a banjo.  I've never heard or seen anything like it.  It was mesmerizing. 

Sunday afternoon, the boys (Andrew, Josh, Clay) invited me to go fishing with them.  I'm not a fisherman myself, but I thought (like I normally do these days) why the hell not?  Josh comes barreling up my drive in his truck and of course none of them have shirts on.  I then come to the conclusion that this is just gonna be one of those days...We pile into the truck and drive to the Mon Forest and find a perfect spot to stop.  We unload a couple things and take a dip in the river (it's always good to swim in the river before you fish.  You want to make sure to rile up the fish and make them know you're their so they know to look for the fishing line).  Of course they caught no fish, although Clay did find a super nasty leech.  Then, as always, the three of them pulled out their instruments and started playing right there by the river.  Again, totally picturesque and totally stereotypical West Virginia.

Sunday nights are usually host to a music night at Phil's, an old hippie who is one of the sweetest people I've ever met.  You all may laugh when I say hippie, but I mean it.  This guy doesn't have a running toilet.  He showed me the "bathroom": there was a curtain for a door and after I peed, I had to throw sawdust on top.  I literally laughed out loud as I did it.  Anyways, there were 7 guys playing guitar and Clay playing the mandolin.  It was awesome.  One of the guitarists was easily the best guitarist I've ever heard.  Easily.  He was totally badass.  But it was a cool experience because everyone who played was pretty good and could catch on to other people's songs.  Everyone was singing.  Everyone was either making requests or would just start playing a song.  Everyone sounded so together, yet you could pick out each guitar at the same time.  I think it would definitely be a great environment to learn guitar in because no one would hear me if I screwed up and they play a million songs and they all help each other to make everything sound better.   

Monday, I mowed the rest of my lawn, which took under an hour (much better than the four hours last week).  Then I tried to tan and of course ended up getting burnt.  Then I went to the Cranberry Glades for a hike and of course got rained on.  Although it sounds like a crappy waste of a day, I could not be happier.  I realized that today at the Glades.

entering bog forest

where the north meets the south

The wind caught up with me and the storms clouds came over a ridge and everything went still and silent and it hit me.  This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.  This is exactly who I'm supposed to be.  There's a quote from one of my favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
"I could die right now, Clem. I'm just... happy. I've never felt that before. I'm just exactly where I want to be."  That is exactly how I've felt lately.  For so long I've been at neutral or or even less than that.  It's as if I've been struggling to swim for so long, just trying to reach the shore, and now I've finally gotten there.  I've never felt this level of happiness before.  I often find myself just smiling.  At nothing.  Just smiling.  People are gonna start to think I'm crazy, and I don't even care!  I've found myself more outgoing, more adventurous, more of the person that I always wished I was.  I've found myself. Which is a really weird concept, but the truth.


The first few weeks that I moved here, I wanted friends and family to come visit me so I wouldn't be lonely.  Now I want everyone to come visit me so I can show them this!  This wonderful, amazing, breathtaking, lovely place that I love.  And not only the geographic place of West Virginia, but the mental place of West Virginia where I've found this peace in myself.  


My parents are coming next week and Bethanne just called to let me know she's coming in the second week in July.  I'm so excited to plan everything to show them and to do and to hear and to eat.  My name is Megan and I'll be your tour guide for the week.  If you turn to your right, you will notice the mountains of the Monongehela National Forest.  


The idea of returning to Georgia makes my stomach turn.  Maybe this new adventurous me will take yet another adventure in the winter...

thoughts

Random thoughts of the day, and other things you don't care about:

Why does Darwin's theory of Survival of the Fittest not apply to squirrels and deer running across the road?

Attention all Baptists: I do not want to join your church family(whatever the hell that is).  So stop asking.

I think Hillsboro could have it's own reality show.  Everyone here is a freaking character.

I miss my dog a  lot. 

seriously, how could you not miss this lil bucket of cuteness?!

I always feel over dressed here.  Which is weird because I don't dress very well at all.  But compared to everyone else, I sometimes look like a runway model if only because I'm not wearing a Tshirt.

