Where is America's coolest small town?

I believe that some people come into our lives to challenge us, or as I like to put it, piss us off.  I understand that not everyone has an true appreciation for Pearl Buck, but you gotta give the lady credit: she won the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Christ's sake.  It's kinda a big deal.  Today a woman came into the museum with her two children, and I was excited to teach them about Pearl and the house and all the over crap I talk about on the tour.  They had a different agenda.  The kids (old enough to understand rules, but just too dumb to follow them) kept going behind barriers, opening doors they weren't supposed to, touching freaking everything.  No, you can't sit on that couch.  No, you can't go in the attic.  No, you can't touch that dress.  Bad kids?  Whatever.  I can handle that.  I don't like kids anyways, so it doesn't bother me.  I expected the mom to be of some intelligence.  Wrong.  I love to tell people that Pearl has three museums in her honor: the birthplace, one in PA (where she lived when she moved back to the states), and her childhood home in China.  I think that's pretty cool.  Pearl was such a bad ass that she has three museums!  That's a big deal!  This woman though was quite confused. 
Ignorant tourist: "Well, what did she do?" 
Smart, beautiful, charming tour guide: "I'm sorry.  What do you mean?"
Tourist: "Why three museums?"
Guide: "Pearl was the first American woman to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize."
Tourist: "Yeah, but I mean, what did she do?  Is that all?  She just won some awards and that's how she got famous?"
Guide: *to herself* Yes you moron!  She won the freaking Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.  That's a big freaking deal, you ignorant moron!  I don't see you with any awards for anything you've written!  Try and win the freaking Nobel Prize.  Come on, do it!  Let's see how that goes.  *to tourist* "Well she also did a lot of humanitarian work, such as starting the first international, interracial adoption agency, as well as raising funds for Asian women who bore the children of American servicemen."
Tourist: "Oh, well, I guess that's important."
Like I said, some people are sent into our lives to just piss us off. 

In other news, I've been offered a real life, honest to goodness, adult job!  Okay, not really.  It's only AmeriCorps, so it's not a real adult job, but a job nonetheless!  It's a way of putting off the real world for a while, til next August to be exact.  Sure I could make more money being a substitute bus driver for the county school system or cleaning toilets at a hotel part time, but I think it's worth it.  It's another museum job and that's what I want to do.  I didn't have any idea that I would be applying to AmeriCorps, or that I would want to stay in West Virginia, but this position is exactly what I want to be doing right now.  I have yet to formally accept the position.   I need to talk with my current boss to figure out when I can leave Pearl Buck and move to Lewisburg, but it will be sometime in late September, early October.  Speaking of Lewisburg, did you know...

FACT

No it is a fact: Budget Travel magazine said so.

That's right.  I'm gonna be living in America's coolest small town.

vacation from my vacation life

I hadn't left West Virginia in two months.  Come to think of it, I hadn't left Pocahontas County in two months, other than going to Lewisburg and Richwood.  It was time for a break.  It was time for C-bus.
All three of my bros live in Columbus, Ohio.  Well Justin lives outside the city, but close enough.  As I was crossing the state line, I was a little bummed out.  I didn't think I would miss West Virginia, but I did.  I was excited to see my bros and see the city and see civilization and see new people, but at the same time, I felt that I was leaving part of me behind.
Enough of that.  Garrick made some ribs and they were freaking awesome.   Then we watched Conan the Barbarian.  And let me say, if you haven't seen it, freaking DO IT.  It will change your life.  Conan, what is best in life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

Saturday, I went to the farmers market in Clintonville, which is just north of Ohio State campus.  It was pretty cool.  Much different than the Marlinton farmers market.

I visited a music shop, thinking I would buy a mandolin book if they had one.  They did, but the beginner books were for people who were beginning music altogether.  This is a musical note looks like.  Scales have eight notes.  This is what a treble clef is.  I don't need that crap.  I've had 7 years of clarinet and a bunch of years of piano.  I know what I'm doing.  They had some used mandolins for sale and they were pretty sweet.  Cheapest one was 80.  Next time I'm in C-bus, I'm getting it.  We went to another music store that seemed like it was more my style.

They had a pink mandolin.  No joke.  I could be Bluegrass Barbie for Halloween.

Saturday night Justin came over with his violin and tin whistle and we had the first official Ramsey jam session.  Justin on violin, Zachary on guitar, me on mandolin.  Garrick's guitar has a broken string, but I'm thinking he needs to pick up the banjo or the bass anyways.  The only thing we could play was Wagon Wheel, but it still sounded pretty sweet.  I was so excited about it, I couldn't keep from laughing while we were playing.  Afterwards, we walked to a bar called the Blue Danube, which everybody calls "The Dube."  Which reminds me of "The Dupe" for those of you who know what that is.  We got dinner and some brews there and then headed to O'Reileys, which is around the corner from my bro's apartment.  My bros are to this bar what I used to be to Walkers in Athens.  Turns out this bar blooooows.  They installed a new jukebox and this skank played 3 Justin Timberlake songs in a row and then searched for Black Eyed Peas.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy crappy music like that every once in a while.  But this is not that type of bar.  This is a bar like Walkers, or the bar on Cheers.  You aint there to dance and be skanky.  You're there to drink and hang out with the regulars.  I was highly disappointed by this bar.

