Tag: West Virginia

In An Instant

As we drove away from our son’s home in North Carolina, we headed north through rolling hills of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.  It was scenic! And bright sunshine added a nice touch for a lovely drive. 

Redbud trees were blooming everywhere…like weeds in the forest. They were beautiful. This photo was taken in Indiana, a day after the scenic drive in the Virginias, and not as scenic.

In West Virginia, we pulled off the highway for a break and then it happened so fast…

We heard the crash…it sounded so close…

Then, instantly we felt the impact…the car behind us was pushed into our car by a third vehicle behind her.

We had stopped for a traffic back up. A red car was stopped behind us. A third car – a gold car – rammed into the red car which rammed into our car.  

Thankfully, no one was hurt, including the little doggie in the middle, red car.

Thankfully, our car was drivable since it was the first day of our journey home to Minnesota. The middle, red car was able to drive away too. The third car had to be towed away. It looked totaled.

Thankfully, the damage to our car was minimal.

Thankfully, the police were quick, kind and efficient. 

Thankfully, it was afternoon and we were soon going to stop driving for the day.

Thankfully, we have insurance.

We have a lot to be thankful for. It could have been much worse. A reminder, life can be changed in an instant.

South Hills Market & Cafe

Usually when we travel we like to stay away from chain restaurants…so on Saturday night, after a little research we decided to eat at the South Hills Market & Café in Charleston, West Virginia.

Usually we do not sit at the bar… but since this was a small, family–run restaurant with few tables that were already reserved until 8:30 pm, and it was a busy Saturday night, and we didn’t know where else to go, we decided to sit at the bar since they served the same menu.

I chose the Buttermilk Chicken with a Pecan Waffle that I had found intriguing when we looked at the menu online. Gary chose fish tacos. Both were delicious.

But what made our experience extra special were the people sitting beside us at the bar. To my right a mom and her adult son were also eating dinner and we visited for a while…they were from the Charleston area. A little while later, as the place filled up, another couple sat down beside Gary on our left. They were “regulars” and the staff knew them. They were very friendly also, and stuck up a conversation with us.

Soon I was tapped on the shoulder and Pam, on my right, offered me 2 beignets – a French-style pastry. They had ordered the dessert but the portions were so large they decided to share it with us which I found touching. When we left I told them we’d pay it forward.

So now I have a new outlook on sitting at the bar versus sitting at a table. Both have their place, but for this evening the bar was a wonderful choice.

We were celebration our 40th anniversary too!