West Virginia

First thing I did when I got in the van was start doodling! 

I got a small, hard sketch journal for Christmas that I hadn't started yet, so I threw it in my backpack for the trip.

(Take me home, country roads, to the place where I belong! West Virginia, Mountain Momma, take me home, country roads!)

The whole bottom half of the page was green...and I found it very boring, so I grabbed some music sheet paper (found in a stack in the trash can) and grabbed two slices of dad's big league chew gum to make an adhesive to stick it to my journal.

Yes, it wasn't even an hour into the trip and I got really redneck because I didn't have tape.

We got to Berkeley Springs so fast! As soon as I was finished touching up on my doodle, we were there.

So we walked through downtown and explored some shops.

Britney and I walked into a flea-market building.

There were fossils, a giraffe bone, and huge gem stones!

(And a really artsy window that reminded me of 'Balto' the movie)

After we checked in at the lodge, we rode up the mountain trail to the overlook, the ride up was terrifying because there was no guardrail, and a very sharp drop awaiting us, but once we got to the top, it was absolutely breathtaking. From this spot, you can see four states!

Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

After we peeled ourselves away from the view, it was time to find a place to eat for supper, and I went back to doodling.

She lives in color, and he lives in black and white.

Maybe it's because he's wearing sunglasses....(maybe not?)

I loved it in the evenings because we would go to the ground floor, and grab a rocking chair on the long patio, look out to the mountains and read our books. I loved hearing the silence. 

The following day we went to the lake and I got to go Kayaking!

In Maryland, you have to be 18 and older to kayak, in West Virginia, you only have to be 12!

I enjoyed it very, very much!

Britney and I took a walk to the end of the lake, where falls rush off the edge.

(I could've gone extreme kayaking! Nope. Nuh-uh.)

We explored the Springs. It was so impressive! Like nothing I had ever seen before.

Water coming up from under the ground.

If you watched the water, it would bubble constantly where water was coming up.

Yeah, that's me walking through the water way!(I was unprepared for the picture) I loved it. It's mineral water and the Indians would come from all over to bathe in the springs, they believed it was healing waters

The water was so soft.

George Washington would come and bathe regularly in the Springs and said he felt better after he did so.

There was a Women's Spring, and a Men's Spring, and they let the algae grow out so there was privacy.

Some of the Spring water comes up from there!!

And the water was so tasty! There were fountains of Spring water for you to drink out of, and we saw several people come with empty gallon jugs and fill them up with the Spring water out of the fountain.

I went back to kayak three times. It was $3 for a half hour.

I kayaked backwards even. And went close to shore trying to reach some honeysuckle.

The clouds rolling off the mountains was a sight I never grew tired of.

Another evening exploration for food.

Even though it's a tourist part of West Virginia, there weren't many choices of places to eat!

A saying of the trip was shouting to our window when we passed people sitting outside was "Hey! What do you like to eat?" They'd never hear us because our windows were up...haha.

Berkeley Castle.

It was so gorgeous!

They used to give tours, but now it's private property.

I would have loved to explore inside.

Panorama View. 

It was absolutely gorgeous.

There was a restaurant across the road from this view that we ate at.

It was expensive because all the food was completely local and organic. But my BLT was the best I've ever had and I enjoyed some homemade puree Strawberry Lemonade and ate an edible  flower that came with dad's meal! I've never eaten a flower before.  

And I took this time to doodle again.

The beautiful falls from the lake were just so photogenic!

Our room key that always remained in my backpocket was sad to part ways with me.

Do you see that straight line of mist coming down from the clouds?

We got to watch a downpour from a distance back up at the overlook!

The clouds were so heavy!

Our room and our not so gorgeous view (it was the only room they had left), and my belongings.

I loved how they had so many swallows up there! There was a nest we could see right out our window.

Some suvioners to remind me of my wonderful times at Cacapon in Berkeley Springs, W.V!

And the gift shop lady was so nice, she didn't even charge me for the postcard, she just gave me a look, shook her head slightly and just put it in the bag. 

I hope to maybe go back one day.

Tomorrow, my youth group camping trip begins!

So long, Farewell!

Stephanie