I had a job interview at the Prosecutor's Office to be a part time secretary.  The lady interviewing me didn't ask me any of the standard interview questions but told me that if I got the job, I should be on my guard because "cops will want to get in my pants."  And yes that is a direct quote.

Sometimes I have no idea what I've gotten myself into by moving to West Virginia.  But no matter what, it's better than living with my parents. (no offense, Ma)

I get super giddy when people compliment my writing skills.  And no I'm not fishing for compliments.  But I do appreciate any feedback on my writing.

I think it's funny that my brother wants pictures of my old people friends (Ginger, Sue, Jay) and not people my own age.  I also think it's funny that my mom wants me to take pictures of myself. If that's what you want, this is what you get.

You miss your beautiful daughter now, doncha, Mom?

I mowed my lawn for four hours on Tuesday.  And I didn't even finish it.  Also, it was a push mower.  Also, Sue told me later that I mowed part of someone else's property.  My hands and back are still sore.  FML.

the devil.

Granny's (the weekly bluegrass hangout) has been canceled due to crazy drama.  I was there to witness it all.  I kinda thought I was gonna get punched in the face, and I kinda wanted to laugh the whole time.  Boys are silly.

I'm working at not harboring negative feelings towards people.  Especially toward one person in particular.  After years of rage and disappointment, I honestly wish that person well.

I'm the youngest person I know in Hillsboro.  In Athens, a college town, I felt old at 22.  But here, I'm a child.  A youngin'.  Cynthia's friend actually thought I was 16 or 17 when he saw me the first time at the farm open house.  It's a very strange transition.

Sometimes, I crack myself up.  Actually, strike that, I often crack myself up.

I've been here for about a month, so I think it's time I do some more exploring.  I want to take a road trip to DC really badly, but because of the days I have off, I'd have to go alone.

More to come.  And I'll attempt to be more entertaining in the next post.  But no promises.

Here's some pictures from our garden at PSBB.

The baby is growing up

I lost my motorcycle virginity.  And it was every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be.  And yes Mom, I wore a helmet, and goggles.  My friend Andrew, who happens to be Ginger and Bob's son, has an 83 Honda 450 cruiser.  All of that means nothing to me, but when I saw it, I thought it was perfect.  I think crotch rockets are stupid: men who drive those are trying to compensate for something, if you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge.  And big Harleys are kinda overkill.  But this bike was the perfect little cruiser.  There was a full moon last night, but too much cloud cover to actually see it.  But we took the scenic highway that I talked about in my last post, the one that goes through the Mon Forest.  It was awesome.  Riding on a motorcycle is such a unique experience.  It's like you're riding a bicycle because you have the wind in your hair and nothing separating you from the road.  But then you're going 60 mph.  I wanted to smile and laugh the whole time, but all the bugs smacking me in the face discouraged me from opening my mouth.  Other than the bugs, it was a really awesome experience.  The rumble of the road, and riding the curves of the mountains, and watching the trees light up with lightning bugs, and all of it was just what I wanted it to be. Andrew told me he was surprised that I actually wanted to go.  But for years now I've wanted to ride a motorcycle and I either didn't know anyone who owned one or I did and they were creepy douchebags that I didn't trust with my life.  But for some reason, I trusted Andrew enough with my life.  He told me it was cool I was taking such a leap of faith and I realized that's what this whole experience has been about.  Pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things. 
I never wanted to stay in Georgia.  I always thought to myself that I would get out, but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go.  But then when it came down to it, I couldn't imagine leaving my friends and family.  I wouldn't call myself a home body, but I definitely like to stick with what I know.  Moving to West Virginia forced a change in me that could not have happened had I stayed in Georgia, or even if I had moved back to Ohio.  Coming to a place I didn't know anything about, to a place where I didn't know a soul, gave me that push that I needed.  I've already noticed a change in my personality.  I'm much more open with people.  I can have conversations with people I don't know and I don't feel like a total weirdo doing it.  I've realized that nobody is here to hold my hand and make sure I make friends.  I gotta do this on my own.  It also doesn't hurt that the people here are unbelievably friendly and welcoming. 
But I'm not just gonna stop at moving to a different state and riding a motorcycle.  I wanna try white water rafting and rock climbing and I want to go to a rodeo and I want to learn how to make homemade wine and I want to do ridiculous redneck things in West Virginia.  I want to check things off my bucket list and I want to add things to my bucket list.  I want to do things I never imagined I wanted to do before.  I want to push myself as far as I can without going over the edge.  I've never wanted that before.  It's like a high.  You get this euphoric feeling of freedom and once it goes away, you crave more. 
I've also realized that West Virginia is the luckiest state for me, in so many ways.  Somehow I've had not just luck, but A LOT of luck in many different aspects of my life here in WV.  I should have moved here months ago.  Peace out, Georgia, cuz I don't think I wanna come back.

