"OUR HOUSE IS A VERY, VERY, VERY FINE HOUSE"

I just got back into the cabin after practicing my poi and flow wand in the sun. We are up in the mountains of western West Virginia in a cabin in the woods. It is a magical place. The cabin is full of history. I felt much of it upon falling asleep and awakening and I softly whispered to myself, "Oh how I wish we could stay longer." Magic abounds. Call it vibration (I do) or whatever makes you feel comfortable. Larry stopped in before heading to an appointment in town and offered us another night in this incredible space. More further on in this post. First let me fill in the last few days.

Sunday we had the great pleasure of being brought on a hike back at the huge municipal park in Wheeling. Mike knows the space so well; the landscape, the plants, and the history. He got us huffing and puffing up some hills which it was great. I needed to burn some calories and get the legs stretched out again. After we all went to check out a really interesting event at the Greenwood Cemetery.

Dead personalities came to life in full costume. No not as zombies but as historical figures who told us of their lives. I wish I had brought my video camera with me. I took photos and recorded some clips from my Canon. Later I edited them up for YouTube. I know our host Mike had a wonderful time too. He's into history and preservation. It was a happily active day and we took full advantage. It was early to bed as Ines and I were up early to hit the road to Hurricane. We had a CS host couple waiting for us and as the property is off grid and off GPS I wanted to get there (here) early in the day.

 

In the early morning we reached the Palace of Gold. It was on our way. I wanted to center, chill and take photos. Tours don't start until later which was perfectly fine. The garden grounds were open, the air was fresh and the light diffused. The Palace is a Hari Krishna property. The temple is a little further down the road from the palace but we chose to turn and bypass it. There were so many convoy trucks (fracking) taking up the winding two lane road. A workman warned me about hooking into the interstate to head south. I had already routed us on a State Route to the east of the Ohio river. Perfect. In fact, we are avoiding interstates on this trip whenever possible. This trip is about discovering and learning about people, places and things along the side roads.

Which brings us to Larry and Will's place in the woods. You can't get much more side road than this. It took a detailed map to get us up here and I am not driving back down. Not many things scare me but steep, skinny, gravel "road" ways do. I was white knuckled and screaming FLOOR IT! as my car stalled in a practically 45 degree angle when the three dogs came out to great us. THE DOGS AREN'T STUPID - GUN IT -THEY'LL GET OUT OF THE WAY! Obviously I wasn't driving. I am a wimp.

side note: The dogs (Blue Bell, Woody and Waldo) are our companions, trail guides and faithful protectors. They guarded the cabin as we slept last night.

 

The electricity here had kicked out just before we arrived which meant - yup - BUCKET FLUSHING again. (We also did this with Mike and Betsy in Wheeling but not because things didn't work. They are conservationists and practice what they preach. If it's yellow...) Larry showed us all that we needed to know about the cabin for survival. I jest. The cabin is fully equipped. He should be offering this on AirBnB. He treats us with the same concern as a proprietor of a fine hotel. What a dear soul. This cabin and he are pure gems. We also got a tour of the main house, hot tub (yes hot tub) and more. After the dogs took us for a short hike through the hollows. When we got back the electricity was on again. No buckets needed. Larry was cooking up traditional pinto beans and skillet cornbread. We were told when they were ready he would let us know. This made me very pleased as I was not into driving down the hill for groceries.

This property is equipped with modern day phones AND some of the old ones have also been wired in. As Larry was explaining the history of the cabin the phone rang. He answered with the antique phone. His sisters were traveling through the area and wanted to stop by. We all relaxed, conversed, laughed and ate beans and cornbread on the cabin porch. I was thrilled. "THIS" I told Larry, "is what I love about traveling and why I use couchsurfing.

Larry had found this cabin 40 miles away. It had been torn down and the owner gave it to him as a pile of boards. He painstakingly identified the placement of each item and reconstructed it high up on this hill.. What a feat of love.

Well - I am incredibly grateful that he offered us another night. I just hope he brings Ines back. They are off on the ATV up and down the hollows. He asked which one of us was the bravest. We really didn't have an answer to that one. I suggested Ines go instead of me as I have already experienced that fear in 2012 when I worked on the farm in Harrisville, WV. Someone else should get that "pleasure" too.


I am running out of battery on this netbook and must plug in and get into the woods. PS - if you call leave a message. I often do not have signal up here in these woods. Be patient. I think it's great. A disconnect reconnect.

"I'll light the fire, while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today." We'll have one in the hearth tonight in the cabin. :) happy face.