West Virginia

West Virginia was actually a part of the State of Virginia until it seceded from the Union in 1861. The western counties opposed the secession and formed their own state, which granted statehood in 1863. West Virginia is very different from eastern and southern Virginia in that it's very mountainous, rural and less populated.

We headed out to West Virginia over a long weekend in February 2008. It was a great opportunity to explore our western neighbour and also see how Alexander went when traveling. Alexander was very kind to us and faired extremely well and he even managed to enjoy his first big person shower at the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Charleston. The fact he traveled so well was a welcome relief given our goal of trying to visit all 50 states.

The movies, media and even people you talk with over here paint West Virginia as some small two bit, hick state with not much to offer except banjo playing locals that may or may not have all their teeth. Well let me tell you that is completely an incorrect assessment and so far from the truth it's not funny. We found both the people and the landscape to be great. True we did drive passed a couple of yards that had more ride-on lawn mowers in the front yard than cars but you see that anyway. If you like outdoors stuff then you're going to love West Virginia. It is simply spectacular and I think a must see.

We spent the first night in Charleston at a fantastic little bed and breakfast one block from the Capitol building called the Brass Pineapple. Nothing but praise for our hosts and can certainly recommend it for anyone looking to get away. They were great with Alexander and the other guests there were very friendly and accommodating for a 3 month old baby staying. Charleston is on the Kanawha river and looked to be a very clean, friendly and safe city to visit.

After exploring Charleston we headed north and spent our next night at Bridgeport. This was more of a place to stay along the drive but still everywhere we went we were continuously surprised by the large towns we encountered and how clean and populated they were. I know that sounds bad but I guess modern media has a lot to answer for.

Something else Carol wanted to see while in West Virginia was the covered bridges. I'm not sure how many we saw but once you've seen one, they are all very similar to each other (just a word for the blokes).

A great place to visit and hopefully we'll be able to find time to get back out there and do some more exploring.

Population - 1,816,856 (2005)

Area - 24,077 sq miles (62,359 sq kilometers)

Admitted to Union - 20 Jun 1863

Capital City - Charleston