Your mom goes to college

I’ve come up with a name for the trailer: the Belafonte.  I recently watched The Life Aquatic, a Wes Anderson film that I still can’t figure out if I actually like or not.  The Belafonte is the name of the ship in the movie.  Since I’ll never own a ship, I figured the trailer would suffice.  Also my dog is named after the dog in the movie, so hopefully another connection to the movie won’t be overkill.  

I received a package from my parents the other day.  Among other things, they sent me a CD entitled “Soundtrack to a Mountain Adventure.”  I racked my brain, trying to think of a movie called A Mountain Adventure.  Turns out, there isn’t one.  My parents made me a mix CD.  And it. is. awesome.  It starts out with none other than “Country Roads” by John Denver, then “Dueling Banjos,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”…you get the picture.  Every song my parents had that had a banjo in it, they put on this CD.  Then to mix it up a bit, there are some Zac Brown Band songs and Bob Marley.  Needless to say, my parents are better than your parents.

My mother should be proud of me. Yes I am beautiful and smart and funny and awesome in every way and humble, oh so humble.  But she should be proud because I went to church.  (Meghan, go tell your mom.  My confirmation sponsor should be proud as well.  Well maybe not so much after reading the rest of my blog…) Hillsboro doesn’t have a Catholic church.  What?!  A town of 200 people and no Catholic church?!  Pocahontas County has about 8000 people in it, so it’s no wonder that I had to leave my town to seek out my preferred (that’s not the word I want to use.  I can’t figure out the exact word, but it is definitely not “preferred”)place of worship.  So off to the great town of Marlinton.  Marlinton’s Catholic church has about 50 seats, and on this Sunday, about 30 were filled.  The music for the church was a guitar and a violin.  The guy with the guitar messed up on the first song and it totally set the tone for the rest of Mass.  The priest came in, a guy in his 50s and smiling like a fool: he loves his job.  When he begins talking, I notice that his voice sounds oddly familiar.  Then it hits me.  Kip from Napoleon Dynamite.  “Your mom goes to college.”   

If you don't know who I'm talking about, watch this video.

I wanna laugh more than anything in the world.  But I’m sitting in the middle of Mass, so I somehow pull myself together.  Then the rest of the hour was like going to Mass in Bizarro World.  The priest mixed up the sequence of events and had to restart a prayer, then he had to read a script of the prayer that start “We believe in God the father almighty maker of heaven and earth blah blah blah or whatever.”  I mean, I don’t consider myself a good Catholic in any way, except for the fact that I’m a fan of booze and I have a lace table cloth of the Virgin Mary hanging on my wall at the trailer, but even I know that prayer.  Then during the “lord hear our prayer” stuff, people could just start talking and naming their own prayers.  And the congregation would respond "lord hear our prayer" after people's outbursts.  "Lord, watch over my Aunt Susie as she is having surgery tomorrow," "Lord, keep safe the people participating in Relay for Life this weekend," "Lord, please help me to keep my composure and not laugh at these crazy mountain Catholics and their hillbilly Mass," "Lord hear our prayer."  And towards the end, there was major confusion about if we were supposed to be kneeling or standing.  Then more confusion over coming up for communion.  (Maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else ever get that sickening feeling in the pit of their stomach when walking up to communion: Oh shit, what am I supposed to say to the priest?!  Thank you?  Peace be with you?  I do?  That’s delicious?  Our God is a great big God and a great big God is our God?  For all you non-Catholics the answer is a simple Amen.)

