I'm usually a big city guy. Love visting New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and cities in Europe. In fact, this trip was originally going to be a visit to London and a few other European cities, but when my airline cancelled the flight, I decided to do a total 180.
Normally I pick a place to visit and then find a place to stay. This time, I did it the other way around. A random search on AirBnB turned up a cabin in the mountains of West Virginia. It had great reviews and the pictures looked awesome for a fall foliage season visit. I found a flight from Clearwater to a small airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and I was off!
During the visit, I checked out Blackwater Falls State Park, Harper's Ferry in Virginia, old Winchester, and took a bike ride through the mountains in Maryland.
Clearwater Airport's prices can be really low. The roundtrip flight to nearby Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was only about $120!
St. Pete / Clearwater Airport even has their own Mazzaro's! (No number 20 Hot Italian sandwich though unfortunately.)
But they do have a Vespa!
As much as the Clearwater airport has grown, they still make you go outside to board.
Sheetz is Pennsylvania's rival to Wawa... good stuff!
I'd never had a burger on a waffle... not bad!
Almost there. Our road ... right after MOUNTAIN LION road... I'm not kidding!
Arriving at the cabin in West Virginia.
The property is used for meditation retreats but they AirBnB the cabins out when there's no retreat.
This bubbling sound was calming.
Nightly fire pit was a must!
Owners were super nice... had the fruit basket ready and everything!
The sunsets were incredible.
Lucked out and got this cabin for $500 for the week. Hit me up if you want the link!
Much of the week was spent looking down the mountain from this couch.
I almost timed the visit perfectly... they're just now peaking for foliage.
First day trip was to Blackwater Falls State Park.
Seems so old fashioned to use a paper map!
The waterfall was gorgeous.
There were 3 levels where you could watch from a platform.
There were lots of hiking trails.
Had to get back to the cabin in time to catch another sunset!
I love Florida sunsets, but West Virginia's are a close 2nd.
The cabin artwork was ironic choice given that this was supposed to be a Europe visit.
I really should have grabbed one of these and given meditation a shot.
A day trip to Harpers Ferry in Virginia is enjoyable if you're a history buff.
Up next: a road trip back to the 1800s in Harpers Ferry.
Old fashion "dry goods" shop. They don't have Apple Pay.
Leave it to me to find the bar.
Can we get some service?
On the way back to West Virginia there was a stop at Patsy Cline's house.
Mom was a huge Patsy fan.
Unfortunately no tours until next year due to COVID. I've had my vaccinations and had a mask. So not letting me visit was... "Crazy." :)
We almost hit this guy's cousin on Highway 50 on the way back!
The Amish do coleslaw right! Sooo good!
Another day trip was to Cumberland, Maryland to ride a bike trail to Frostberg. Another pretty ride through the mountains.
One of my favorite photos from the trip taken along a bike ride back to Cumberland, MD.
The entire path goes along the railroad tracks.
So many great scenes like this on the bike ride from Cumberland to Frostberg, Maryland.
Almost did this train ride in Romney, but decided to pass since you really see the great scenery everywhere you drive.
Last day trip was to "Old Winchester" in Virginia. Really fun!
Had a great breakfast at Lynette & Jerri's Diner in Winchester, Virginia
Teenage George.
George Washington had a cannon as a teenager!? I had to bug my mom just to get a learner's permit to drive her old Volkswagen.
Winchester has one of my new all-time favorite pizza spots - visit Pizzoco if you ever go.
Photo By Knight/BBGIIt used to be a gas station... glad they went this route instead!
There were lots of cool shops and restaurants. Man this would have been my Christmas morning dream in the 80s!
It's nice to be back home but I am definitely missing waking up to this!
I thought we'd miss the fall color... but it was just starting to peak.
Hope you enjoyed tagging along! If you want any info about the places I mentioned, get me @GenoRadio on Twitter or Instagram!
GenoEditor
Hear Geno on the air weekday afternoons. Geno's passions include fat guy food, concerts, sports, travel to Europe and South America. He loves 80s and 90s music, from MTV hairbands to old school freestyle, alternative rock to TRL era jams. Geno's radio career began in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since then he's been on the air coast to coast from Boston to Las Vegas, Tampa to California.
