Monday, September 12, 2005

Almost Heaven ~ West Virginia




Ahhhhhh, take me home, country roads..to the place I belong.....WV...Mountain Mama.....

Left: The West Virginia State Capitol, considered to be one of the most beautiful in the U.S., is Italian Renaissance architecture and closely resembles our nation's capitol in D.C. It sits beside the Kanawha River.

Next: The New River Gorge Bridge, opened in 1977 and until 2003 it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world at 3030 1/2 feet. It was also the highest above water at 873 feet. The cost to erect this bridge was $34 million. See more about the bridge at http://www.nps.gov/neri/bridge.htm

Dome: the dome of the capitol building is covered in real gold, and at present it is being re-done, so the capitol dome is shrouded in plastic, which the locals have named the "con-dome".

Bottom: the Governor's Mansion is a classic example of Georgian colonial architecture, and it overlooks the Kanawha River on U.S. Route 60, the Midland Trail of pioneer days.

On the top right: The Greenbrier is a resort without parallel in the U.S. Many Presidents, Governors and various members of European Royalty have stayed there since it opened in 1778. Check it out at: www.greenbrier.com

The menu card is dated November 24, 1952, and was saved by my mom after she and my dad stayed there.

Bottom: a photo I took when my husband and I stayed there in the 80's. This is the loggia beside the indoor pool, which is fabulous! If you are looking for a new place to vacation, the Greenbrier is worthy of consideration. If you would be interested in a somewhat less fancy resort, check out www.westvirginia.com for other options.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

*sniff*

Beautiful.

'Cept now I'm all homesick.

Did you know the Greenbrier doesn't allow folks to wonder in and enjoy lunch anymore? Dinner, either, without a reservation. Which is near impossible to get if you are a non-guest. Makes me sad. I used to love going for a long Sunday drive and having lunch there. Peaches. And ice cream. Yummmm.

Heather said...

My husband and I once hunted for jobs in WV vecause we heard it was so beautiful!

Pernicious Panda said...

Greenbrier is a resort? I thought it was a city. It's a name that comes up often in my genealogy. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post cards of some WV beauties. The governor's mansion was designed by a local architect, William Martens, who designed many fine downtown buildings and homes in Kanawha City.
It is sad that the public can no longer stroll into the Greenbrier. I heard it was done for security reasons.

Anonymous said...

Another nice place to stay near the Greenbrier is the General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg. This place is casual classy and is near the nice shopping in downtown Lewisburg. The inn dates back to the 1820's when Lewisburg was on the Midland Trail. The restaurant serves great food and is popular with locals.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

I live about an hour or so from Wheeling. Which is where they have the one gaming resort. Oglebay is a beautiful place and in Moundsville is a place called the Palace of Gold where the Hari Krisna's have build a beautiful temple and rose gardens. It's quite a site to see.

Anonymous said...

For Amanda...Greenbrier is also a place name. Greenbrier County is one of the most beautiful in WV. My family is largely from that area, too.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

To answer your question, The Palace of Gold is kinda in Moundsville not near the prison though. Its up on a very wind-y knob. Not a pleasant drive mind you.

http://palaceofgold.com

If you look in the archives of my photoblog for August you'll see some pictures I took there.

It's really beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Wow - some more West Virginians oe ex-residents! Howdy yall! Originally from Clendenin on 119. Herbert Hoover- class of 66.
Your post and the comments making me a little homesick.

carmilevy said...

I love your montages. Between your images and your words, I feel as if I've gone on the trip with you.

I need to get friendlier with my scanner...I've been remiss.

Back from Michele's (again). I like this process, because I get to discover new snippets from you with each visit.