After church, I drove the length of the Scenic Highway, WV 150.  It goes through the Monongehela National Forest and around every bend I just yelling out the window “IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!”  Good thing there were no other cars on the road because I was too busy looking at the vistas to stay in my own lane.  Eventually I just kept giggling to myself because I realized I live here.  I’m not just here visiting for a weekend, or a week, but I actually LIVE here, at least for the next 5ish months.  Be jealous. 

Yesterday I watched Aladdin.  Not the Disney version, what with it’s plot that makes sense and characters that are easy to follow.  No I watched the Ballet Theatre South’s adaptation of Aladdin.  For those of you who don’t know what that means, I was a ballet dancer for a long time and the company I belonged to in south Georgia was BTS.  In the great year of 2006, BTS put on a production of Aladdin.  And what a production is was.  As I watched it yesterday, not understanding at all what was actually happening and writhing in pain every time I noticed that I hadn’t pointed my feet, I realized that I made my friends watch this shit in real life.  To all of you poor souls out there: I am eternally sorry.  Not only did you have to endure 2 hours of bad dancing, but there was not even a coherent story to follow.  My God, were all our productions like this?!  It’s a wonder I even had friends after that crap.  And yet I did, and they were/are wonderful.

I’ve begun reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Gasp!  Megan’s reading a book by someone other than Pearl Buck?!  Yes I am and I love it.  She travels throughout Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of pleasure, faith, and a balance of the two, respectively.  I totally want to go on this journey, except for the who faith part.  I just want to eat Italian food.  I wish the whole book was about food.  But she’s a wonderfully entertaining writer, combining different aspects of her environment with her personal journey to learn more about herself and the world.  Sometimes her writing reminds me of Bill Bryson, but only if he were an emotional, semi-pathetic, divorcee.  That came out a lot harsher than I anticipated, but it’s the truth.

Speaking of Bill Bryson, I received the greatest compliment of my life in that my writing reminded my mother of Bryson’s.  Maybe it’s because she created me, so it’s more a compliment to herself (Megan is awesome, and that’s only because she must have had awesome parents.)  I in no way agree to the statement that my writing is good at all, but I will definitely accept that compliment.  So thanks Mommy. 

And if you don’t know who Bill Bryson is, then I’m prolly not friends with you, or at least I shouldn’t be.  Google him.  If you’re not gonna read any Pearl, for Christ’s sake, read some damn Bill.

senses

I work a lot by myself.  Which is fine.  Of course I wish I knew what I was supposed to be doing.  My boss isn't the most aggressive worker, so I'm left to my own ideas.  Yesterday I was alone again.  And not knowing what else to do, and wanting to get further into my book, I decided to read on the upstairs portico.  It's a perfect place to see the valley (as well as the driveway in case someone decided to visit) and the breeze always comes though in the softest way.  I sat up there with my Pearl Buck book, Sons, and I realized that Pearl herself sat up here when she came back for a visit when she was 9.  I even tell people that in my tour.  "Her favorite place in the house was the upstairs portico where she would read Charles Dickens and eat grapes off the vine."  The moment I realized that I was reading Pearl Buck in a place where she herself loved to read, I got goosebumps.  The moment I realized that, I felt a stronger connection not only to Pearl but to the house itself.  Sure it sounds silly, but there's something about this house that puts me at ease.
I wouldn't say that I'm normally freaked out by old houses, but sometimes I find them eerie.  Who knows what may have happened in this house, or who died in that one.  But there's a calming sense I get when I walk through the door of the Birthplace.  Like I'm home.  Oddly enough, I actually greet the house when I walk in.  I always say hello or good morning.  And I say goodbye when I leave.  This house has become my West Virginian home more than the trailer ever will.    

