On the Road Again

I want to thank you all for your suggestions on our plans to visit Ontario. Very helpful! We have actually been to Niagara several times, and have visited the Canadian side briefly, but I would like to see the falls again, and check out those gardens on the Canadian side. 

We just got home this evening as it got dark, after a weekend with our oldest son and his family on the other side of West Virginia. The drive used to take 5 hours, but due to some new road construction we can now do it in an hour less. 

It was a great time. Our daughter-in-law's family was there so it was quite a gathering! It was nice to see here mother and sisters again, as it's been quite a while since that has happened. So lots of good food, laughter, conversation,  then gifts!

One big Christmas tree!

Laden tables and counters, as these women are great cooks. There were about 30 people there, from 8 months to 84 years old.

Granddaughter Grace clowning it up with her Christmas tree hat.

Friendly deer this morning, investigating the scraps George put out for them. 

My son got a breadmaker for Christmas and has already made some delicious bread.

We looked through a box full of old German steins collected by my ex-husband's father. George thought i could sell them in my booths, but his son and daughter kept 5 of them and I am pretty sure other family members will want the rest. This one was my favorite. It's actually a deep, dusty blue in color.

We hated saying goodbye. Daughter-in-law Sandy was sick this morning, unfortunately,  so we did not get to see her again before leaving. Apparently she caught the norovirus that's going around in their area.  She was fine yesterday, but the virus struck hard during the night. Fingers crossed that we didn't bring it home with us.

The fog was fascinating up in those mountains!

(Along Route 48, there are many windmills.)

Looking down into the valley below Thomas, WV.

In the small town of Parsons, look at that fog hanging low against the hill.

On the way home I saw a post on Facebook Marketplace for a free stake-sided Radio Flyer wagon. Amazing! Really free? Yes, it was. The only problem was that it was an hour north of home, which meant adding 2 hours to our trip. But Larry was game,  so we took the twisty Route 14 through beautiful Wirt County, WV, to pick up the wagon. I made sure to take some barn photos for Tom!

Of course there were also other old buildings that caught my eye. I was shooting through the van windows, so please pardon the odd streaks and dots and such.

I think this is the old Beulah church below. That's the new one above.

An abandoned general store outside of Palestine,  WV.

This place made me happy! I have been fascinated by it for years, and one day stopped to ask about its history. What you see in the first photo is the building as it looks now. 

This is how it looked for many years.

It was fast falling into disrepair. I learned tgat once there had been quite a mansion across the road, and the owner of that home built this building as a dance hall for his many daughters, who all lived to dance! But it stood empty for many years. The mansion was torn down, but the stone gate posts were still there last time I checked. While this building lost a lot of its original character when it was restored, at least it is now occupied and loved again.

Another abandoned structure in Palestine, WV. This looks like it was a motel or rooming house. Back in its heyday Palestine was a busy oil and gas drilling location, but today I don't think there is even one business there.

We picked up the wagon from two of the nicest people, and I found out that the wife was a potter! So I had a quick look through some of her stock and bought a coffee cup for Larry,  and a WV ornament for our tree. 

And finally, home, just as the sun was setting. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.