Sunday we took Justin's sailboat out at Alum Creek.  I thought I was gonna be the 7th wheel.  Oh what fun! Hanging out with my bros and their significant others.  WOO!  I totally drove 6 hours to be reminded that I'm single!  Thankfully (although I admit, I was bummed out) my sister in law didn't come and one of the girlfriends only came for half the day.  It wasn't very windy, so no sailing, but we anchored the boat near the beach, and hung out for a couple hours.  Grilled some sausages, played some frisbee, tossed the football around, drank some brews, got sunburnt.  You know, the norm.  And for dinner, Mandy made some fancy ass meal in her fancy ass apartment.  It was as if I stepped into a Pottery Barn magazine.  I didn't want to touch anything.  It was like a cool hipster museum.  At first I wished my place looked like that.  But then I wouldn't be able to hang up my favorite poster.

I looked like him when I was 10.  Same buttcut hair.  Same gap tooth.

I stayed an extra day so I could hang out in civilization a bit longer, but everyone had to work on Monday, so I had to fend for myself.  I took Cody for a walk along the Olentangy River Trail and man was it different than the Greenbriar River Trail.  I'm used to saying hello to people on the trail, even striking up a convo, or at least smiling at the people who pass me, and everybody in return is friendly and pleasant back to me.  Well let me tell ya, the city's a bit different.  People literally scowled at me.  I said hello and people thought I was some weird homeless person who's gonna ask them for money.  Attention city folk: it's okay to smile.  I promise, it aint gonna hurt ya.  It was time to get out of the city.  So I headed to the 'burbs.  I hadn't seen my sister in law all weekend so I headed to Justin's house for dinner.  Their dog Luna was not a fan of Cody.  So much so that she ripped some of his hair out.  What a bitch.  Literally.

Tuesday I had planned to do some actual sight seeing.  Which is rare for me when I'm on a road trip.  I have the Ramsey mentality of driving as quickly as possible to reach my destination.  No stopping for lunch, if you have to pee you better hold it, and you only get gas when you absolutely have to.  So on the way back to WV I thought I'd try something new.  Leaving Justin's, I thought I'd find a coffee shop in my GPS.  It took me to the ghetto of Columbus.  No joke.  This place was called Urban Spirit Coffee.  I should have known that is would urban.  Needless to say, I kept driving.  I tried to find another one.  No luck.  Whatever.  F it.  No coffee or breakfast for me today.

I did find one thing I was looking for: I stopped at Hocking Hills State Park.  The bros told me that Old Man's Cave was super cool and it was not too far off 33, on the way to WV.  It was only 10:30 when I got there, but it was already really busy.  I had already had my fill of people for the weekend, especially these impolite city/Ohio folk, but I trucked on through and found what I was looking for.  Pictures cannot grasp who cool this place was.  If you are ever in or near southeast Ohio, go there.  Totally worth it.  I felt like Indiana Jones.  It was great.

 

After Old Man's Cave, I wanted to see Ohio University campus, located in Athens, Ohio.  I've heard great things about Athens.  I mean, with a name like Athens, it's gotta be good.  And it was!  Very cute little town.  Like Athens, GA, but about a quarter of the size.  I figured I could find a cool coffee shop there.  And I did.  The thing I couldn't find was a freaking parking spot.  PISSED.  By then it was 1 oclock and I hadn't eaten anything at all yet and I was irritable and hungry and cranky and I wanted to eat but stupid people and their stupid lives got in my way.  So I just kept driving.  After crossing the state line, I found a Wendy's and the girl charged me for a combo and I only got a sandwich.  PISSED.  Yes, I could have called her out and made her give me my money back or give me some fries, but at this point I was so hungry that Cody's dog treats looked appetizing.  So I paid $8 for a sandwich and a coke.  At this point, I realized how much I had missed the little third world country that is Hillsboro.  No fast food.  No stop lights.  No traffic.  Sounds like heaven.

You should check out Billy and Bethanne's blog.  They're pretty entertaining people.  Their blog has been sending me readers, so imma send them some.

Intensity

I learned two songs on the mandolin, and possibly a third.  Wagon Wheel, by Old Crow Medicine Show is the first one.  And pretty much everyone who can play an instrument can play Wagon Wheel.  And people around here hate playing it because it's been overdone and people think that it's "bluegrass", so it's usually frowned upon in these parts.  The other song is Helpless by Neil Young.  Which is a bad ass song.  But really I like it because it's the same three chords over and over again (Billy, you could play this song!). 

