West Virginia - Sort Of

Last November, when I stayed with my cousin Bonnie and her husband, Joe (part of my 2-month trip around the country), I told Bonnie that, as a result of that trip, I now had only 5 states left to visit. She rolled her eyes a bit (wasn’t I being a little anal? Was it really necessary to visit all 50?) but was curious enough to ask which they were? I said, “West Virginia, Georgia (I don’t count numerous stops at their airport), Arkansas, Oklahoma and Michigan.” She thought about it for a minute and said, “If we fly into Nashville, I could show you Kentucky on our way to West Virginia.” She knows Kentucky. She moved there after college, it's where she met Joe, they lived in the Louisville area for a few years and his family came from the western part of the state.

I thought about it for a nanosecond. “Let’s go,” I said, mentally crossing one state off my list. Then a problem arose. You can experience it yourself by goggling WEST VIRGINIA and ATTRACTIONS. Go ahead, try it. The results are pretty discouraging. Try other key word combinations. Nope, apparently there is nothing of interest in the entire state short of a no-longer-functioning gothic penitentiary and a black velvet-painting museum. That’s about it.

Okay, I KNOW there must be more but oh does West Virginia need better marketing. I have since heard, from people who have visited, that it is indeed a beautiful state – but then they pause and mention something about being careful as to which holler you wander into, oh, and when they stayed there, their car was broken into, and yes, the people were warm and friendly – well, most of them. Then they gaze off into space with funny looks on their faces.

How to do this? Could I drive through Kentucky, cross into West Virginia, have lunch somewhere and drive back? Would that count? Well, yes, but it meant a 250-mile round trip, crossing the Appalachians, from the easternmost part of Kentucky that we planned to visit. Really? A day spent driving that many miles to cross a state off my list?

I am now home from my trip and, let’s cut to the chase, I never made it to West Virginia but I certainly had a wonderful time in Kentucky. We put it off til mid-May so Joe could join us (he is a professor at Whittier College) and I am so glad we waited. Quite frankly, I adore the man. He is kind, patient, knowledgeable, funny and full of what one thinks of as “Southern charm and hospitality.”  I could not have had a better guide around a state he loves.

It was all simply wonderful.  So what more did I learn about the South from this trip?

1. Politics:  Is Kentucky part of the South? Some said yes; some said no. Yes, it was a border state in That Recent Unpleasantness (my favorite Southern euphemism) but many fought for the Confederacy. There are Confederate monuments and remembrances. On the other hand, many parts are economically tied to the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio). I found discussions of Kentucky identity fascinating.

2. Geography:  It is a beautiful state.  We spent the first 4 days in western Kentucky in the area called the Land Between the Lakes and in Paducah, right on the Ohio River. Its historic area is charming - full of galleries and the fabulous National Quilt Museum. We spent the next 5 days in the eastern part, in the Berea area, a college town and center for Appalachian crafts. To get to it, we drove through the horse area around Lexington – green and luscious. 

3. Southern food…Yum.  I simply love fried catfish, hush puppies, fried green tomatoes and everything else I ate – barbecue, biscuits and gravy, grits, greens – wonderful.

This is southern extreme - the meringue was at least 8 inches high.  I must admit the pie wasn't much to write home about but the physics and chemistry of the meringue was awe-inspiring.

4. Southern drink: Let’s talk about Mint Juleps - I had my first at Jerie Milici’s house in Connecticut back in the late 1970’s. Jerie, a true daughter of the South (Alabama, in her case), knew how to make them. I remember reaching for the glass, anticipating something sweet – after all, this is the drink of all Southern novels, the drink that little white-haired Southern ladies sip while rocking on their porches. And then I took a taste - and almost spit it out. I never dreamt it was straight bourbon (okay, yes, they add simple syrup and muddled mint but it is mainly bourbon). Given the strength of the drink I now realize those Southern ladies were soused! I hadn’t had one since but made up for it in Kentucky. I love them.

