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Parkersburg - Part 1
Wild and Wonderful
Written by: Janet Pope
Touring the northern section of West Virginia involves, biking, glass factories, historic mansions, and even a side trip to Ohio.
The slogan for West Virginia is "Wild and Wonderful", and that's what our last travel destination proved to be! OK, I admit the wildest height we reached was when we went mountain biking on the North Bend Rail/Trail. OK, so maybe I wouldn't even call it wild, but it was definitely wonderful. But wait, I'm jumping ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning of our latest adventure.
After taking a plane from New York to Pittsburgh, we boarded a much smaller propeller plane to Charleston, West Virginia. We then rented a car and drove another hour to Parkersburg. After all of that traveling, we were patiently waiting to experience the "wonderful" in West Virginia.
We finally began to unwind when we lunched at the Blennerhassett Hotel, built in 1889. This historic hotel is a one-of-a-kind in Wood County. It serves as the essential anchor building to this growing community with 104 guest rooms plus an elegant dining area. The atmosphere was very "old world" in style, heavy wood mirrors, chandeliers and a period piece piano surrounding us. For lunch, I tried the split pea soup, which was both tasty and hearty, and the turkey-broccoli quiche, which was served with salad. My husband Donald also enjoyed the soup, but had a Ruben Sandwich, which proved comparable to any upscale New York Deli.
Our next great discovery in the Parkersburg area was the Smoot Theater, built as a Vaudeville theater in 1926. We were enchanted by Felice Jorgeson, the Volunteer Artistic Director. She fascinated us with the history of this building, as well as her effervescent love of the theater. Warner Brothers had purchased this building in 1930, but in 1989, it was three weeks away from a date with a wrecking ball. Felice and her husband stepped in, and with the help of some financial backing, they decided to restore this historical gem. She proudly showed off her treasure, as she bubbled over the original tile flooring, organ and wooden stage floor.
Just as a proud mother will unfold her wallet stuffed with photos, Felice gave us a grand tour of her "babies": a new "fly" system which manually pulls the 650-pound front curtain and the 8 renovated dressing rooms in the basement. Due to lots of elbow grease, as well as creative vision and planning, this theater is now a cultural blessing to the community. It puts on a variety of shows from jazz to tap. Felice also hosts tours, dessert parties and even vaudeville classes for children.
As we explored every corner of this theater from the orchestra pit to the top balcony seats, I was continually struck by the thought, "Oh, if this stage could talk!"
Felice has some historic memorabilia from when the Smoot was on the Keith Vaudeville circuit, which brings its historical significance into focus. The town of Parkersburg is lucky to still have a theater like the Smoot, and the Smoot Theater is lucky to have an angel like Felice. We had a wonderful tour, transporting us back in time.
We then went onto the North Bend State Park where we met Scott Fortney, the park superintendent for the North Bend Rail Trail. Scott treated us to a personal tour of the state facility, which boasts 1,400 acres. Many campers, hikers, and trail bike riders enjoy the pool, campgrounds, miniature golf and sports facilities, while being surrounded by the serene wonders of nature. The North Bend Lodge has 29 rooms, as well as a restaurant, gift shop and a rustic living room area for patrons to relax and unwind in, while enjoying the setting.
Scott informed us about Rails to Trails which started in 1991. The railroad tracks no longer being actively used were, in essence, "lent" to various states to be used as recreational trails with the stipulation that, in an emergency situation, their original functions could be restored. The tracks were removed, the bedding smoothed and a new source of adventure was born. Walkers, trail bikers and horseback riders then took over. In this state park, the rail trails run almost 79 miles, going through towns, forests and over rivers.
OK, this was the wildest part of our trip! After not having been on a bike for years, Don and I were encouraged to get a feel of the trails with an up close bike ride. We rode for about 5 miles, and I must admit, what I thought might be wild and adventuresome, ended up to be totally peaceful and serene. We were there midweek before their prime season, which is after Memorial Day, and we literally had the vastness of this area to ourselves. We traversed on the same path a train from the early 1900's would take, through both tunnels and over bridges. There is no charge to use the trail, and as you can imagine, it is a great family destination spot.
We had rented our bikes at the Country Trails Bike Shop in Cairo, which has become a busy stop due to the popularity of the Rail Trails. Even though my legs ached from a good healthy bike workout, we popped into the shops in Cairo.
The R.C. Marshall Hardware store, circa 1902, still houses original woodworking, shelving and display cases. This turn-of-the-century hardware store sells both new items, as well as older hard to find ones, and is a great place to spend time and browse.
We then treated ourselves to a well-deserved ice cream cone in a shop called "the Scoop" Decorated in the 1940s period, the owner filled the store with memorabilia and a large assorted display of ice cream scoopers from the past decades. The ice cream was delicious and sustained us as we stopped in at a few "mandatory" gift shops.
We were staying the night at the North Bend Lodge and headed back there to enjoy dinner. Don and I chose the fresh onion soup and the crispy fried chicken. After our biking excursion, we earned every calorie!
This was our first day in West Virginia, and OK, it wasn't really wild, but it definitely was wonderful!
Read part 2 | Read part 3
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