Tuesday was yet another concert at the Schoolhouse in Mill Point.  The band, Sounds like Leland, were from Austin.  They had a pretty laid back sound, and the members were really cool.  Before the concert, we had a pot luck.  Being poor, I didn't have anything to contribute, but I definitely participated in eating.  So much hippie food.  Gluten free chili, pesto pizza, fresh greens, cucumber salad, and Old Mil beer.  Good times.  After the show, we headed to our favorite swimmin' hole for some of this.  Then we listened to some tunes around a campfire.  I mean come on, how freaking cliche can we get?  It's like I'm living in a movie about the joys of summer.  It's actually pretty silly sometimes.

It's been too freaking hot lately.  I thought I left southwest Georgia!  Freaking 90 degrees all week.  I almost wish I was back in GA because at least they have AC down there.  Up here, you gotta fend for yourself.  Just get used to people smelling by noon, because that shower you took this morning isn't gonna keep you clean through this humidity.  And the river is getting all scummy and shit because it's been so hot and not a lot of rain fall.  Bathing in the river is actually really counterproductive now because you soap up and rinse off and there's a big piece of scum on your arm.  So during the day, I try to think of things to get my outside because the trailer is like a freaking oven.  Cody's is having a hard time.  In GA, he could escape the heat by going inside in the AC, but here he's constantly panting and sweating and quite miserable.  We still go on a run about everyday, but it takes him about two hours to get his breathing back to normal.  I need to get him shaved again.

So during the Schoolhouse concert on Tuesday, Clay showed up all excited because he found some fresh roadkill.  I'm not even kidding.  He stopped on the side of the road and cut up this deer to bring home and cook.  I'm not even kidding.  He said that muscles were still twitching.  I'm not even kidding.  I thought he was kidding at first.  He was not.  Wednesday, they cooked it up at Tent City and it was delicious.  I'm not even kidding.  I'm surprised that I even ate it, but I was happy that I did.  We had a feast over there with that meat and I brought some Vidalia onions and there were potatoes and peppers and all kinds of stuff.  It was easily one of the best meals I've had in WV. 

So some of my friends are in this "rock" band called Power.  Ridiculous, I know.  I haven't had the pleasure of hearing them play yet, but I'm pretty sure with a name like Power, it's gonna be entertaining.  Well the Tent City boys keep making all these plans to get songs together and travel the country and actually be a legit band.  Yeah right, and I wanna be a princess when I grow up.  So they were trying to come up with names.  I like the Tent City Boys, personally.  Another name was Schoolhouse Revival, in regards to the Schoolhouse in Mill Point and also the one at Tent City.  Then someone threw out "Intensity," as a pun on Tent City, and I about lost it.  I thought that was the greatest thing ever.  So be on the lookout in your town for the bands Power and Intensity, because it's gonna happen.  I've already been given the role of merchandise girl.  Oh joy.

I'm going away for the weekend, and that's prolly a good thing because my fridge is empty.  It looks like I just moved in.  Literally all I have in my fridge is a package of cream cheese (I know, I can't believe I haven't eaten it yet either!), some homemade strawberry jam, and about 4 ounces of off brand Sprite that's been sitting in there for almost two months.  The AmeriCorps kids have told me to get food stamps.  With such a small stipend, AmeriCorps actually encourages their members to get food stamps.  And since it's a stipend and not an actual wage, to the government, it's as if these kids don't make any money. So they get a good sum of food stamps each month and they're encouraging me to do the same.  Growing up in white, middle class, semi-suburban America, I think there's a stigma to receiving food stamps.  I mean, I'm not that poor and there are other people that are more deserving.  But someone brought to my attention that you can buy anything with food stamps that has nutrition facts, including candy and pop.  And a lot of people do that, which is silly.  That same person also brought to my attention that the farmer's market in Marlinton accepts food stamps and you can take federal dollars and buy local food. And a lot of people around here do that, which is kick ass.  So, middle class stigma, bugger off - I'm getting food stamps.

Oh, what up, beautiful sunset.

another visitor, another adventure

Another visitor, another adventure.

But we’ll get to that in a moment.

I’ve made it a habit to go running or biking along the River Trail almost everyday, and I almost always go to the same spot: Burnside. It’s fairly remote: no houses or people along the trail, and there is a great swimming hole so I can take a bath after my run.  And very often after I finish my run, there is someone I know at the swimming hole.  So it’s kinda the afternoon hang out for everyone.  Friday afternoon, my friends Joe and Tyler were swimming, so Cody and I decided to join them.  Well, I got in but Cody not so much.  The first time I took him to the river he was a total baby about it, but this time he was a little more adventurous.  I must be rubbing off on him.  He got in up to his chest, but panicked when he couldn’t touch the bottom anymore.  This is a dog that doesn’t know how to swim.  Um, hello?!  Doggy paddle, you moron.  We’ll work on it.  Who woulda thought you had to teach a dog to doggy paddle. 