Lately, I've been trying something new, where I try to use my sense of vision less.  I'm so dependent on my sight and I often abuse the fact that other senses are important.  I need my glasses or contacts to see anything ten feet away, so I've been naked-eying it at the trailer for the last couple days.  I feel my eyes are more relaxed and therefore the rest of me is at ease.  Today, as I was reading on the front porch of the Birthplace, I saw the rain clouds approaching the valley.  I paused my reading to take it all in.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I heard the wind rush in the trees, the rain patter on the roof, the thunder rumble through the sky.  I felt the cool breeze on my skin, the rain splatter on my face.  I smelled the wonderful scent of fresh summer rain. Not trying to be all poetic and crap, but try it out.  You'll understand.
Last night I was invited to dinner at Sue and Jay's.  Their daughter was in town from DC and they also invited Ginger (the town librarian and local expert on Pearl) and her husband Bob.  Bob actually went to Georgia Tech and I think he's from Hiawassee, GA.   Shrimp burgers, homemade salsa, oreo pie.  Delicious.  And Ginger could talk about Pearl for days I'm sure.  She even interviewed her sister before she died.  So anytime I have any question or concern, she's definitely the person to turn to.  Not to mention she's funny and super friendly and a total hippie feminist.  So of course I love her.  I ended up staying over there for 5 and a half hours.  Yep.  That's what I did with my Friday night: hung out with a bunch of 60 year olds.  You definitely wanna come visit me now, don't cha?

"garbage disposal? I don't even know what that is"

Tuesday nights in Hillsboro, at a place called Granny's, some people get together and play bluegrass music.  The house is right down the road from my trailer and it's called Granny's because the guy who lives there inherited the house from his grandmother.  Cynthia and I went together, not knowing who would be there or if we would know anybody. As it turns out, we knew a majority of the people there.  There were 2 guitars, a banjo, a mandolin, and a standing bass, and about 15 spectators. I was a really fun time and I think that I will be attending many more Granny's nights.

I visited Richwood, WV.  That's where Cynthia lives.  She's an Americorps and works with the forestry service dealing with conservation.  The town is fairly big, but is definitely in a decline.  Apparently it was a happening spot during the 20's and 30's with mining and factories, but now it pretty much only has a lumber yard.  Their one claim to fame is that some guy won a gold medal at the 68 Olympics.  Cynthia and I went swimming in the Cherry River and the Cranberry River.  They were unbelievably cold, but it was in the 90s yesterday, so it was actually quite refreshing.  Some of her friends up there went swimming with us and then we cooked burgers at her place as her friends played bluegrass.  Everyone up here plays an instrument.  And everyone up here plays bluegrass.  I gotta get a banjo. 

We were sitting around the campfire talking about random stuff when someone mentioned getting a garbage disposal installed in their house finally.  One kid said "Garbage disposal?  I don't even know what that is."  I laughed so hard that I would even go to the extreme to say that I guffawed. 

I learned that the state fair is in Lewisburg, just 30 minutes south of here.  It's in August and I am pumped about it.  Just found out that Alice Cooper is the headliner.  You know you're career is at it's peak when you play at the West Virginia State Fair...

I also found out that the Hillsboro fair, Little Levels Heritage Fair, has canceled the rodeo.  Mega bummed.

This morning at work I carried a 40 pound bicycle from one house to the other.  It's a long walk.  I was sweating balls.  Then I saw a freaking groundhog in the backyard.  The same groundhog that caused thousands of dollars of damage to one of our barns last year.  I ran at him and yelled at him and I musta looked like a crazy person.  That's seems to be a common occurrence these days.

Tonight, I've been invited to dinner at Sue and Jay's.  Their daughter is in town from DC and some of their friends are coming over and we're gonna play croquet to start training for our tournament in July.  It's kind of nice that they invite me to dinner once a week.  Checking up on me, making sure I'm okay, making sure I stay outta trouble....

achoo...Gesundheit

So after Richard Dreyfuss showed up, I thought I would be done for the day.  But another guy came in about 3:30 as I was hoping to close up.  He turned out to b e a guy I had met briefly at the farm open house the previous week.  We ended up hanging out the rest of the afternoon and I had a solid partner for reggae night.  (Which is lucky because Cynthia never called, and I was not about to go to reggae night in Hillsboro, West Virginia by myself)  As it turns out, Tyler is from Geauga County, Ohio.  For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s the county I grew up in in Ohio.  We grew up about 30 miles from each other and now we’re both in Hillsboro, WV.  What the hell are the chances?!  

