Vienna WV is the home of Holl’s Chocolates. We got samples: a whiskey and a raspberry truffle covered in dark chocolate. Delicious. A box of eight dark chocolate morsels filled with eight different fillings found its way home with us.
Sadly, not so much anymore. Fenton Glass of Williamstown WV is now Fenton International and nearly all of their art glass pieces now come from China. It was a bit disappointing. But, their museum was fantastic. They have pieces from as far back as the early 1930s in colors like lime sherbet and cameo. Patterns are molded in, hand worked, etched, painted and carved. If you have seen a glass whatnot at your grandmas there is probably one like it here.
They do still make glass beads and ear rings and custom paint them here. It is beautiful work.
The oldest graduate present at the Alumni Dinner belonged to the class of 1937 (76 years ago). All the respective classes represented were also recognized. The tour of the school prior to the dinner brought back a lot of memories. It was the first meeting for many members of the class of 1973 in 40 years. It was good to see them and visit for a few hours.
The day after the alumni dinner we met for a class reunion. It was great to reminisce and get reacquainted with classmates/friends I had not seen for 40 years. More were able to make it to the reunion than were at the alumni dinner. “White Falcons” returned from CT, FL, OH, MD, MI, PA, VA, and WI for some time together. We shared a somber moment for the 5 (of 92) classmates who have passed away.
While in the area I reconnected with aunts, uncles and cousins, some of which I hadn’t seen in 20+ years. I even tagged along to barbershop quartet practice and had a great time. Another highlight was a haircut by the first barber I can remember. He as been providing haircuts and community news for 65 years.
What a great time!
Kent’s 40th high school class reunion. He will give you the real skinny on it all but I must say he seems to be getting into this whole “remember when” experience. This morning he was off bright and early to breakfast with a buddy and their HS band director (retired now of course).
A narrow, field-lined road leads to a collection of sheet metal clad pole barns and restored log buildings dating back to the 1820s. This is the West Virginia State Farm Museum. The display buildings are packed with farm machinery and homesteading tools of every kind. Tractors, plows, hay balers, seed cleaners, and corn shellers make up a few of the more familiar looking pieces. Among the more unique: a powered sheep shearer that is actually driven by a series of gear-linked shafts to create an articulated arm with a scary looking clipper at the end, cigar moulds, a great horse drawn sleigh, and a huge collection of past military uniforms. Much of this stuff has been donated by locals or their relatives.
Log homes are built with square hewed logs and wide layers of chinking. It is the quintessential image of a log cabin; but, those surfaces sure collect dust and spider webs! More food for thought as we consider our ultimate materials of construction for our cabin.
It is a great collection of stuff. Mom, wish you’d have been here. I am sure you would have enjoyed some of the reminiscing and I could of used some help figuring our exactly what some of this stuff is.
Stone….change is pretty much imperceptible. Side by side still photos have trouble capturing it. The people….well the years have a bit more of an effect. See for yourself.
These pics are thirty four years apart.
We vacationed here at Natural Bridge/Red River Gorge in 1979 just after we were married. How time flies!
Soaring vertical cliffs jut skyward in stark contrast to the lush green mountainsides. Trails through the steep walled canyons lead through thick forest to all sorts of sandstone formations born of thousands of years of wind and water against the stone. Ancient rivers carried the then towering Appalachians
grain by grain and boulder by boulder and deposited those tiny bits to eventually become this wonderfully carvable sandstone. It is a reminder again that there is some pretty fantastic geology on the East half of the country. It is just a little harder to appreciate than out west since here at Natural Bridge/Red River Gorge, KY 
it is hidden under the blanket of forest cover.
Icky, sticky. It is only May but it is summertime hot and humid here today. The heat ran us back to camp by 2PM. We plan an early start tomorrow to check out a few trails then seek out some air conditioned activity for the heat of the day. One option, the famous Ruth Hunt candy shop…..they make the special chocolate creams for the Derby.
As we were preparing to leave Patoka campground a bald Eagle in full adult plumage flew just above the trees over camp. I ended up seeing him about 3 times in the hour while we were breaking camp and loading the trailer. The crows were making a terrible racket as he cruised around camp. Those picnic crows really want to protect their campground.
We came in from boating and found one of the bearing covers missing off the boat trailer. So when we pulled the boat the bearing got wet. It does not seem likely the cover came off driving from the campground to the ramp since it had been in place for about 5 years through lots of potholes. My guess is someone lost one on the way to the lake so they borrowed ours. Hopefully I am wrong. A quick trip to the auto parts store for a new cover and a repack and we are back in business. Guess I should rub some mud on the new one! Those shiny stainless things are too tempting to some folks.
A bit of nostalgia, Kent used to come here fishing with his Dad and this is the place that Brian and Mike most often came to fish with Delton. It stirs a few memories.
The campground is quiet this early in the season. We only had about 6 “neighbors” in a couple hundred sites when we arrived. There are probably twenty or thirty sites occupied now and more folks arriving as we approach weekend. Birds are singing. Turtles, squirrels, and bunnies are everywhere. We have enjoyed a couple beautiful, bright sunny days catching a few fish and watching eagles and osprey. There are loons here too but I am still waiting to hear from them.
The sky turned an ominous gray and long rolls of thunder ran us off the lake early yesterday. Today it is a misty/drippy rain. Years ago we probably would have stuck it out and stayed on the lake but today but we called it quits around noon. That’s a sign of maturity, right?