Anyways, Joe and Tyler work at the Gesundheit! Institute, constructing a new building.  They told me Patch Adams was in town and they were all eating at the Café in town, so I stopped in because I wanted to see the real Patch.  Of course because of the movie, I’m expecting Robin Williams.  That could not be farther from the truth.  Picture this: 6 foot 6 inch Gandolf the Grey (or for you silly Harry Potter people: Dumbledore) wearing MC Hammer pants and a purple polka dot shirt.  And now you have the real Patch Adams. Yep.  He dresses like a clown ALL THE TIME.  Hi-freaking-larious. 

The boys invited me back to the Institute for a bonfire.  But I knew that there had been a clown camp there for the past couple weeks.  I’m not big on clowns, first of all, but people that actually want to be clowns freak me out even more.  But I thought, what the hell, why not - as I often do these days.  Well, the clown people were actually really entertaining.  One dude who had a massive beer belly was wearing a sweet leopard print leotard.  One kid starting dancing to some kind of music in his head.  Then two girls starting singing David Bowie songs to each other.  There was also a group of women there from Montreal, and many of them didn’t speak English, so there was lots of French being yelled.  It was, quite literally, a circus. 

My cousin, Rachel from Pittsburgh, came on Saturday.  When she got here we went into Marlinton and it was a ghost town.  Seriously.  What kind of small town is dead on a Saturday afternoon?  Apparently Marlinton is.  We stopped at the coffee shop before deciding to go on a hike near the Cranberry Glades.  We didn’t hike too far, but of course it was amazingly pretty and we found the perfect place for an afternoon picnic near a waterfall.  Unfortunately we didn’t bring snacks or anything, so we’ll plan better for next time.  We ate dinner at the Pretty Penny.  We got there just before a bunch of large parties came in, so we got our food surprisingly fast.  I knew that al my friends were going to the Opera House in Marlinton for a concert.  The Veveritse Brass Band was playing.  I had no idea what to expect from this band, but they freaking blew me away. 

They definitely had a gypsy sound to them and I loved it.  After intermission, a lot of people got up and were dancing to the music, but I’m not much of a dancer, and neither is Rachel.  Besides, I think it’s much better to be a spectator of the dancing.  At one point, people were just stomping on the floor and I thought they were river dancing.  One of the band members taught the group a dance that led them throughout the whole House and it was really entertaining to watch people who don’t understand how to dance. 

As it turns out, the band is friends with Bryn, a local who is super cool and owns the Schoolhouse.  So we all went back to her house for an after party.  And what an after party it was.  I won’t go in to details to protect those involved, but it was easily the best party I’ve been to so far in WV.  And I was glad that Rachel was here to witness and take part in it.  At one point pretty late into the party, the brass band picked up their instruments again and started playing.  This is like 2 AM, many beers in, and they still kicked ass.  They crammed themselves into this tiny camper and kept playing.  It was awesome. 

The next morning, in dire need of some brunch, preferably just bacon, Rachel and I drove to Lewisburg thinking there would be a good brunch place.  To our dismay, we couldn’t find anything.  We drove 30 minutes to find out that nothing was open.  So we went to Arby’s.  How American of us: driving 30 minutes to wait in line for 20 minutes for fast food.  But oh was it delicious.  I’ve never had an Arby’s sandwich before, so it was a big milestone in my life.  On the way back to Hillsboro, we stopped by Beartown.  I’ve been there too many times to count now, but it’s still amazing.  Then we went to Tent City.  It’s like it’s a tourist attraction.  They should make a pamphlet about it and tell the Visitor’s Bureau about it.  As we are pulling into the drive, it could not have been more perfect.  Andrew and Corey are sitting on the front porch of the schoolhouse.  Shirtless.  Playing guitars and singing.  Dogs running all over the place.  Rachel and I couldn’t stop laughing.  It was surreal: it could have been a postcard.  

It should be a postcard.

The dog only has 3 legs.  Well really it has all four legs, but only three paws.  He lost one of his back paws in a tragic hay cutting accident.  lol typical West Virginia

We got to see Josh’s completed tent.  There’s even carpet and a goose down mattress.  I think it might be nicer than my trailer.  We all went swimming down the road a someone’s spring fed pond.  It was nice and cold, unlike the river.  There was an island to swim to and a dog that like to chase rocks.  It was lovely.  

Rachel decided she needed to be responsible and go back to Pitt before dinner.  She’ll definitely be back.  And for much longer than a day and a half. 

Corey made burgers for dinner at Tent City.  Sometimes I still can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into.  Molly told me “Good job coming here, Megan.”  But seriously, props to fate or God or whatever higher being brought me here and brought me these amazing people.  After dinner, there was an ice cream social at the Schoolhouse in Mill Point.  So Josh, Corey, Andrew, Molly and I all crammed into my car.  I happened to have my parents’ mix CD in the player and Country Roads came on.  Josh blasted it and all five of us sang along.  Not kidding.  Five kids bouncing down the road singing Country Roads at the top of their lungs.  Yet another thing that could have been on a postcard. 

