Another state to check off the list!

Neither Ross or I have been to Ohio or West Virginia, so it’s been fun to check them off the list. Ross and his family loved road trips so he got to see a lot of the country growing up. With my job at ISN, I got to travel frequently and to places off the beaten path. Seeing new places was part of the motivation behind the trip and a big part of the route we chose.

We took a little longer drive up to Morgantown so we could see more of the state; luckily, we chose a route that only added 30 minutes and got us off the interstate! We had a lovely lunch at Mango Latin Cafe in Parkersburg. Who knew we’d find delicious empanadas and fried plantain in rural West Virginia!

In Morgantown, we stayed at a great hotel - Marriott of course, thanks to all of Ross’ points from work. Best part was the indoor pool! The kids have been in swim lessons for a few months and Finley needed somewhere to ‘practice her moves’.

We took a lovely stroll along the waterfront into town for some Cold Stone ice cream. I have always loved ice cream, and in college, Ross worked at a Cold Stone which meant I basically lived there for a semester, and birthday cake remix was all I ever ordered. Every couple years, I have to make it back to see if I hype it up in my head or it really is that good. It really is that good. Finn and Ry agreed, and although they insisted on ordering plain chocolate, they only wanted mine!!

After that, we checked out Morgantown Brewing Co for a snack and a six pack to go, then Mountain State Brewing which had great pizza. Then home for the end of Shrek! It’s pretty hilarious what a novelty cable TV to the kids - commercials are mind blowing and I think Finley actually thinks it’s magic. She says to Riley, ‘you can’t watch Thomas; we have to see what the TV picks!’

After movie night, it’s lights off for everyone. Riley crashes immediately and Finley wiggles around for 45 minutes and comes up with every possible excuse for not actually going to sleep…

For breakfast the next morning, we found a joint called Grandma Jean’s Country Cafe. It was exactly what we were looking for in local, classic, diner fare. And I actually felt like I was sitting in grandma Jean’s living room. So local, so cool.

Did you know West Virginia split from Virginia during the civil war? Virginia joined the confederacy but West Virginia said no way, we stay!