There was a brief thunderstorm in the middle of the night but it didn’t start raining heavily until after we left the campgrounds. We should have rain for the next couple of hours of driving. This is the first heavy daytime rain since the Greenbank Observatory. We have been very fortunate with the weather.
Thoughts about the trip
This is not the first time we have done what I am calling a ‘themed’ trip. We have done themed trips before: food and wine focused in France, Spain and Argentina; multiple safaris in Africa and India; bird and wildlife photography in Myanmar, Uganda (gorillas and chimps), Texas, Florida and Wyoming; Indian ruins in the southwest U.S.A. and all the Utah National Parks. Most of our previous trips have been done with friends and one special couple in particular.
This one was different. We planned this trip around a video game that I started to play with family members during COVID-19. As I said earlier it started as a joke and a first desire to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright properties in our home state. Wondering where else we could go for 2 weeks that was reasonably close to home, the locations in West Virginia featured in the video game Fallout 76 seemed like a fun way to start putting an itinerary together.
Exceeding our expectations: following the game was fun for me as a player. Each location, in addition to its importance in the game, had something of interest to offer both of us, gamer and non-gamer alike, in the way of West Virginia folklore, history, gorgeous scenery or just a story to tell about the resilience of the West Virginians who first inhabited and developed the state. We spanned civil strife and war from the French-Indian wars, the revolutionary war and the Civil War through to monuments to men who fought in the modern day wars in Vietnam and the Gulf. We studied the development of the railroads and followed the rivers, both crucial transportation means for logging and coal mining. We found ultramodern communications hubs like the Greenbank Observatory and beautiful rose gardens in a Krishna temple, even a giant teapot! The monsters were fun to find and visit in small town museums. Above all, the people were friendly and welcoming. I even have a local food I need to make when we get home, pepperoni rolls.
The van: Our van is perfect for the way we like to travel and move around. It had its one year anniversary while on this trip. We have learned a lot about how to pack, use it, and live in it, streamlining it for each trip. We have camped in all sorts of weather except snow, including very hot to well below freezing temperatures. We have winterized it several times including twice on the same trip. I have learned that I still take more clothes than I need, we no longer need a fold-up table (the TV trays work just fine), we could probably do without a portable propane stove but won’t go that far just in case. Wifi and cell network still aren’t available everywhere, downloading favorite shows and movies from Netflix and Amazon Prime is a must, the digital TV antenna actually does work near populated locations. And so on and so on.
Price of Gas: ok.. so we thought the gasoline hikes during our Georgia trip were off the chart when I commented on gas being a whopping $4.29. We saw gas prices go over $4.00/gallon then. This month it’s gotten much worse. We started off at $4.69 on average in West Virginia. This time we have seen it go over $5.00/gallon while we were away. Today it is $5.26 on the PA Turnpike. Wonder what it is at home? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Gratitude: first of all I would like to thank my husband, who doesn’t play, for doing the research on Fallout 76 places to visit in real life and putting the itinerary together and making all the reservations. Also for making sure I got to visit my favorite places in the game. West Virginia topography is difficult at best for driving and the game locations weren’t exactly in a straight line from point A to point B. The teapot for example took us several hours off our direct route home and added an extra day to the trip. Thanks honey for a great trip.
Secondly I would like to thank Bethesda Games, the creators of Fallout 76, for providing hours and hours of game play during COVID-19 that relieved the boredom of confinement during lockdowns and isolation and at the same time provided an opportunity to share an activity with family members who live in another country we were unable to visit for more than 2 years. I will share my funniest moment of the game. Foraging for just about anything in order to survive in the ‘wasteland’ is an integral part of the game. One morning, in the game, two of my daughters, one of whom had been a competitive swimmer, showed up at my C.A.M.P. in bathing suits and caps they had both found (it took me another 6 months to find a bathing suit). Dubbing themselves the ‘Wasteland Swim Team’, I didn’t stop laughing for hours. I still smile at that memory.
Lastly, I would like to thank my oldest daughter for introducing me to game in the first place. We will be home this afternoon. We have already made plans to play tonight!! Game on!
Louise and Brian McLeod Travel Blog 