Corey made homemade ice cream from goat’s milk and put peaches, blueberries, and raspberries in it.  It was divine.  And there was a girl there from New York, Annie Crane, that sang and played the guitar.  She sang some Irish tunes as well as some of her own.  She had a beautiful voice and told some pretty entertaining stories about living in NYC.  After the concert and ice cream, it was time for bed.  It was quite a weekend.  I ended up going to bed at 10:30.  Cody was not happy.  He had been left home all day long to sleep.  The last thing he wanted to do when I got home was sleep.  So today I’m taking him on a hike to make up for yesterday.  I don’t think we’ll get attacked by any bears because Cody looks like one himself.  

rawr I'm a ferocious bear!

yet another day

The croquet tournament turned out to be awesome.  As stressed out as I was, I actually had a pleasant time.  34 people signed up to play and there were about a dozen spectators.  It turned about to be a lovely afternoon.  A member of our sponsor's team ended up winning and everyone kept telling us what a nice time they had.  So there will definitely be one next year, if anyone is interested in signing up!

Billy and Bethanne came for the weekend/week.  I was hella busy Saturday and Sunday, so they did their own exploring: Beartown, Cranberry Glades, napping on my front porch.  After the tournament on Sunday, we went to the river for a swim because it was quite a warm day.  Cody has never been a water dog.  But we wanted to join us sooo bad.  He would stick his paw in the water and then pull it out and shake it off and act like a little sissy.  He would sit on the side of the bank and whine until finally he got the courage to get into the water up to his chest, but he was not happy about it.  The whole time he had a look on his face as if it were pure torture.  For him, I guess it was. 

Monday we decided to do some geocaching.  I'm tired of trying to explain it to people so here's a good explaination.  It's a cool way to use technology to get into nature.  Anyways, I always forget I live in a third world country and there's very little signal out here, so the first one we tried to do didn't work.  It was along the High Rocks Trail, so at least we got a sweet hike in.  The second one we tried actually worked, but when we found it, it had been ripped apart by some animal.  I'm gonna go with a bear.  Everything inside was pretty much destroyed and in pieces.  I'm planning on going back to replace it.  It was on a trail near the Nature Center and it was at the sight of an old prison that was used from the 30s-50s.  They had a bunch of interpretive signs and it was actually really interesting.  The prison didn't have an outside wall and the prisoners had a lot of freedom.  One of the privileges was that on Sundays, they took hiking trips around the area.  They could also work in a carpentry shop and sell the things they made or give them to family members.   Sounds a lot different than prisons today.

PS. watched The King's Speech.  Everyone should see that movie.  It's awesome. 

Working alone again today.  I thought I heard someone come in the front door, but I didn't notice any car in the parking lot.  I walked to the front rooms and no one was there, so I was about to walk outside on the front porch when I noticed out old friend, the groundhog, right there, looking like he wanted to walk in the house and get a tour.  I about peed my pants.  He just kinda looked at me as if to say "I'd like the senior discount please."  I made some kind of growl at him, thinking he'd be scared and run away.  But he just looked at me like I was a lunatic.  I opened the door and ran at him and he scampered off under the porch.  The rest of the day, I kept hearing noises.  He was coming out of the porch and eating the grapes off the vine.  I walked out there and said something to him, but that didn't phase him.  He is clearly not scared of people.  Or rather, not scared of me.  

I've found myself in a funk for the last week or so.  Stress from work and the same old routine everyday is wearing on me.  Happily, I've been working on the mandolin more.  My fingers are growing some kick ass calluses and I think I'm improving.  I even taught Billy a couple of chords.  Also, one of my buddies lent me a bicycle and finally got around to dropping the seat down, so yesterday I went for a bike ride down the River Trail and it was awesome.  Cody didn't much think so: he couldn't keep up very well.  I biked about 4 miles and then later yesterday I jogged about 3 miles.   That's right bitches, I'm "athletic" now.  I gotta work off all the beer I've been drinking.

On a final note, I have yet another visitor this weekend.  My cousin Rachel, hailing from Pitt, will be here Saturday and Sunday.  Haven't seen her in quite a while and a get together is much over due. 
I will say this though, after she comes, no one is allowed to visit me until August.  I love yall and everything, and West Virginia is awesome, but stay the hell home!  I'll be out of town next weekend anyways.  August reservations are filling up fast, got more cousins coming and peeps from Athens.  Start telling me some dates, people, because I can't promise that I'll have room on my floor for you. 

also...

ps.  I love the "Stats" section of my blog so I can see how many people are actually reading and how they find it.  One person typed into the search bar "where are the hipsters in west virginia" and my blog came up.  friggin.  awesome.  I laughed for a solid 4 minutes about that.  damn hipsters.

If you're like my mom and don't know what a hipster is, this may help you.

Go America!

