Monday, September 25, 2006
Lost River
For our 6th anniversary, I took KT on a surprise trip to Lost River, West Virginia. More specifically, I took him to the Guest House at Lost River.
I first heard about this place last month. I was in Dupont Circle, waiting for KT to meet me there. So, I grabbed the newest issue of Metro Weekly and sat in WrapWorks. I came across an advertisement about the Guest House. I thought...hmmm, a gay place in West Virginia. Way out from the city. In the middle of nature. To me, that sounded like something we needed.
So, I called and made the reservations. I found out that the Guest House is actually gay-friendly, rather than gay-owned. So, I was kinda iffy on deciding to go through with it or not. Lots of hotels and other places claim to be gay-friendly when their atmospheres aren't quite receptive, encouraging or even diversed. And to top it off, it's in West Virginia. You never hear that West Virginia is so OPEN to gays. So, what the hell was I thinking?
Thursday night, I did all the laundry.
Friday afternoon, I came home from work, packed like a maniac. The cats were wondering what the hell was wrong with me, going up and down the stairs and cussing.
2 hours later, I picked up KT and we zoomed off for the weekend.
Man, traffic in Virginia was a bitch! I, seriously, do not understand how people can stand to commute, from VA to DC and back, and deal with traffic on a daily basis. I would've ended up in the loony bin!
We had to pull off in Manassas and chill out. We had dinner at Golden Corral. Now, that's a good place to go people-watching!
After about an hour, we resumed driving on 66. Traffic wasn't too bad but there was still traffic! Then, we finally hit 81 which led us to West Virginia.
By the time we got there, it was dark. The roads were steep downhills and high elevated hills with sharp turns. In the middle of the forest. There was this big-assed truck behind me with its lights blinding me. All I kept thinking was that movie, Wrong Turn.
Anyways, we finally made it to the Guest House. Ooooooooo! I have to say that it was beautiful from the outside. We got in to check in. One of the guys gave us a tour of the inn. Omigawd! Bee-yooooo-ti-ful!
First of all, this definitely fit "gay-friendly". We were first led to their own restaurant. You could see gay and straight couples at their own tables, having a romantic evening. Then, to the bar, where people were mingling.
We were led to the public rooms, which were something you would see from a home magazine. The pool room, the TV room, the hot spa, the steam room, the gym were all just aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It was like modern country (or is it country modern?) with woods, everywhere. Wooden floor, wooden ceiling, wooden doors, etc. Rocking chairs were conveniently placed throughout the area. It wasn't country like the rooms were laden with those craft stuff you'd see in small town stores or flea markets. Too much of those could be...well, too much. These people knew how to decorate the place.
We were led to our room. Cute little place with beds that were covered with quilts and there was no TV. That was why they had a TV room (yes, with captions). You're in the country to escape...hello!
Well, I forgot to bring books. Yeah, I know! This guy who loves to read...forgot to bring books?!?! Ok, remember, I said I was packing like a maniac. Obviously, I wasn't thinking about everything. Luckily, KT had some books for me for our anniversary. So, he gave them to me early, so we could both read. It was only for a little while til we both fell asleep.
We got up in time for the "community" country breakfast. No, not one of those continental breakfasts. This was like a real breakfast. It was served at 9. You either had to be up it or miss it. Breakfast was in a country room with about 6 long tables. Gays and straights were just sitting together, chatting and eating breakfast together. I don't think I've ever been more relaxed before in this type of setting. So, we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, fruit salad and other stuff.
Night and day makes a HUGE difference. Traveling to the Guest House, we couldn't see a thing. In the morning, we were in the midst of beautiful trees, mountain view and sunrise. In the front of the Guest House were 2 horses.
Since this was a surprise for KT, I gave him a list of activities that was provided by the Guest House online. I had printed out these stuff prior our trip. Where we were...no signals. The Guest House had an area where one could bring a laptop with wi-fi capability. You could go swimming, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, etc. We decided to go to these small town stores and check out a cavern.
Ok, I know a few days ago, I blogged about the smelly metro. I know that I said I wouldn't ever complain about cows and manure in the country. Ok, I didn't complain. But the chicken factory/coop, I had to complain. It STUNK! Even KT was like...whoo, that smell was just a little overpowering.
Anyways, we drove through these little towns and eventually making our way to Smoke Hole Caverns in Seneca Rocks. Smoke Hole Caverns boasts to have the world's longest ribbon stalactites. Lemme tell you, it was boring. It's a guided tour with this girl that just loved to talk. It wasn't a long tour. Really, you could walk in and out in like 15 minutes. You were lead in for a short distance, with numerous stops by the guide and then lead back on a slightly different path.
After that, we drove back to Moorefield to check out their Heritage Weekend. Ummmmm, maybe for a small-townie, that's a big deal but for us, hailing from big cities, it was like...is that all?!?!
Anyways, we had a good time. It was just nice for the 2 of us be together and just catch up on stuff as well as looking at some of the cute things.
We headed back to the Guest House to relax. Sometimes, that all you need to do. Just relax and do nothing! So, that's what we did. We hung out at the bar, watching some college football games, while I nursed a 7&7. We soaked ourselves in the hot spa. We played games of pool.
Sunday morning, we headed back home.
We definitely wanna come back...but stay longer. We definitely recommend this place to our friends. It's just beautiful and a nice place to escape. Just don't forget to bring books.
