Buckhannon West Virginia: Our Weekend Road Trip

We didn't have planned  last weekend so we decided to  do a little road trip to Buckhannon Upshur, West Virginia.  My daughter's friends from her class who supported her team during the regional WV History Bowl decided to compete as well.  They had a very short time to learn  the infos but they did really well considering the circumstance. 

The competition was held in Buckhannon Upshur, West Virginia.  BU High School is a really nice school.  It is 2 hour and half drive from our  place but the drive was worth it.  We wanted to show our support to these girls so we surprised them a visit and stayed and watched them compete.  

Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia.  It  is located along the Buckhannon River. According to the census in 2010, the population there is only  5,639 so I was surprised of how big their schools.  We passed by the Middle School and it is huge as well.  

We have never been to this part of our State so it was a new place that we were given an opportunity to explore.  Buckhannon is a small city  but it looks  very clean and peaceful.  

The people there seems very friendly.  We drove around after the competition and  ate at Hardee's.  Whenever I see old house like the yellow house above, I always admire its charm.  

Before going there, we looked up what we can  do or see there and one of the  attraction is the Pringle Tree.  It's a tree  that was planted and named for John and Samuel Pringle, the first settlers of this section  of West Virginia who lived  in a hollow sycamore tree.  We tried to locate it but unfortunately we did not find it so we left.

The competition has ended for the girls around 2 pm so we decided to  extend our road trip to another  city next to Buckhannon Upshur.  I will make  a separate post about Elkins  on my other travel blog.

Our visit to Buckhannon although short,  was very nice.  I was very impressed of how clean their place looks.  It looks like a really nice  place to raise a family.  

West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling

The exhibit found in Independence Hall museum in  Wheeling WV highlights the individuals  who were responsible  for creating the  the state  in the midst of the Civil War.  The men who served governor, legislators, conventions, delegates and in other positions in the new government of West Virginia and restored government of Virginia.

I  think that the annual  history bowl event helps in nurturing and inspiring West Virginia's children in embracing their potential  to make a difference  in the world.  The founder of this event, Mr. Randahll, gave a short speech before the competition begun  and he  said that he's been all over Europe for years but came back to West Virginia because it is is HOME.  He teased the crowd that people who have never been in WV is missing out.

As a retired navy, my husband really enjoyed all of the military stuff display. According to one of the host of the events whom we talked to, the grand architecture of the building's interiors has been authentically restored.  She said it was a mess when they first started restoring the place but it looks beautiful now. 

With statues being torn down these days, I am glad that you can still learn the history through museums like this.

  "West Virginia: Born of the Civil War." :  You can find and  see the permanent exhibition, located on the first floor of the museum.  It  features dramatic displays with period artifacts.  If you are into history, you can  explore the statehood process against the background of the Civil War.  It's a pretty neat experience.

I like the setting because aside from the information laid out in each display, there's is also an audio you can listen to by lifting the  telephone like tool. You can also  view an interpretive video, "For Liberty and Union," and take a self-guided tour of the structure.

This used to be  the Governor's office.  I really find the arch window shaped so charming.

I don't see this kind of chandelier anymore so it was a treat to see it there at the museum.

I am glad that there are museums that young mind can go to and explore.  They can learn a lot of things like preservation of the flag which is not being taught in school anymore these days.  The school where my children go to still recites  the Pledge of Allegiance everyday so I am grateful about that.

I like this part of the museum right here.  You can build your own flag.

This is where President Lincoln sat when he visited.  It said that:

"Nearly six years before President Lincoln signed the proclamation making West Virginia the 35th State in the Union, the construction had begun on the Wheeling Custom House, the headquarters for federal offices for the Western District of Virginia. Its completion, coinciding with the beginning of the Civil War, provided a facility for heated political discussions and constitutional conventions that led to eventual statehood for West Virginia in 1863. Here, issues dividing many Virginians - slavery being one of many - were debated, compromised and shaped into the skeleton of statehood. Serving as the Restored Government of Virginia (aligned with the Union) from 1861-1863, it is appropriately known today as West Virginia Independence Hall."

There's so much info to absorb but unfortunately I did not have enough time to read all of them.  All I could do was to snap  some quick shots of the interesting things

Aside from salt, West Virginia is also known for glass manufacturing back in the  day.

There's also a factory  in Newell, WV for fiestaware.

These tools represents the iron reproduction in West Virginia back in the day.  Mining is also one of the biggest thing in WV back in the day.  

We plan to go back there one day just so we could  fully absorb  and see  all the infos in the display.

Steamboats and trains are two biggest part of transportation of coal and other products back in the day in West Virginia.  There's still trains and steamboat these days and it is so neat to see  the old ones that was used in the civil war era.

This tool was invented by a Virginian, Cyrus McCormick from Shenandoah Valley in 1831.  This is called the Virginia Reaper machine which revolutionized harvesting wheat.  This machine had a very positive  effect for the Union of the Civil War.

You can read the facts about this machine below.

Wheeling is the civil war capitol of Virginia, a birthplace of West Virginia. This is where West Virginia was born.

Try to explore this Independence Hall Museum when you are in Wheeling.  