Kaylyn showed up to my house last Sunday in classic Kaylyn style.  They had a GPS with them, but only on their phone, so they didn't know where they were going.  They stopped at the gas station in Hillsboro asking for directions to my road.  The people didn't know where my road was but asked "Who ya lookin' for?" because everyone in this town knows where everyone else lives.  Except for me.  They didn't know who I was ac McCoy's but they did know where the director of PSBB lives, so one kind soul drove Kay and Riana to my boss' house who in turn drove them to my house.  Ridiculous.  For those of you who know her, this is classic Kaylyn.  This kinda stuff would only happen to her.  She is too much like Shirley.  Seriously. 

I thought I'd have a "party" at my house that night.  In reality it was four people showing up at my house.  Wild and crazy party, eh?  Of course the Tent City Boys came and jammed and me and the girls set off fireworks, and then the hoops came out.  Kay and Riana are expert hula hoopers.  Riana just got a fire hoop.  I swear they should join the circus.  Josh put Kaylyn to work by giving him a haircut.  He is still getting compliments on it.  The next day she cut mine.  I told her the next time she comes down here, I'm gonna have appointments for her.  I've already talked to 3 people that want her to cut their hair!  Again, classic Kaylyn. 

On the 4th, I took them to Beartown and we went swimming in the Greenbriar.  They were total babies about it.  "Are there leeches?  Are we gonna get bit?  How clean is it?  What the hell is with the snails?  I can't touch here!  I'm a baby."  psh and they consider themselves tomboys.  We went into Marlinton to see Molly's mural and of course everyone I knew was there. 

There was a band playing in the gazebo and free food and square dancing.  It was a quaint little 4th celebration.  It made me miss the Thompson 4th a lot.  Some people set off some covert fireworks before the official town fireworks.  We all agreed the unofficial ones were better.  Molly had a lot of friends from Asheville, NC in town for her mural unveiling, so there was a party at Kelly's, across from Tent City.  We proceeded to entertain ourselves by painting Kelly's porch.  With our feet.

Also, the Must family is friends with a couple from Athens: Russell Edwards, who ran for office in the House of Reps, and Airee Hong, who owns Agora - my favorite shop in DT Athens.  Surprising, Airee recognized me and we proceeded to marvel at how small this world really is.  They came up here for Molly's unveiling, showing just how much people freaking love this family. 

After the girls left, I had to work all week to prepare for our big croquet tournament.  I wasn't quite sure it was all gonna come together, but I think it really has!  And we raised over $2000!  Crazy!  I've been super stressed about it, but only one more day and it's over!  And Billy and Bethanne will be here this afternoon!  I'm on visitor overload! 

PS if you live in PoCo, stop reading my blog!  Joe. Emily. Cynthia.  Anybody else.  I'm talking to you. Quit it.

one unidentified young woman

Quick update on the missing person in the Cranberry Wilderness.  Still nothing has turned up, but the radio released this article.  Read or listen to it all the way through- they mention one unidentified young woman who got the shit scared out of her.  Who's got two thumbs and never wants to visit the Wilderness again?!  This chick.  My mom told me she wants me to be in the Pocahontas Times newspaper by the end of my internship. I think this will do.

 On the 4th, my friend Molly unveiled a mural she painted on the side of a building in Marlinton.  It has rained pretty good the few hours before the ceremony, but the weather cleared out just in time for the event.  The Pocahontas Times wrote an article about the mural and you can see a picture of it and read about the meaning.  Molly is of the Must family, which includes Ginger, Bob, and Andrew.  As one person put it, they are Pocahontas County royalty.  They're artistic and open minded, hard working and friendly, super involved in the community.  I feel truly blessed to even know them. 

I've been super busy with the croquet tournament that we are hosting this weekend.  Right now, I should be working on our booklet, but I thought I'd stop by and let people read some interesting articles as they are waiting for a big blog post.  I still have yet to tell you about the fun visit with Kaylyn and Riana, and on Saturday, Billy and Bethanne are coming, so I'm gonna have even more to say.  I've also been taking videos and pictures non stop, so hopefully those will entertain you as well.  For now I should get back to work.  blurg.  This is the first time I've felt stress in a month and a half.  I'd forgotten how terrible it is.  On the plus side, we've raised over $2000 for the Birthplace!  wooooop!  But after this, I'm gonna need a vacation.

part two

So after dealing with the state patrol on the issue of the missing person, we head back to the Belafonte to get ready for drinks and apps with my landlords.  My dad passes out on the front porch and I realize that I had a text from my uncle Mike.  He and his family had been vacationing in Virginia Beach that weekend and would be passing within about 30 miles of Hillsboro.  I was unaware of this until he texted me that he was in the PSBB parking lot!  So the fam came over to the trailer and hung out for a bit and then headed to Droop Mountain and Beartown while the folks and I went across the street to meet up with the landlords.  They had a whole spread of fruits and cheeses and delicious blueberries from their garden.  They had some kinda blue-tini thing with the blueberries.  Needless to say, we enjoyed them immensely.  