I’ll get to the story that you are all expecting and the reason you read the blog today: reggae night.  HO.LEE.CRAP.  I really had no idea what to expect.  But now I can inform you of what to expect night time you are invited to a reggae night in WV: stoned white kids in dreads.   By kids, of course I don’t mean children.  But the band consisted of six dudes: 3 with dreads, 6 stoned, 6 who hadn’t bathed in a while.  The band took several breaks to…well what else do you think a reggae band would take breaks for?  But in all seriousness, having never seen a reggae band before and having absolutely no expectations, I thought the band was pretty good and I had a really good time.  Played some covers of Bob Marley of course, but I think a lot of them were original songs.  iVibes.  Pretty lame name but all in all a good band. Here's a YouTube video for you.  Not many people showed up because there were 2 other social functions that same evening.  One of them was a white rap group at a bar called the Eager Beaver…the other was a hipster gathering of epic proportions.  There’s an old school house in Mill Point that a hipster lady owns and she opens it every so often to have hipster parties, meaning kids dressed in weird clothes stand around drinking terrible beer and listen to bands they think are so great because no one has ever heard of them.  I actually went for a couple minutes and it was a really cool building and a lot of people had shown up and I had a good time there, although of course I didn’t want to.  Some guy told me I was a closeted hipster.  I proceeded to punch him in the face.  Just kidding.  But seriously, I’m gonna keep an eye out for that guy.  

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of/seen the movie Patch Adams.  I case you didn’t know, he’s a real person and he started the Gesundheit Institute, located in none other than Pocahontas County, WV.  Not only that, but Tyler is one of the architects working on a new building there.  I spent Monday evening at the institute and got to meet Patch’s brother, who goes by the name Wildman.  He’s in his 60’s and looks like the quintessential hippie.  He has a 32 year old wife from Italy and a 6 year old daughter who is….active (aka high maintenance crazy).  They were super welcoming and I got to tour some of the buildings and I even had dinner with them.  It is a really bizarre place.  But awesome, none the less.  I hope to go back again soon and I’ll get some pics for yall.  

PSBB is hosting a croquet tournament in July and tonight is out second meeting that I’ll attend.  I think it will be a really cool event and fundraiser.  Afterwards I’m supposed to meet up with some people at a place called Granny’s(I’ve learned that WV loves to name things as weirdly as possible) to see some bluegrass.  So I’m meeting more and more people and feeling much better about my social life.  

I started another Pearl book, Sons which is the sequel of The Good Earth.  I cannot encourage you enough to read some Pearl Buck.  Her books are awesome.  Her life was awesome.  Pearl was awesome.  

Who’s coming to visit next?  Any takers?

wildlife here = not so wild

Two posts in one day?!  Yes, folks, you get two posts in one day.  This one is way less pathetic too.
Yesterday I went for a run along the Greenbriar River Trail.  It's an 80 mile gravel trail that follows where the old railroad used to go along the river (meaning no hills!)  When I say run I really mean power walking with 30 second bursts of jogging.  Not the point.  Anyways I was minding my own business when I deer runs out in front of me.  She ran into the woods beside me and then watched me as I had a small freak out and then went on my way.

I normally don't like running, but this trail is just so darn purdy.

I finally got to give a tour today.  The guy looked and sounded like Richard Dreyfuss, of What About Bob? fame (my mom's favorite movie).  I'm not kidding.  I thought about asking him, but I didn't want to seem like more of a weirdo than I already am.  So I'm gonna claim for the rest of my life that Richard Dreyfuss came to my museum.
After the tour, I went to the front porch to read Fighting Angel, Pearl's biography of her father.  If you guys haven't started reading some Pearl, I beg of you - DO IT!  She is such a great writer.  I hate to put the book down.  She is such a great story teller.  Easily in my top 3 favorite authors (other 2: Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer).  But again I was minding my own business when I see 3 baby skunks sneak under the porch.  EEEE they are sooo cute!

soooo tiny!