Ale 8 - non-alcoholic drink sold only in the South.  Good.

5. Religion: While we were in the Berea area we stayed in two very different and fascinating places, both associated with religion. The first was the residence of a former student of Joe’s. Kent is the pastor of Union Church in Berea. He bought an old 14-bedroom two-story retreat center (next to a Quaker assembly house) in the countryside outside of Berea that he is slowly renovating. We stayed upstairs. It was easy to get lost as one winding corridor led into another. He, by the way, made the best mint julep and provided the best view while rocking and drinking - watching lightning bugs dance in the evening light in the hay field in front of his property.

We attended Sunday service at Kent’s church and, quite fortuitously, four young people were confirmed and baptized that day. Two chose to be baptized in the church but the other two opted for an immersion baptism in the creek nearby. I couldn’t believe it. How lucky was I to get to witness this? I happily joined in singing “Down to the River to Pray” while the two young women walked into the creek for the ceremony. Loved it.

The second Southern religious experience was at the last place we stayed –3 nights at the Shaker village in Pleasant Hill. It was built in the early 1800s, abandoned in the early 1900s and then gently restored, beginning in the 1960s. Today there are 30 of the original 200 buildings. Our room was in a building that the women of one of the five “families” (each family was about 50 people at the height of the movement) used for weaving and spinning. Our room was classic Shaker – with their simple furniture, peg rails around the walls, undecorated windows, and the absence of trim.

I love the simplicity of the Shaker style.

Bonnie, sitting on my bed.

We left the village each day to tour surrounding areas but returned to eat dinner and enjoy the grounds at night. It was gorgeous serenity. I had visited the Hancock Shaker Village in western Massachusetts but never thought I would be able to stay in a Shaker building.

Similar and yet different from the meandering stone walls in New England

A favorite memory? The afternoon we arrived, I asked the dining staff if they served mint juleps? No, they said, they were out of mint but then they found some and, voila, our drinks arrived. Joe carried them up two flights to the top story of the old Shaker building where Bonnie and I found two rocking chairs under the eaves on the attic floor. I toasted the Shakers as we rocked and sipped. I suspect mint juleps were NOT part of Shaker life but they certainly enriched my experience of it!

Attic storage - have to love it - so simple and functional.  The Shaker way.

6. Shopping - My apartment where I now live is so small that I have everything I need and have no room for anything new so shopping was restricted to a lot of looking and buying things for others.  But I love Appalachian crafts so this was such a treat. My sister Mary’s traditional broom that she bought in Arkansas 30 years ago had finally worn out so I had the fun of buying a new one made in the Appalachian style. I watched Berea College students make brooms and bought two for Mary – one, a traditional broom, the other for sweeping cobwebs away. 

Branches waiting to be turned into broom handles. 

The Berea College student making the broom.

The tricky part - weaving the top.

Ah, the finished product - on its way to Portland.

And then, right at the end, West Virginia came back into the mix. I spotted a pile of rag rugs in a store in Berea and asked about them. The clerk said that a man showed up the day before with the pile of rugs in the back of his truck. He said his mother had made them in West Virginia - and did the store want them? I took it as a sign and happily bought a small one for my bathroom. A bit of West Virginia made it home with me. Now can I count this as a trip to West Virginia? Can I cross that state off my list? I suspect not.

After 9 wonderful days, we drove back to Nashville and caught planes back to LA and Portland.  Bonnie has already discussed plans with me for a trip to Oklahoma, one of my other missing states. She knows someone in Texas, near the Oklahoma border. I look forward to this and other trips with her as we knock off my five states. In reality, I expect that each may end up like this one – I will get within a hundred miles of the destined state and then find something more interesting in a neighboring one. In reality, who cares? It is the adventure of it all that makes it so interesting and, quite frankly, Bonnie plans a terrific trip. I will follow her anywhere.