Thanks to our horrible ordeal on our scheduled move day, our late night scramble to find lodging, and a few hours of fitful sleep-we didn’t arrive at Jim’s Campground in Milton, West Virginia until the afternoon of Sunday May 12. We were so tired that, once we got parked and settled, we opted to nap for several hours instead of exploring the town. We were happy to finally be checking West Virginia off of our list – we had driven around it several times but just never made arrangements to stop – but just couldn’t function without some rest.
We woke up feeling a tiny but more human and ran out for some fast food. Over dinner, we discussed our next plans. The drive to West Virginia had been tense because we didn’t have a lot of confidence in the repair to the house and kept stopping to check on things. We also weren’t in love with our current campground. While it did have full hookups (water, sewer, and electric which was paradise compared to the electric only hookup in Indiana), the entire campground was just a large gravel lot that kind of smelled like sewage. We were emotionally wrung out and panicking about our finances so we decided that we were cutting our stay in West Virginia in half and heading to Ohio a week early (that way, if anything else went wrong, at least we were surrounded by friends and family). Coupled with our late arrival, this dropped our time in the Huntington/Charleston area from two weeks down to one.
Thanks to friends Abby and Larry who went to school at Marshall University and frequently visit the area, we had a list of things to do and places to eat. I was had plans for Saturday to meet my friend and former zoo coworker Sarah for lunch so at least we had a few things to look forward to and to keep our spirits up.
On Tuesday night, we drive into Huntington to have a look around. Thanks to Abby and Larry, we had a few places in mind to visit and we made the most of our evening. Our first stop was the Marshall campus to visit the Marshall Memorial Fountain honoring those that lost their lives in the plane crash on November 14, 1970. We also took a stroll around the campus where John enjoyed the hammocks.
We also used our time in town to grab some snacks and a float at Frostop Drive-in, walk around Pullman Square for a little browsing, and then finished the evening by sharing some duck fat fries and a pepperoni roll at The Peddler.
On Thursday, John took a day off and we went for a tour at a local factory- Blenko Glass. Blenko Glass has specialized in beautiful, handmade glass products since 1893. I really fell in love with a particular quote on their website – “We all need, now more than ever, handmade possessions that are unique and inspiring.” Holy cow does that hit home for me. As we travel, the souvenirs that I find myself collecting tend to me hand made or unique items made by artists or small companies that are local to the areas we visit. When we settle down again, our home will be filled with tiny treasures that all have their own story.
This family-owned company creates a variety of products (which you can browse and order at www.blenko.com) but one of their most popular items is the 384 Water Bottle. This bottle is available in a variety of sizes and colors and we got to watch a batch being made.
The process starts with a craftsman gathering molten glass on a long rod. Then they put that molten glass into a carved mold and blow it so that it takes the shape carved into the metal form. From there, its on to the cooling belt which will slowly allow the glass to cool in order to keep it from breaking. When it comes off of this conveyor belt, it can be picked up with bare hands. It gets inspected and graded and stamped with the Blenko logo on the bottom.
They use a metal mold for the bottles but other items that are produced in smaller quantities are made using wooden molds that are hand carved by one amazing artist. We got to meet this man and he showed us several molds that he had made in addition to a handmade guitar-like instrument which our tour guide played for us while the artist accompanied on his vintage guitar. It was absolutely incredible.
In addition to their regular line of products, Blenko is always coming up with new art pieces and custom ordered items. Each item is handled by a variety of artists and expert craftsmen at each step of the manufacturing process – we couldn’t believe how many hands touch each piece and how rigorously each item is inspected. And, even though they were busy, so many of the employees took time to stop and talk with us and explain what they were doing. Everyone was so incredibly sweet.
For $20 each, we received a tour of the facility and a few souvenirs to take home. We also bought a few items in the shop before leaving. They have an outlet store on site for some of the lower quality merchandise (which was still all beautiful in my eyes) and the top quality items are sold online.
After the glass tour, we also visited the state capital – Charleston. The Capitol Building was beautiful so we decided to get out and investigate. We saw some black squirrels on the lawn then ended up inside in the Governor’s Reception Room (because why not?). The current governor is Jim Justice, who you may remember from his slogan regarding COVID vaccines- “Do it for Babydog”- imploring residents to get vaccinated for the sake of his beloved bulldog. If you don’t remember the ads- look them up because they are fantastic. Babydog was not in the office during our arrival but we saw her bed and got photos with a statue of her.
Usually, we move on Saturdays but I had already made plans to have lunch with my friend Sarah on May 18th so we would be making a Sunday move this time. My final West Virginia memory was hanging out with my friend and her daughter at a local restaurant. It was so much fun and exactly what I needed after a week of being stressed and depressed.
I had been doubting our decision to leave West Virginia and return to Ohio early but the feelings of love and support that I got from Sarah made me excited to go “home” and be surrounded by even more friends and family. We got up on Sunday morning and headed back to Ohio.
