Over The Hills and Far Away

“Cause we’ve never seen Honky Tonk ladies,
That look as good as those sisters do.
I heard they like to party.
Well, so do you and I.
So let’s lay a little bit of that brotherly love
On those sisters tonight.”
--"Brotherly Love" by Gary Stewart and Dean Dillon

These are some fine lyrics from one of my favorite CDs, the Essential Gary Stewart. There are so many songs on this album that could easily bring you to tears, under the right circumstances, of course. There are also killer, good-timing songs that make you want to sit in your garage and knock back roasin’ ears until the wee hours of the morning. Yea, Boy! (Not to be confused with a YEAH, BOYEEE!)

The weekend vacation to the heart of West Virginia with the in-laws was very interesting. There were some breathtaking sights such as the New River Gorge. There were also sight-taking breaths such as the riding stables at Babcock State Park. Eeech! The New River Gorge was something else. We stopped first to check out the view of the gorge at Hawks Nest State Park. The views from the lookouts are indescribable. We could see the New River Bridge far off in the distance. The bridge is tall enough to fit the George Washington Monument and two Statues of Liberty between New River and the bottom of the bridge.

Next, we took the tram down to the river for a jet boat ride up New River to the New River Bridge, the longest steel-arch bridge in the western hemisphere. This was really fresh as the water was getting pretty rough towards the bridge. An unfortunate kayaker was having a rough go at it somewhere upstream as we passed by a kayak paddle floating on its own on the way up the river. The boat captain smelled bad and I got to sit right behind him. He kept on mentioning he was out of jail on work release. Say it with me, “GREEAAAT!”

We checked out one of the crappiest parades I have ever seen in Fayetteville. It lasted about five minutes and was comprised mostly of bicycle riders. Not professional bicycle riders, just kids. No wheelies. No endos. No bunny hops. Disappointing, eh?

The next day, we visited Babcock State Park. This is where the famous Glade Creek Grist Mill is located. It really is a picturesque scene and would be the bomb in the fall. That evening, we went to the visitor’s center on the east end of the New River Bridge. There were a couple of great lookouts there. From there, we traveled the old road that winds down to the river. This took about a while, but it was quite worth it to look up to the bridge from the river. Yes, it is safe to assume I saw the bridge from every available angle.

On Monday, we visited Tamarack. Tamarack is a showcase for West Virginia artists and goods manufacturers. The paintings and sculptures were quite exquisite and intrinsically expensive. This was worth seeing nonetheless. After Tamarack, it was back to St. Albans. Beth and I met up with her friends, Jennifer and Chris, at the Fifth Quarter downtown in Charleston. We hung out on the patio waiting for the fireworks to start. Unfortunately, a pop-up thunderstorm ruined that. We stood under the awning of the restaurant waiting for the rain to stop. In the meantime, we were made privy to a wet t-shirt contest of the all the folks who had walked down to the boulevard to watch the fireworks and were caught in the rain. Some were nice, but most were…well, not so much. C’mon guys, you have to take the good with the bad.

It’s good to be back in the Bluegrass, despite having to work Thursday and today. I’ll remedy that this evening with some liquid cure-all and some brats on the grill. Tomorrow, I am grilling up a beer can chicken. Get on over to the Pond and get a leg.