2 Exciting Weekends

Hi All!

We have had a couple of exciting weekends! Last Saturday we decided it was time to get out of H'burg for the day, and we explored West Virginia. Searching on West Virginia's website, we encountered a list of small town gems, and we mapped a route to visit a few.

We began our adventure with a stop at Starbucks for our first pumpkin spice latte of the season, YUM!

We started out in Lewisburg, WV. This was a really cute small town, with a car show going on. There were many neat shops with art and gifts galore, and couple notable restaurants. We ate lunch at the Stardust Cafe and really enjoyed it.

From there we drove west on Interstate 64, and as we drove we noticed beautiful views, especially of a huge gorge. So, when we saw signs for Grandview, a national park site, we had to check it out! And, we were so glad we did! This was the most incredible view of the New River and the enormous gorge it has created over time. You can see the river as it bends, and it is absolutely breathtaking.

From there we traveled to Fayetteville, which was named another small town gem. Though the town was cute, we weren't particularly impressed until we drove over and then stopped to see the bridge our of town! To view the bridge over the New River you stop at another national park site, and there are 2 amazing overlooks. The bridge is pretty, but it is also one of the highest in the US, because the gorge is so deep!

From there we traveled to Buckhannon, WV, which wasn't a small town, but it was certainly a gem. The downtown area was really cute and we ate at another fantastic restaurant. After dinner, we walked around West Virginia Wesleyan College which was a nice campus. Ted wasn't too impressed, but he's been spoiled by Berry.

On our route home was Elkins, WV (Yet another small town gem.) Elkins was a really cute town, unfortunately, it was dark by the time we arrived there. Apparently it is a nice spot for skiiers to stop in the winter. It is also home to Davis and Elkins College, a small college which what looked like in the dark to be a pretty campus.

From there we stopped at McDonalds for some caffeine and headed home for a good night's sleep after such an eventful day! And sunday, we rested!

Yesterday was also an exciting Saturday! It was JMU Game Day! We tailgated with some friends from Ted's CSPA program, which was really fun. Then we headed to the game. We played App State, and the energy at the game was intense. Last year we lost against App State in the final seconds of the game because of a bad play called by the coach. App State went on to be division champs. This year, we were ready to kick some Mountaineer tail! Because of the hype for this game, it was really tough to get me a ticket, but Ted pulled it off, and I am so glad!

The game started out lame, when App State was beating us by more than 20 points, and our score was Zero in the first half. But in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half, we scored 2 touchdowns, and I knew we were coming back! The second half was exciting as JMU fought for the win! And we won! Students rushed the field, there was 20 minutes of fireworks, it was intense! Ted and I cheered out hearts out, and came home for a good night's sleep. I think we both woke up this morning with the fight song in our heads! We're hoping to make it to a couple games before the season is out!

Today we are catching up on work, and we are going to enjoy chili and football with our friend Alie tonight! Yay!

P.S. We are going to be at Mountain Day in October! Woohoo!

Love,

Dana and Ted