After drinks, we met back up with Mike, Mary, Lucas, and Jack for dinner at the Pretty Penny.  Everyone had the pleasure of meeting Josh, Tyler, and Joe.  I’m sure it was very entertaining for both parties.  I won’t say too much more, but I guess it was kinda nice for my parents to at least meet some of the people I hang out with up here.  Hopefully it was reassuring to them, but at the same time, I don’t really care.  

The folks came to PSBB Thursday morning for their tour.  And of course I kicked ass.  I give great tours. You should come take one.  When the rents left, I was kind of relieved but at the same time I had that quick pinch of loneliness that you get when you're not alone for a couple days, then suddenly you are.  That's kind of how it always is with parents, isn't it: day one - This is great!  I like my parents.  I forgot how cool they are!  day two - Sigh.  This would be a lot more pleasant if they would get off my back.  But I'm still having a pretty good time.  Trying to stay positive.  day three - I remember why I wanted to move out.  When the hell are they gonna leave?!  All I want is 5 minutes of peace.  day four - Well, that wasn't nearly as terrible as I expected.  I hope they come again....after several months.  (Don't get offended, Ma and Pa.  I still love you guys.)


The last couple days I've spent kind of recuperating, chilling out on my own (with Cody of course).  Friday night, they played Independence Day at the drive-in.  I cannot recommend this movie more.  It was freaking hilarious.  If you love America, watch this movie.  Terrible acting, ridiculous dialogue, absurd special effects.  Great movie.  Hell yeah, America.


I've started running again, now that I have a buddy to go with me.  Cody has been awesome off the leash and he usually keeps up with me.  I swear I'm gonna run a 5k this year, even if it kills me. 

Well again, I'm tired of typing.  Some exciting news: I have some more surprise visitors, well hopefully I do.  Hopefully they haven't gotten lost.  They were supposed to be here 40 minutes ago, and knowing how she drives, they could very well be in Nebraska.  Kaylyn and her friend Riana should be here soon though!  This should be an awesome holiday!!!

PS my blog has been viewed over 700 times!  Thank you!!!  I hope I'm entertaining all of you.  Also, people in the US, Germany, Japan, and France are tuning in!  CRAZY!  eeee!  

It's gonna be a long one...

The Birthday Celebration went off without a hitch.  About 30-40 people showed up.  Which I guess was down from last year, but I was grateful that anybody came at all.  We had a special guest – Pearl Buck!  Lol but really we had a woman who calls herself an actress but is really just an impersonator.  She dressed up and gave a speech as Pearl Buck.  It was actually kind of cool.  And the lady was really nice and friendly and grew up in Euclid, Ohio.  What are the freaking chances.  Crazy.  After she spoke, some awards were given to students who participated in a writers activity.  Out of the 20 entries, only three or so showed up to receive their awards: a free book and passes for two free tours.  Big whup.  Then the cake was cut and everybody stood around awkwardly for a while.  Some of my friends had shown up, which kind of impressed me.  But really they didn’t show up for the event; they just wanted to jam in the orchard.  Surprise surprise.  But no biggie.  I was actually relieved that I could get away from watching old people eat cake to hang out with my buddies.  I kept asking my boss what I was supposed to be doing or if I could help in any way, but there was seriously nothing to do, so I didn’t feel bad going to the other side of the property to listen to a song or two. 

Saturday night there was a bonfire at a friend’s house.  The fire was huge and they kept going into their house and pulling out pieces of furniture that they wanted to burn.  Talk about hillbilly.  There was an old couch that they threw on too.  I’m not sure if any of you are aware, but apparently it’s some kind of West Virginia University football tradition to burn couches.

 I guess some kids got arrested last year for doing it.  I don’t know.  Needless to say, burning couches is a West Virginny thing.  Again, as always, the guys were jamming out.  There was new guy thrown in though.  His name is Chance McCoy (which sounds like some kind of made up rock star name) and he’s a champion fiddle player.  I guess he won some contest that named him the best fiddler in the state.  So that was pretty cool.  I don’t think he played the fiddle all night though.  Instead he played banjo and he kicked ass at that too.  It was a perfectly clear night and the stars were awesome.  We sat by the fire until really late, when the fog started to roll in.  

I got to see how fiddles were made.  There’s a local musician who builds and works on string instruments.  I got to see a fiddle in the different stages of completion.  It’s pretty awesome.  Stupid me didn’t take pictures.  But I guarantee I’ll be back to the workshop and I’ll try to learn a little more about the process.

My fingers are hurting from the mandolin.  Today I was trying to practice the scale that Tyler wrote down for me, but its sounds terrible so I thought I would screw around on it.  One of my favorite songs is from the Into the Wild soundtrack: Rise by Eddie Vedder.  It starts out on the mandolin and I think it is such a beautiful song.  So I tried to figure it out for myself.   I have no idea if I’m in the right key and I’m only playing single notes instead of chords, but to me, it sounds right.  I kept working further into the song and every time I felt like what I was doing was correct, I’d hop outta my chair and do a little jig.  There's also a Paul McCartney song that came out a couple years ago that was used in an iTunes commerical that I want to learn.  I am super pumped about learning this instrument.  I always wished I had learned guitar.  I tried to teach myself a couple years ago, but I got too frustrated.  But I can definitely see myself sticking with mandolin for a little while.  

