musings on west virginia

for anyone who is interested, to get from purcellville, va to lexington, ky i took the following route: va-7 s to i-81 s, then over to va-55 w. 55 merged into us-33 w, which took me over to i-79 s. from there i got on i-64 w, which took me all the way to lexington (map).

taking this route meant that i was only on big roads for the second half of the trip, which i was really excited about. i greatly prefer taking back roads to interstates because it gives you a much better idea of what the area is actually like. of course, this means that you have to stay more alert, particularly in the mountains. 55, however, wasn't all that twisty, and i really enjoyed the trip. it wasn't even any longer than taking the interstate, which was important for me since it was already an 8+ hour long drive. it really didn't feel that long, though--i suppose the excellent company of the beatles, beach boys, and rolling stones helped.

west virginia is breathtakingly beautiful. not that virginia wasn't, but west virginia, which was part of virginia proper until 1863, is the more raw and less gentrified version of its parent state. everywhere you looked there were amazing views of the mountains. the towns in west virginia are less frequent and are clearly less wealthy than many of the virginian towns, but no less charming. i stopped for lunch in the small town of sutton, wv at a restaurant where everyone knew each other and everyone looked at me funny. this is main street to the right.

i also came to the conclusion that everyone in west virginia was at one or more of the following places on this sunday morning: church, a yard sale, or out fishing. i passed countless churches, which i expected; what i was not prepared for were the innumerable yard sales and garage sales, some of them benefiting such things as the mt. zion volunteer fire department. the number of men fishing i simply found amusing and understandable, considering the beautiful morning.

the mountains petered out as i passed from west virginia into kentucky and gradually became rolling hills. i'm now at the home of some wonderful cousins, and looking forward to exploring this previously unknown state (at least to me). here's to the old kentucky home!