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!