Wild and Wonderful

I just returned from a weekend of visiting my youngest brother at West Virginia Weslyan College in Buckhannon, WV. It was a quite a trek to get there: 267 miles to be exact. And let me tell you, I used to think Farmville was the middle of nowhere. Buckannon is a true Appalachian town surrounded by hollows [ers] and small mountains. Big mountains lurk in the not too far distance. Coal mines dot the landscape. McDonalds is considered haute cuisine by some.

The weekend weather fit well with my parents' name for the town: Sunny Buck. I'm being fecicious, of course, as the weather changes fast and swirling black clouds hide the sun in a few short minutes. I do not envy the poor students come winter. Fortunately, we had a short break in the precipitation, and we hiked around Audra State Park for an hour or so. Not a car in sight, no planes overhead and not a whiff of "enriched" air a la Northern Virginia and D.C. Wonderful.

While not feasting on the local country cooking we took in the campus sights and listened to both Karl and my parents recount their similar stories of college. Nothing like hearing good college tales to bolster the spirit and make you want to hop back on the post-collegiate educational bus.

To celebrate Family weekend and Karl's 19th, we went to a local joint named C.J. Maggies. The 22 oz beers ($3 mind you) were a delight, as were the more than generous servings. I guess the world outside of NoVa turns a bit differently. The weekend ended with more rain and a soggy drive home, but I'm already looking forward to my next Wild and Wonderful weekend...