I ran inside and got my camera, but of course no picture can do justice to how cute and small they were.  I think I freaked them out because they got split up and one won't leave a little corner he shoved himself into.  I was very excited.  I guarantee people driving by thought I was a loony because I was running around the front yard with my camera.  Crouching Megan, Hidden BabySkunks.  Down the road from the trailer was a dead skunk a couple of days ago and knowing the damage a skuck can do aromatically, I didn't want to scare the babies too much. 
So all in all, the wildlife up here is not very wild.  In the two weeks I've lived here I've seen 3 very tame deer, a bear, 3 skunks, a snake, and enough insects to shake a stick at.  I don't even know what that saying means or if I even used it properly.  Get over it.

and boredom sets in

The last three days, not a single visitor at the museum.  So I kinda get paid to sit around and surf the interwebs and slowly come up with new displays for the house.  As lovely as that sounds, it's completely boring.  Since no one comes to visit, why should I even attempt to update the displays - no one is gonna see em.  But on that note, I've made major progress on my China display.  I took some pictures and when it's finished I'll post the before/after pics on here and I will greatly encourage comments and advice.  I had an idea to play traditional Chinese music in the room, so now I have to figure out how to obtain traditional Chinese music.
I have some ideas about updating our gift shop as well, but I'm not sure where I would find the funds, and I have a feeling my boss thinks my ideas are a bit overambitious.  I found a website that has some cool "traditional" gifts and such from China - old coins, tea sets, paper lanterns, oriental fans.  Just little things that could sell for cheap, but still sell.  Last week an old lady yelled at me because there were only books in the gift shop and not homemade crafts and crap like that.  She was very upset.  I tried to explain that I had just started working here and thus had no idea what she was talking about, but being an old lady, she had some stick up her ass.  If I ever turn into anything like that, please end it all for me.
Tonight is a night that I've been looking forward to for a while now - reggae night at the Pretty Penny Cafe.  That's right, the one restaurant in my town hosts a reggae night once a month.  Now when I had first heard this, I was all wtf?!  Then I was told that the owner's husband is Jamaican.  Which comforted/disappointed me.  I was comforted in knowing that it would be legitimate reggae, but I was disappointed that some hillbillies in town weren't going to attempt to play reggae music.  I'm supposed to meet up with a girl I met from the farm open house last week.  I think I might scare her away though because I am so freakin excited to socialize.  I don't even care if I talk to anyone the whole night; just seeing people makes me feel better.
I spend a LOT of time by myself, which at first I tried to pretend was healthy.  I was getting in touch with my inner self and learning new things about myself and all that BS.  Now, I'm like a fat kid who hasn't eaten in two weeks.  My cravings for human interaction are borderline sociopathic.  I mean seriously, this blog is my best friend.
I apologize.  I sounded like some emo, cut-my-wrist, my-life-is-terrible, I-cry-myself-to-sleep teenager.  I am in fact a grown ass woman.
On a lighter note, please enjoy this awkward family photo
PS I encourage you to comment on my blog, one so I can have something to actually do at work and two so I know someone is actually reading this.  Thanks please!

Summer is in full swing

Summary of today’s blog: life in 1890, Star Wars, spectacular hiking, Civil War, BEAR. 

Saturday I worked alone and I gave 5 tours.  I was nervous about them, but I think it was good because it forced me to know about the displays we currently have, which in turn showed me what were the museums weaknesses and strong points.  Garrick, Zachary, and Mandy showed up in time to go on the last tour of the day.  Whether they enjoyed it or not, they didn’t say, so I’m gonna assume it was awesome. 

From there, I showed my weekend guests my trailer and then off to the thriving metropolis of Marlinton (hint: not a thriving metropolis) for dinner along the Greenbriar River.  A siren went off in the middle of our meal.  Our waiter told us that, although it was normally used to alert the town to evacuate due to the river flooding, today’s siren was because of a fire in town.  Seriously.  They use a siren in a tower in town to alert the fire department.  I felt like I was in 1890. 

