xoxo, xenophile: A Week in West Virginia

In March of 2012, I spent a week visiting a very good friend of mine in West Virginia. She'd moved there to follow her dreams of studying music education at Alderson Broaddus College and to be closer to the love of her life. Alderson Broaddus was only a few hours away from where he lived, a great improvement over the half a continent that had separated them before.

I spent some time in Philippi (where AB is located), had a date in Clarksburg, went on a side trip to a large mall in Columbus, Ohio, and spent the majority of my time in Parkersburg, West Virginia. During my week I experienced all the strangeness of West Virginia--the slight accents, the cars without front license plates, pepperoni rolls, the forests, mountains, and winding roads. The curvy roads and thick woods were quite beautiful, and reminded me of northern Wisconsin, a place I'll always love. Unlike Wisconsin, West Virginia is mountainous, and I very much enjoyed the surprising views of cities and farms while driving through the Appalachians.

The pictures here were taken from atop Fort Boreman, a Civil War fort overlooking the city of Parkersburg. The view of the city and the river that runs through it was excellent, and the cannons weren't guarded by no-touching signs (which is always a plus!). I took some pictures of my friend and her now-husband and very much enjoyed a nice spring day at this historic site.

I also enjoyed trying my first pepperoni roll--I sampled three different varieties during my week. One was from the college in Philippi, one was from a little bakery along a quaint one-way street in Clarksburg (one of the first bakeries to begin making the tasty treats), and the last was a highly-recommended--and very greasy--one from a gas station in Parkersburg. The pepperoni roll is a snack made from a soft bread roll. It's baked with pepperoni and usually cheese in the middle, and the juices from the baking pepperoni do some good things for the little snack. They were first made as an easy lunch for coal miners, and are almost exclusively found in West Virginia.

Which is unfortunate, because I enjoyed all three pepperoni rolls, and have been craving one, just a little, ever since I left.