I was surely itching for a little getaway from this 2020 experience, with the amount of things that we all have gone through this year, finding something to feed our souls, makes the ride a lot smoother and I am fortunate to have that ability. I was invited by my sweetheart friend to West Virginia, on the Gorge. He lived there many years ago when he was a whitewater rafting guide, and I was really looking forward to getting to know that side of him. We are not able to be together because of outside reasons that have weighed on us both, so our alone time was very precious to me.
You can imagine the level of excitement I had when he invited me to come up. Like a kid going for a bike ride! I rented out a van because honestly, they are sooo much fun and comfortable when on a road trip. My things can easily be spread out and are easy to access, while everything is covered in the same space, in case it rains.
For the drive up, I drove thru Georgia, South Carolina then spend the night in North Carolina, drove thru Virginia to West Virginia. I took the scenic route most every time. It was sooo beautiful. The old homes and buildings, the story they tell, the hills and their lush green trees, the diversity in nature, it was breathtaking. I have this thing, where I associate things to food. I found myself going up and down the hills of West Virginia and couldn’t help to think of how there was broccoli all around me. So Cool…I drove through fields of broccoli! The diversity and the terrain, the up-and-down of the roads, the curves and all of the glorious things that we have created, make harmony with nature.
Upon my arrival in Fayetteville, I was excited and nervous to come see him, it had been a long time and I go with the flow of things. It was a very sweet reunion time. The next day he invited me to go whitewater rafting. I’m not gonna lie, that shit was scary. I’m not a good swimmer and I saw videos of those currents suck people in, stray them down, and that did not look like fun.
Our guide, Matt would always tell us before each rapid if we are to fall off where we had to swim, in my head, it was a horror movie. With rapid names like meat grinder, double z’s, the keeny’s among others, I see why the life vest is very important. Once it was over, I am so happy I did it, it was an adrenaline rush… the roaring of the water, the waves crashing your face , the digging of your paddle in the water to maintain stability, it was sick! I am happy to have done it, I surely checked it off the checklist and felt lucky that I didn’t fall in that day. So I decided to go again lol…well not really, during my time there it rained in the afternoons, so the river rose another 4-5 feet. I was convinced to go out again since Teddy was going to take us out and he is one of my sweetheart’s best friends. This time the boat was smaller and had less people. Just 4 of us…it felt like we were the VIP boat once we got on the water since all the other boats had 7 to 8 people on theirs, so I felt like we were the rescue crew in case we had any fall ins, but once we arrived to Enders waves, well, we didn’t make it thru, we became the fall in’s…our boat flipped and we all went in the water face first. What a time! I honestly don’t remember the “falling in” moment, but I do however remember being in the water and just thinking I had to come up the surface, and so I did, there was the boat, in a matter of just a few seconds the guide flipped it over and I climbed back in with his help. I made it and I didn’t panic. Such a proud moment in my life for sure. I’d recommend everyone to try whitewater rafting at least once. Our fears are all in our head, and we are the ones standing in between the greatest times of our lives.
My Creighton took me out fishing, he sat in the middle and rowed the boat.. it was such a sweet scene.. “Row row row your boat, gently down the stream”, I kept singing in my head, lol… it was a perfect day! We had so many perfect days, he showed me around Fayette Station, up and down the gorge, told me about the history there dating back to the early 1900s , we drove to Cunard and the Kaymoor mine drive up to Cathedral falls; he took me up to Beauty mountain with his friends to see a breathtaking sunset. We had a whole area surrounded by nature all to ourselves in Canyon doors on another day. The windy roads up the down the mountain were so lovely. The rain falling in the afternoons was like watching many shooting stars falling from the sky at once and witnessing the beauty of God’s creation filled my soul. We ended our evenings with friends and beers, stopped by a couple of local brewery’s and ate some yummy food. I loved this place, I loved the people and I loved their accents.
There is so much to see in this country, so many places, so many different stories, so many different people. Such a beautiful array of diversity. It’s like a bouquet of wildflowers all put together, with a variety of colors, and so many different shapes. I loved West Virginia. I can see myself visiting there again. The mountains, the river, the bridge, I loved everything! I had the best tour guide and the best time with him even though this was our last time together. Some things I don’t understand, but I trust God and the process. One thing is for sure, in peace, I find happiness and that is where I strive to be, in peace!
So many things I can say about my time on the Gorge, adventure, thrill, history, beauty, peace, nature, mountains, bridges, lessons and above all Love, in the end, that is what life is all about, Love for it all. This place is full of every feeling and that is what makes this life experience…
