We are thankful to be staying at a home that was only
without electricity for one and a half days during the recent storm and power
outages that affected West Virginia and Virginia. Some homes were without power for ten days in
White Sulphur Springs (WSS).
We went by
The Greenbrier today and drove around part of The Old
White Course that was used for the PGA tournament.
We were just a few days late, so we saw some
of the platforms and stands still set up.
The course was beautiful and The Greenbrier was an impressive sight, as
usual.
I found out that they now have a
casino underground.
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| View from the tee box at hole No. 6 |
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| One of the platforms still set up from the PGA tournament |
A couple miles down the road and through a tunnel we visited
the
Greenbrier State Forest.
There is
no cost to enter the State Forest.
They have camping facilities and
cabins that can be rented.
We drove through and saw the devastation
caused by the winds that were part of the storm that passed through.
There were many, many trees that had fallen
over, split or had chunks out of them.
I
even saw one that was bent over because a bigger broken tree was lying across
the top of it.
There was a lot of
debris, small branches and leaves covering parking areas and picnic areas.
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| They are working on clearing out the fallen trees. You can also see a tree near the middle of the picture that has a chunk out of the middle of it, but the rest of the tree appears fine. |
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| More trees that were knocked over and splintered when they fell. |
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| Here's the tree that has a broken tree lying on it. |
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| This is the kind of splintering we saw throughout the area. Some trees looked like they were twisted and broken off. |
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| This slide was spared though several trees fell around it. |
One of the most amazing things to see was a large metal
swing set that was crushed and twisted from a huge tree that fell on it. The pressure from the weight and size of that
tree made the swing set appear weak and moldable.
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| A close up on the smashed swing set from on top of the main trunk of the tree that fell on it. |
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| The crushed swing set |
As we continued to drive back through town we passed the
Christmas Shop at the Depot that is housed in the old train depot as well as other quaint
shops and restaurants downtown.
Then we
turned and headed up Big Draft Rd.
As it
wrapped around the mountain we came across lines that were still down or being
worked on.
Some fences had been mended
while others still had trees lying across them.
We came by a local country club and golf course and then went to
Oakhurst Links, the first organized golf club in America.
It was started in 1884.
Later we saw the historical marker on Hwy.
60, near the town grocery store, Food Lion.
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| The sign at the entrance to the course |
Again, I am a city girl through and through. But, I enjoy visiting small towns where the
pace of life and overall stress appears less.
Sitting on the wide front porch rocking on a bench glider with the sound
of cars passing by as it sprinkles off and on while writing, is relaxing and
peaceful. Of course, I have a front
porch. It may not be as big and my
Adirondack chairs may not rock, but I am reminded of the fact that I can still
take time to sit at home too. Sometimes, TripLearning means we learn about what we appreciate in life while on a trip
and then we find a way to apply it when we get home. No matter how busy life may seem to be, I can
still take time to sit outside and enjoy a slower pace. Even if it’s only for 10 minutes.
My other TripLearning lesson for today is that even in the
storms of life we can find beauty and wonder.
Don’t be afraid to visit places that have been through hard times, it
may mean your plans will need to be altered, but you can benefit the community
you visit and learn from the experience as well.
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