Going on a Trip? Here’s What to do With Your Home

When you go on long vacations, you need to protect your home. It might be the biggest investment in your life. It’s your refuge from the toils of the world, the one spot that’s devoted to you and your family. Leaving it unoccupied for weeks or months could lead to undesirable results.

So what can you do? Let’s review your options.

Do Nothing

This might be reasonable if your trip will be very short. But you don’t want your home to be deserted for an extended period of time. This could encourage people to break in. Homeowners have horror stories of returning to their property after an absence only to find strangers living on the premises.

It’s an unlikely scenario but it could happen.

If you’re going to be away for less than a week, here’s what you can do to get rid of vacant look. Turn on your alarm system, leave a few lights on or use your home’s smart system to turn them on and off occasionally. If you’re close with your neighbors, you can ask one of them to get your mail.

Get a Housesitter

A housesitter is someone whose role is to watch over your home. You should consider this if you’re going to go away for weeks. From an outside point of view, it’ll be like you never left. Criminals won’t target your property because they won’t believe that you’re gone.

One way to find a housesitter is to ask your friends and family. Some people would relish the opportunity to have a house for themselves.

If you do decide to go with someone you know, make sure that you set the ground rules in advance. You don’t want to come home to any surprises. For example, can your housesitter have guests over? Are there plants or pets that you expect them to look after?

You can also hire a professional housesitter. They often don’t charge anything for their services. Their payment is being able to live rent-free for a few months. If you live in a desirable location, it’ll be very easy to find someone willing to housesit.

You can find a professional housesitter online. There are websites dedicated to the practice.

Update Your Alarm System

An advanced alarm system might be enough to keep your home safe. You can change the settings when you go on vacation. While you’re away, you can look at any room in the house on your smartphone or computer if you buy the right package.

Only 17 percent of American homes have an active alarm system. If you have one in place, advertise it. Put stickers in the window and a sign in the yard. Add a beware of dog sign even if it’s an empty threat.

Someone who is looking for an easy break-in is likely to pass by a home that’s clearly protected. It’s not worth the hassle when there are so many homes that don’t have an alarm system.

Arrange Your Mail

A pile of letters, or worse, packages, at your door announces to the world that you’re out of town. There are a few ways to handle this. You can ask the post office to temporarily hold your mail while you’re gone.

You can also ask someone else to pick up your mail while you’re gone. Because it’s such a simple task, your friends might be willing to do it for free.

House Swap

A twist on getting a housesitter is to do a house swap instead. Let’s say you live in New York City and you want to go to Madrid for a month. You can search for someone with a home in Madrid who wants to live in your city. This way, you both save money on hotel fees.

Peter Goldberg, CEO of Bouclair.com, made a career out of catering to people’s desire to be in nice surroundings. Bouclair.com is a leading Canadien website geared toward home retail products. If you can’t afford nice home furnishings yourself, a house swap can give you the experience.

According to Goldberg: “The right home decor can transform a dull, impersonal space into a comfortable, inviting area that your guests and visitors will love.”

A house swap can be very hard to set up on your own. The internet can help.

A vacation can turn your entire year around. Yet they can be hard to plan if you’re a homeowner. You have a duty to protect your home. It requires planning on your part. An empty house is an alluring target for all sorts of thieves. Living in a nice neighborhood isn’t enough.

Modern technology makes everything easier. You can link your home to a video feed so you can always see what’s going on. 

International Friendship Park in Cincinnati Ohio

During our summer vacation last year, we decided to split our destination in four different states.  We went to Tennessee first then we explored North Carolina a little bit, then we spent two days in Kentucky and Ohio.  That's one great part of doing road trips because you can basically change your itinerary.  On our first day in Kentucky, we did not have much time left so we search for some relaxing place to explore.  The nearest park was the  Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park in Cincinnati Ohio.

I was amazed how  excellent park this park is.  It really exceeded my expectation of a park.  It's a perfect place to run or family walk. It was  hot when we visited, the temperature was unbearable but the decent amount of shade from all the trees and plants that surrounds it, makes the hot temperature  more bearable.  I like it that  it offers free parking but it made me weary to see the caution signs of not leaving  valuables in the car which indicates that there are incidents of theft or something like that.  The parking area is connected to Sawyer Point, Yeatman's Cove, Smale Riverfront Park, The Banks, the bridges, and the steps up to Mount Adams which is excellent.  You can basically go to these places by exploring the park first.  

Although this park is not very large and it’s hidden away on the banks of the Ohio River on Riverside Drive in Cincinnati, we've seen  many people  biking, walking,  jogging, and walking their dogs. I  didn't know this but there is  path to  the playground under the bridge called Every Child’s Playground at Sawyer Point. Again, we didn't have much time to fully research the place so miss that part but overall, we had so much fun exploring this park.

According to the information I read online, the park was made “as a lasting tribute to world unity and global understanding”.  The love of gardening in me  was ecstatic to find that the gardens are full of plants representing various continents. I was like a child exploring the beautiful  flowers in each of the gardens.  We were all in awe of all the very cool sculptures throughout the park .  I will be featuring each of the features one by one in my next posts.

For now I will leave you with some of the fun shots we took during our  short but fun journey at the International Friendship Park.

Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park is located at 1135 Eastern Avenue.  So if you are Florence Kentucky or Cincinnati area, make sure to check this out.  Kids will have fun exploring and of course adults too.