Tomorrow, we celebrate 7 wonderful, ha ha ha, years of marriage. It has gone quickly , I must say. With it falling on a Monday, we decided to go balls to the walls today and go adventuring to celebrate us. We could not decide upon where we wanted to go. We thought maybe Penn's Caves, no...then Cleveland, no...then we decided to go to West Virginia. Wheeling, West Virginia to be exact, and boy did we find a mother load of things to explore, see and travel.
Rundown:
We went first to the one spot we knew was there - the Mt. Wood Castle. Rumor has it - some dashing millionaire built it for his lady love, but before it was done, she perished and so it sat unfinished. Now it is just a concrete shells with steps and windows and graffiti. It was pretty cool. Little girls circled the area, ran up and down the steps, read a lot of the graffiti (thank goodness it was pretty tame at this site) and jumped up and down steps and windows. It was a pretty cool location, with an even cooler view. One of which was our next stop. From the top you could see what was once the Windmill Pub, a restaurant in the shape of a windmill. We could not get in, but looking at the exterior one could appreciate the detail of the building and the once beautiful structure that screamed Holland.
After this spot, we just drove a little and after minding down a mountain road we found an abandoned industrial site., Not sure what ti was as nothing was inside the structure and we could not get to the top floor, but the red bricks and windows and structure screamed old industry and it was a great find. Little girl made her own hammock and was in awe of the newly painted graffiti.
After this we tried to find the Reymann's Brewery, and guess what , we did. Part of the brewery that I had seen in images was gone, but the larger structure was still there. However, we cold not find a way up there, barring going on someone's personal property or climbing a hill. We actually tried, but the earth was very wet and slippery, It was not happening. We did find a building that was completely enclosed in weeds, only one window sneaking the light of day.
After all this exploring, we thought, may as well head home. We obviously took the scenic route, as we usually try to do. We ended up traveling through Ogelbay, West Liberty College, finding some more great abandoned spots, (the creepiest being the one that still had stuff in the cabinets but was completely abandoned) then heading through Hopewell, Washington, PA and finally stopping at one of our favorite spots, Shouf's, in Bridgeville for take out. Seven years ago, I recall it being one of the best days of my life. I was getting ready to walk down the aisle and start a life with this man. I had no idea how wonderfully amazing my life would be seven years later. I am so thankful for this life full of adventure. Until next time...