Tamarack is an incredible idea executed flawlessly. In their own words, Tamarack's vision is to be "recognized globally as a dynamic catalyst and premiere showcase for all aspects of advancing West Virginia arts, crafts and food products and those who produce or perform them". I don't know what I expected when I walked into Tamarack, but it certainly wasn't what I ended up finding there. People had described it to me as a high end arts and crafts market, but it is so much more than that. Tamarack bills itself as "The Best of West Virginia", and after visiting two days in a row, I can say that slogan much better describes what I experienced there.
Sitting right off Interstate 64 in south-central West Virginia and just outside the town of Beckley, Tamarack may be one of the best ideas I've come across in a long time. It opened its doors in 1996 and has never looked back. Tamarack showcases West Virginia's best artists and craftspeople, but is also a restaurant, a conference center, a community gathering place and a work of art in its own right. As soon as you walk through the door, your senses are enveloped by West Virginia...
It was the first snowy Sunday morning of the season as I drove up West Virginia Route 46 and pulled into the tiny town of Helvetia, population 59. Helvetia was settled by a small group of Swiss immigrants high in the West Virginia mountains just after the American Civil War. The isolation of Helvetia has certainly helped the residents continue many of their Swiss traditions, and I was there to enjoy one: the Bernerplatte buffet lunch at The Hutte Restaurant.
Arriving on a snowy morning was perfect as it added just that little extra touch of authenticity to my visit. I pulled off the highway and went for a wonderful walk around this small community...
I've been to a lot of places in my life which are trying to make a go of drawing tourism to their town. For many towns in West Virginia, doing this successfully may be a matter of life and death in the coming years. Tiny Thomas, West Virginia, population 562 and located high in the Potomac Highlands and just south of the Maryland border is a town that is doing everything right...
John Henry is a popular American folk hero. His story has been told in print, story and song for almost 150 years. His is a classic tale of man vs. machine which is as valid today as ever, especially here in West Virginia.
Whether or not John Henry was a real person has been debated for over a century, but there is no doubt if you ask people in Talcott. West Virginia. Talcott is the town that sits on top of the Big Bend Tunnel, cut for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad between 1870 and 1872 and the site where the story of John Henry supposedly took place. They have built a beautiful park with a statue to this hero of the working man and local history includes many people who claim to have known John Henry and witnessed his famous competition.
The first few days of this journey took me to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Just over an hour from my home in Washington D.C. I was crossing into far eastern West Virginia. I had never really explored this area before with the exception of a few short trips to Harpers Ferry. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Steeped in history beginning before the American Revolution, this area was full of beautiful colonial architecture, friendly people and some really photogenic spots. It was a great introduction to the state and would make for one or several great weekend getaways from D.C, Baltimore, Harrisburg or anywhere in between.
When Bill Danert, Taffy Nivert and John Denver penned the lyrics to the song Country Roads, Take Me Home they were trying to capture the spirit of a place. Many critics have said that the song more clearly depicts Western Virginia the region than West Virginia the state, but in Jefferson County, West Virginia you do get both the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River. Seeing these both in one view...
Tomorrow is the day I finally set sail. This day has been years in the making. I've been saving and planning and working and packing and getting ready for so long and now the day is finally here. Tomorrow I am leaving home, leaving Washington D.C. in my quest to visit each state and do it slowly, not rush from place to place. I'll be living in my new-to-me Class B RV, a 1998 Dodge Coach House 192KS Widebody. It is fully kitted out with a king sized bed, a bathroom and shower, a kitchen and plenty of clothes, shoes, maps, pots and pans. It's got new brakes and new tires and is ready to get me where I need to go. I've named it Shadow Catcher...
I am a proud Washingtonian, born and raised. In my adult life, however, I have spent far more time out of Washington D.C. than in it. So when I am home, I make it a point to dig a little deeper, explore a little further and expand my knowledge of the city I call home. My mother, also born and raised in D.C., has become my accomplice on these adventures and we have found some amazing little spots all over the city that if you weren’t looking for, you’d probably never find. This winter, we set out to discover the original boundary stones that marked the surveyed borders of Washington D.C. when it was laid out in 1791-92. And while we haven’t made it to all of them, we have found the four corners and many in between and it has been a fascinating mini-adventure super close to home...
Washington D.C. has become, in recent years, a real "foodie" destination. Celebrity chefs and degustation menus have become more prevalent than I can remember in my lifetime in this city. But where do the locals go? A lot of the same places everyone else goes, quite honestly. But here are a few of my favorite places and the places I always recommend when someone asks. Please comment on your favorite local spots below and don't forget to return the favor when I end up in your town!
When I was a teenager, I was standing alone one day in the rain, and I had an overwhelming feeling come over me that I was never going to live to see 30. As I have grown up, I have learned that a lot of people have that feeling. Some of it comes from the media, and the exposure to the James Deans and Jimi Hendrixs and Jim Morrisons and Kurt Cobains of the world. All the cool people died young. And some probably comes from anxiety about getting older and watching our youth and vibrancy disappear, becoming more like our parents and teachers. But no matter where it came from, it weighed on me and I set out to live a life with the time that I had, with a sense of purpose and urgency. And I did...
Although the seeds for this blog were planted early in my life by one too many trips to the Smithsonian or one too many National Geographics, they really started to take root after I graduated from college. I went back to work at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, SC, which I had worked at the previous two summers. The restaurant was called Shenanigans, and while the name did not help the cause, it was one of the best steakhouses in the south. They served hand-cut, USDA Prime beef – aged, seasoned and cooked to perfection. It would be many years later, when I was in Argentina, that I ate steak that compared. Almost 20 years later, I have yet to have prime rib which could stack up. The steaks came complete with a large and beautiful salad, a heaping side dish and hot fresh bread. The only steaks which cost over $20 (including the salad and side) were the filet mignon and a 32 ounce (2 pound) prime rib, and those just barely. I loved working there because every time I walked up to the table to ask how everything was, I was certain it was going to be great. In the back of my mind, I can still taste that prime rib, and every time I drive by that building, even now, I feel sad that it is gone...
I am a traveler. I have been travelling my entire adult life. I have travelled professionally and for leisure, domestically and abroad. I have seen amazing things all over the country and all over the world. And I am not even close to done. The more places I go, the more I want to go. And whenever I sit still too long, I feel myself getting old. I need to be on the move. It’s not something I planned, it’s just something that is.
So this blog is from the perspective of a traveler. Most of the travel blogs I read, and there are some excellent ones out there, are from the perspective of a non-traveler who has become a traveler. They have left their jobs as IT consultants or web-designers, photographers or business people, sold their houses, put stuff in storage and set off on a journey. Their blog was generally something they started to keep in touch with friends and family and blossomed into something much bigger. And I respect that, in fact I love that...
