Washington or Bust...Day Three...Playing Tourist...

Sunday morning I hear a low rumble and this view greeted me outside my bedroom window.  I yelled at Christie to get a picture before it disappeared. She grabbed my camera and took the shot. As you can see the trees had not started their bloom process whereas in Oklahoma the greening of the leaves were well under way when I left. 

Tub boat and barge going down the Kanawha River

A friend of Christie's lived in the area and said that if we came through we needed to hit a couple of places in Charleston and then see the New River Gorge. 

First stop was a Cabela's Outfitters Store.  We needed to get Christie a sleeping bag and some nice warm socks. Since her birthday was coming up, we found this little number

I am going to have to get me one!

that keeps her coffee hot all day long.  I got a base for "Hetty" so she would not be bouncing off of the resting place I had chosen for her, trying to attach her to a window was just not feasible.  

Charleston's Capitol Dome in Gold Leaf.

A great place to eat.

Sign at Pies and Pints

It was lunch time so we headed into Charleston's downtown section to a little joint called Pies and Pints.  Since it was lunchtime, we felt lucky to get a table as church was letting out and the place was filling up fast. We ordered some  Char-Grilled Hot Wings All-natural, dry rubbed & marinated in sriracha hot sauce, citrus, garlic & cilantro ~ char-grilled to perfection and served with creamy Gorgonzola for an appetizer. Can one say heaven?

Oh so good!

For the main course we got the Chicken Gouda Pie, marinated grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, smoked Gouda, red onions, chipotle crema & scallions. Can you say double heaven? I don't think I have ever had a pizza where the crust was so tender yet crisp and buttery at the same time. I had tea and Christie had a hand crafted beer.  

After lunch we were told to go across the street to Ellen's Homemade Ice cream. Oh my such goodness!

Chocolate Almond and Chocolate Oreo Cookie

After lunch Christie said her friend suggested we go to New River Gorge which is run by the National Park Service. It took us about and hour and a half to get there. First we were on a turnpike then heading down a very narrow two lane road for about 12 miles with curves that would turn a weaker man's stomach. We passed the Company Store to the old defunct Sugar Creek Mine. It reminded me of Tennessee Ernie Fords song 16 Tons.

We finally arrived at the New River Gorge...Oh My!!!

It seems to go on forever. It has the worlds largest spansion bridge over it. Christie discovered a one way road to the bottom of the gorge so we decided to take it down to see where it led to.  Here are some of the sites we saw.

It was late when we made our way out of the gorge and headed home. I am so glad Christie was driving. The dogs were happy to see us when we got back. After taking them on a walk and feeding them it was time to hit the hay. 

It had been a long day, but a wonderful day filled with great food, great scenery and great company. Thanks Christie for making this journey with me.

Stay tuned for more...