The next day we set off for our 17 mile hike.  Day one was a little over 7 miles, day two close to 10.  The longest hike I had ever done was 14, and that seemed like a lot to me.   So obviously I’m not the most experienced hiker.  I mean, I don’t even have hiking boots.  I hiked 17 miles in crappy tennis shoes.  (Note: NEVER do this.)   But I didn’t complain (too much) and the hike was unbelieving cool.  The first day went into wilderness that looked like an Ewok village. (Mandy doesn’t know what that means because she’s never seen Star Wars: It’s a trap!)  But seriously there were giant rocks covered in moss and tall pines that created a canopy that let in little sunlight and ferns along the forest floor and it was awesome.  Towards the end of the day, the trail became super rugged and poorly maintained where we had to climb under, over, around, through fallen trees.  But it was totally worth it.  Our campsite was taken from a postcard.  We could not have had a more perfect spot to stay for the night.  Next to a water fall and swimming hole with butterflies fluttering above the water and the sun coming through the trees….I could go on and on and on about that campsite.  Pictures cannot do it justice I’m sure.   Also, towards the end of the evening, a deer wandered near our campsite and it was awesome. 

After the best nights sleep I’ve ever had on a backpacking trip (that’s not saying much…) we hiked 10 miles on Memorial Day.  To show my patriotism, I wore socks with American flags on them (Bethanne, you always point them out whenever I wear them and I feel weird about it, but on Memorial Day I was proud to wear them so suck it.)   The beauty of the day’s hike rivaled that of the day before, but in a totally different way.  This day’s hike followed the middle fork of the Williams River, and it seemed that around every bend there was a different picturesque scene of cascading waterfalls and fallen trees and streaming sunlight.  The hike itself was rocky and we had to ford the river twice. (Note: inexperienced hiker = fording rivers barefoot.  Again, NEVER do this)  But all in all, the trip was (as Ryan Bertram would put it) spectacular.  Just spectacular.  It was my first backpacking trip without Josh Boling, which made me very sad.  Other than that, spectacular. 

After the three left, I had an immediate sense of being lonely.   I closed the door to the trailer and felt pretty bummed out.  But after a 3 hour nap (17 miles can really take a lot out of a person), Jay and Sue invited me to have ribs over at their house.  So although I may feel like I’m alone over here in the trailer, I got some really great people across the street that keep an eye on me and invite me to hang out every couple days.  So you can rest assured, Mom. 

Tuesday was spent in recovery.  The only time I left the trailer was to take my trash to the curb.  But today I wanted to be productive and that I was.  I visited Droop Mountain Battlefield, the site of the last significant Civil War battle in West Virginia.  It was a couple of short trails and a lookout tower that shows the beautiful Little Levels valley, as well as a museum of the history of the Civil War in the area and confederate graves and confederate trenches.   After Droop, I visited Beartown State Park.  Just from the name, I was hoping that I would see a bear.  I mean you can’t name a place Beartown and not have any bears, let alone a town of bears.  And I was not disappointed.  That’s right: I SAW A BEAR IN THE WILD.  I’m flying down the road approaching the entrance to the park with my radio blasting and me just be-bopping along when I see a creature in the middle of the road.  My first thought was that is a weird looking deer – it’s black and short and fat and not a freaking deer.  Immediately I put my car in park, turn off the radio, put a clean pair of underwear on, and take a deep breath.  As I approach the area that the bear was at, I see no sign of anything.  He took off and did not look back.  So I couldn’t get a picture or anything, but I promise I saw a bear.  I mean I was at Beartown, so of course I saw a bear.  Bear town State Park is actually a really cool area and reminds me a lot of home and the Thompson Ledges, which is great and all, but the only thing that matters is that I saw a wild bear. 

Side note:  I’ve added pictures of the past blogs for your enjoyment.  I still haven’t figured out how to do the pictures how I want, so I’ve decided to deal with it and do it how blogspot wants me to do it.  So if you’re curious or bored or love me in any way, you’ll check out the old posts and see some new pics!  Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial weekend.  It’s officially summer!

Our hike into the Cranberry Wilderness.

Ewok Village

Our campsite along Big Beechy Run.

The awesome waterfall and swimmin' hole at our campsite.