Monday comes along, and with it, my parents.  They arrived mid afternoon and wouldn't leave until Thursday.  I had the whole week planned.  And since we did so much, I'll prolly skip over things, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting.

soooo happy that we're taking pictures

Monday we went to Droop Mountain Battlefield and visited the overlook tower.

mama's gonna love this picture

Then we pranced around Beartown State Park (no bear this time). 

It's the Ledges in Thompson on steroids.

Afterwards I cooked a delicious dinner and the landlords invited us to go to the farm above our houses.  Ma and Pa brought the love of my life, Cody, with them and he'll be living with me from now on.  I wasn't sure how he was going to react around livestock (there's a horse and three cows at the farm).  Cody was totally freaked out by the horse and the cows were totally curious about Cody.  After a while, he calmed down and realized he wasn't going to be eaten by monsters.

Tuesday we drove up to the Cass Scenic Railroad.  I never thought of myself as interested in railroads, but this one was pretty cool.  There are lots of intricate details that I could tell you about, but I don't remember and don't really care. 

Whitaker station

the view from Whittaker station

Old man's gotta bad hip but can still jump inside a train engine.

Typical Garry.  He got to ride in the engine on the way down. 

 At Cass, we took the two hour trip to Whittaker station.  There's another four trip trip, but I didn't think I could last that long on a train.  The station was pretty cool and had a place to walk around and see the old logging machinery.  Of course my dad got to talking to the brakeman and the engineer and some how, God only knows, he got to ride in the engine on the way down the mountain.  Typical Garry.  The guy who took our picture was super jealous. 

After Cass, we went to Green Bank, which is where the National Radio Astronomy Observatory is.  I still don't really know what is does and I'm not even gonna try to explain.  Something about space and physics and the universe and science.  But it's huge and pretty interesting I guess.

You can't really tell how big it is from the picture, but it can hold a football field.

The tour guide was a college kid from Marshall - theater performance major.  So of course he was crazy.  And SUPER awkward.  I mean seriously: science plus theater equals socially inept.  And of course he had his eye on me.  All socially inept dudes do.  He came up to me after the tour and of course struck up a conversation with Garry.  That man will talk to anyone.  He told me he was gonna visit me at work.  Awesome.

good ole ma and pa

 So Tuesday was our man-made wonders day and Wednesday was our natural wonders day.  We started out at the Cranberry Glades and then tried to visit the Falls at Hills Creek, but there was a butt load of stairs and I don't much like stairs and neither does my dad's bum hip (I'm sure he's gonna be happy about this).  So we ended up hiking the High Rocks trail off the Scenic Highway.  It was 2 miles in, 2 out, and I wasn't sure how the rents were gonna take it, but they did just fine.  Cody was wonderful on the trail.  He understood not to run too far off, although he was super pumped to be off the leash.  The High Rocks trail leads to an overlook of the Little Levels similar to the overlook at Droop Mountain, but just from a different angle. 

Little Levels

soooooo happy

two walking sticks.  no waiting.

happy puppy!!!!!

 After surviving the hike, we drove down the Scenic Highway to another overlook but no other overlook is as great at the High Rocks Trail.  We stopped and had lunch and then moved on to the next overlook.  There were a bunch of cars there, some cop cars.  And there were a few people sitting around outside when we got out to look at the overlook.  My dad being who he is, struck up a conversation and found out that they were there because there was a missing person in the Cranberry Wilderness.  This interested me because as you may remember, I hiked in the Wilderness over Memorial Day.  I mentioned this to the cops and they found that interesting because the person had gone missing just before Mem Day.  They asked what trails I took.  I said Big Beechy to the Middle Fork.  They asked where we had parked.  I said the Big Beechy Trailhead.  They asked if I had seen any cars at the trailhead.  I said I think there was a BMW and the only reason I remember that is because you don't often associate someone who owns a BWM with someone who hikes in the wilderness.  As it turns out, the person who owned that car is the person who is missing.  That's right folks, I am the only eye witness to this vehicle (other than my hiking group of course).  The patrolman asked if he could ask me a few questions in his car so that he could get as much information as possible.  I told him all the details I could remember of the weekend.  But we hadn't seen any solo hikers in the two days.  I was totally freaked out.  I still am.  Cuz seriously what are the chances that we would have chosen that trail, that no one else had parked there, and that we would have come across the cops at the overlook?!

 

So I'm sick of typing, but I'm still not done telling the story of my parents' being here.  You'll just have to wait until tomorrow.  I'll leave you with a cliffhanger...we had surprise visitors....