Vacation time (#28 West Virginia)

COVID has impacted our travels.  Early on we cancelled a trip as things were locking down.  Then the summer was super hot and crowded.  With the kids returning to virtual school and the weather changing, we decided it was time to travel.  So where to go?  I decided we would do a hiking weekend.  

West Virginia was still on the list of states to visit and with lots of nature, picked Clarksburg.  Why Clarksburg?  I wanted to be further North where it was cooler, wanted the mountains and it has a good airport with Hertz cars.

All week we watched Hurricane Sandy progress and I wondered if she would clear in time.  The rains did but the clouds persisted and early Friday when I awoke, the weather was a bit lower than I like.  I did the only reasonable thing, reset the alarm and went back to sleep.  An hour later the sun was higher and our path was looking better.

Direct to Clarksburg takes you right over Charlotte.  I knew that was not gonna happen as the last thing they want in their flow is a slow piston plane clogging the airspace.  So I had to decide East or West of Charlotte.  I had planned both and the weather made the decision.  Sunny on the West and low clouds on the East.  We went West.  Our fuel stop was Shelby county and the ride up was good with the exception of 20 knot headwinds.  

I had planned to cut over the mountains around Roanoke, VA but the clouds were low.  At Shelby I refiled a route North and then cut over to Clarksburg on the North side of the mountains.  Shelby was clear and we had been watching Clarksburg all morning.  It had gone up to 1200' and then back to 600' overcast.  Minimums were 590 for the straight in approach from the South so I was making plans as to how to handle a potential missed approach.

Luckily as we approached the clouds lifted to 1300' and the approach was bumpy and wet but pretty easy.  The runway appeared and we were soon parked at the FBO.  We got the prime spot, right by the dumpster.  It worried me a bit but the plane was fine.

They had our Hertz car waiting and we were off to sightsee.   Our first official stop was Arbys.  Practicing safe travelling we avoided inside dining and did takeout, drive through or curbside.  Once fed we headed further North and crossed into Pennsylvania to see Cucumber falls.  The falls were an easy hike and we continued down to the river to see some rapids.

Our next stop was just a few minutes away,  Ohiopyle, PA.  The small town is known for its bridge, its rapids and its ice cream.  It is a quaint town.  After taking in the water features we sampled the ice cream.

Our final stop was Cooper State park in WV.  It is known for its overlook.  It is a nice view and it has a short underlook trail which we completed.  The sun was setting and it was getting dark so we headed back to our hotel.  Dinner was Taco Bell.  I noticed on Google Maps that it is listed as a "Mexican inspired fast food chain".  I think that is a good description.  Not Mexican food but very inspired.

A few words on travelling during COVID.  We did a few things different.  I booked Towneplace Suites because I wanted the fridge and dining table as we would be eating in the room.  We took drinks and snacks with us to avoid one extra grocery trip.  I also packed a COVID kit with the essentials; masks, gloves, wipes and sanitizer.  We used little of the kit but it was good to know we were prepared.

Overall WV seems to be ignoring COVID at the personal level.  Only about 20% mask usage and some people tried to get in our space at the parks.  We just smiled and adjusted to keep our distance.  Overall without having to use commercial air transport, travel was easy and either contactless or socially distant throughout.

You will see our food choices were not great but to be fair, there were not great restaurants in Clarksburg that I felt I missed.