"midwest is best" road trip

"For the record, West Virginia has strict anti-incest laws."

"midwest is best" road trip

Day 7, Wednesday: En route to Pittsburgh, PA we passed through the tip of West Virginia.

As we crossed this bridge coming from OH, we noticed this little historic town &
decided to take a detour. Turned on some random streets and found this area.

We didn't stay too long. Though the little town had a lot of beautiful bridges and historical buildings , there was something about it that was amiss. To be honest, and I know this may sound ignorant, but the people there sort of creeped us out. It seriously reminded us of those movies about urbanites getting lost in some small town and never making it out alive. Our theory was that there was something in the water, or we wonder whether incest is legal in this state, because some of the people there was just... not right. So we made sure we were out of there before dark.

Thinking about all of this, I just decided to wiki Wheeling, WV, and lo and behold:
"The origins of the name "Wheeling" are disputed. One of the more credible explanations is that the word comes from the Lenni-Lenape phrase "wih link", which meant "place of the head." This supposedly referred to a white settler who was scalped and decapitated. His severed head was left on display at the confluence of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River."
Well, this explains it all! Oh by the way, we drove all the way up the tip of WV and saw an oil refinery along the river. Hello, toxic exposure...

On a lighter note, John Corbett is from Wheeling, WV and I just found out he's dating Bo Derek.

mahalo sarsi

this post is dedicated to J since he's moving to hawaii next week.
coincidentally, i developed ten rolls of film last week & discovered
these pictures in the lot from our southwest road trip in 2008.

this song 'the highway' by peter & the wolf sums up that road trip for me.

"wake up, were driving it's best to keep moving. things are going okay.
eating fruit on the highways, trying to stay healthy.
dreaming of the old days. eye sockets running out in the fields.
the life of the farmer, it always appeals to me.
i wrote on a postcard i may or may not send.
i was keeping distracted until i saw horses and thought of you."

J. was notorious for smoking cigarettes at that time. having learned i was pregnant, he decided he would not smoke around me. i was so proud of him because even though it was so hard for him not to smoke in the car, he was careful and considerate of me the whole way through -- from chicago -- texas -- new orleans -- memphis --and then back to chicago.
however, this might be the reason he decided to gulp down a liter of moutain dew
which turned him into a chatterbox and king of karaoke-in-the-car-while-bella-tries-to-sleep.
nevertheless, it proved to himself that he could quit smoking if he wanted to.
a year later, he did... noting that this trip was a precursor to it all.




now, with the weird air left behind, he will be be taking off in a week to follow the sun & worship the waves.
he'll breathe in a new life and know what lightness feels.

here's to your many many new adventures to come, my good friend.
i've enjoyed our voyages together and look forward to sharing a few more when i see you
in your new home.

aloha.