I will post pictures later. I had forgotten to bring the digital camera. (Remember, I was packing like a maniac.) So, I got a disposable one. So, I gotta get them developed.
ta ta...
|
I first heard about this place last month. I was in Dupont Circle, waiting for KT to meet me there. So, I grabbed the newest issue of Metro Weekly and sat in WrapWorks. I came across an advertisement about the Guest House. I thought...hmmm, a gay place in West Virginia. Way out from the city. In the middle of nature. To me, that sounded like something we needed.
So, I called and made the reservations. I found out that the Guest House is actually gay-friendly, rather than gay-owned. So, I was kinda iffy on deciding to go through with it or not. Lots of hotels and other places claim to be gay-friendly when their atmospheres aren't quite receptive, encouraging or even diversed. And to top it off, it's in West Virginia. You never hear that West Virginia is so OPEN to gays. So, what the hell was I thinking?
Thursday night, I did all the laundry.
Friday afternoon, I came home from work, packed like a maniac. The cats were wondering what the hell was wrong with me, going up and down the stairs and cussing.
2 hours later, I picked up KT and we zoomed off for the weekend.
Man, traffic in Virginia was a bitch! I, seriously, do not understand how people can stand to commute, from VA to DC and back, and deal with traffic on a daily basis. I would've ended up in the loony bin!
We had to pull off in Manassas and chill out. We had dinner at Golden Corral. Now, that's a good place to go people-watching!
After about an hour, we resumed driving on 66. Traffic wasn't too bad but there was still traffic! Then, we finally hit 81 which led us to West Virginia.
By the time we got there, it was dark. The roads were steep downhills and high elevated hills with sharp turns. In the middle of the forest. There was this big-assed truck behind me with its lights blinding me. All I kept thinking was that movie, Wrong Turn.
Anyways, we finally made it to the Guest House. Ooooooooo! I have to say that it was beautiful from the outside. We got in to check in. One of the guys gave us a tour of the inn. Omigawd! Bee-yooooo-ti-ful!
First of all, this definitely fit "gay-friendly". We were first led to their own restaurant. You could see gay and straight couples at their own tables, having a romantic evening. Then, to the bar, where people were mingling.
We were led to the public rooms, which were something you would see from a home magazine. The pool room, the TV room, the hot spa, the steam room, the gym were all just aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It was like modern country (or is it country modern?) with woods, everywhere. Wooden floor, wooden ceiling, wooden doors, etc. Rocking chairs were conveniently placed throughout the area. It wasn't country like the rooms were laden with those craft stuff you'd see in small town stores or flea markets. Too much of those could be...well, too much. These people knew how to decorate the place.
We were led to our room. Cute little place with beds that were covered with quilts and there was no TV. That was why they had a TV room (yes, with captions). You're in the country to escape...hello!
Well, I forgot to bring books. Yeah, I know! This guy who loves to read...forgot to bring books?!?! Ok, remember, I said I was packing like a maniac. Obviously, I wasn't thinking about everything. Luckily, KT had some books for me for our anniversary. So, he gave them to me early, so we could both read. It was only for a little while til we both fell asleep.
We got up in time for the "community" country breakfast. No, not one of those continental breakfasts. This was like a real breakfast. It was served at 9. You either had to be up it or miss it. Breakfast was in a country room with about 6 long tables. Gays and straights were just sitting together, chatting and eating breakfast together. I don't think I've ever been more relaxed before in this type of setting. So, we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, fruit salad and other stuff.
Night and day makes a HUGE difference. Traveling to the Guest House, we couldn't see a thing. In the morning, we were in the midst of beautiful trees, mountain view and sunrise. In the front of the Guest House were 2 horses.
Since this was a surprise for KT, I gave him a list of activities that was provided by the Guest House online. I had printed out these stuff prior our trip. Where we were...no signals. The Guest House had an area where one could bring a laptop with wi-fi capability. You could go swimming, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, etc. We decided to go to these small town stores and check out a cavern.
Ok, I know a few days ago, I blogged about the smelly metro. I know that I said I wouldn't ever complain about cows and manure in the country. Ok, I didn't complain. But the chicken factory/coop, I had to complain. It STUNK! Even KT was like...whoo, that smell was just a little overpowering.
Anyways, we drove through these little towns and eventually making our way to Smoke Hole Caverns in Seneca Rocks. Smoke Hole Caverns boasts to have the world's longest ribbon stalactites. Lemme tell you, it was boring. It's a guided tour with this girl that just loved to talk. It wasn't a long tour. Really, you could walk in and out in like 15 minutes. You were lead in for a short distance, with numerous stops by the guide and then lead back on a slightly different path.
After that, we drove back to Moorefield to check out their Heritage Weekend. Ummmmm, maybe for a small-townie, that's a big deal but for us, hailing from big cities, it was like...is that all?!?!
Anyways, we had a good time. It was just nice for the 2 of us be together and just catch up on stuff as well as looking at some of the cute things.
We headed back to the Guest House to relax. Sometimes, that all you need to do. Just relax and do nothing! So, that's what we did. We hung out at the bar, watching some college football games, while I nursed a 7&7. We soaked ourselves in the hot spa. We played games of pool.
Sunday morning, we headed back home.
We definitely wanna come back...but stay longer. We definitely recommend this place to our friends. It's just beautiful and a nice place to escape. Just don't forget to bring books.
I will post pictures later. I had forgotten to bring the digital camera. (Remember, I was packing like a maniac.) So, I got a disposable one. So, I gotta get them developed.
ta ta...
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