I found this hotel to be delightfully staffed and quite conveniently located in the center of Charleston. The breakfast buffet was excellent, and the lobby staff helpful. The bell-hop was also a nice touch, as it was very kind of him to carry our bags to the car and load them up for us, too. Over all, I highly recommend this hotel. I last stayed in the Marriott Town Center Charleston in July, 2008.

New River Gorge Bridge is a steel-arch bridge, in Fayetteville, West Virginia. New River Gorge Bridge is connect to U.S. Highway 19 over the New River and the CSX railroad. Have fun view and driving on the bridge:) Althrough, the state of West Virgnia is great natural beauty, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries, and its labor history. It is also known as a tourist destination for those people interested in outdoor activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, mountain biking and hunting.

My friends and I went camping and rafting two summers ago in West Virginia. I'll have to check the name of the camp grounds, but I do know it was connecting to the rafting company. All in all it was an awesome experience. The campgrounds was more open that usual...without individual sites...with an open field that provided a really friendly and social atmosphere. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were included in the price. You had lunch on the river and then a really fun dinner in a pavillion back at the campground at night. They also showed everyone photos and videos of their day on the river at the shop. The New River is the little sister of the Gauley. It's great for beginners and still fun enough for more experienced rafters also. The guides are fun, friendly, and some very nice to look at! I definitely recommend this river for watersport seekers. I plan on going back this september to raft the Gauley, I hear it's bigger with higher classified rapids than the New. 

Here I stopped for the night to visit a Combat Buddy from Iraq, Josh

During my most recent road trip I spent the night at the Wellspring Inn & Suites in Beckley, West VA. When you walk in the lobby, you get the feel of a hostel. It's friendly and welcoming, people are lingering around chatting, etc. The cost of a double room was 56.17 including taxes. Now I don't know about all the rooms, but mine was quite spacious. The bathroom was extremely large, with a double sink and a chair and there was still room to dance in there. Huge! The shower had great water pressure and plenty of hot water. There were two double beds, very comfy, a dresser, t.v.,microwave and refrigerator. The down side to this motel is that it is old and run down. The pool is not in use. However the room was clean and very spacious. There is free WIFI internet in the lobby (just ask for the password key) + free continental breakfast. If you are fortunate enought to be there on a Saturday night (unfortunately I was not, so I can't speak from expierence) there is a church service at 6:45 p.m. just off the main lobby. The owner pastors a church there, Wellspring Ministries. All are welcome, even if you are not staying at the motel, so if you live in Beckley check it out! The owners have cleaned up and changed this motel that they have owned for a couple years, from a place that was known for drugs to a place known for Jesus now. Stop by and give them some support and get a good value and friendly atmosphere.

I had just landed into Charleston, WV in the afternoon. What hotel would be great to stay at for the weekend.....during the summer months, hands down in the Holiday Inn Express in downtown Charleston. The location for this hotel was great for me during the summer,there were street vendors. Not hard to find, from the airport, go all the toward the Capitol and make a right onto the Kanawha Blvd... right off the downtown area and scenic boulevard, the right room gives a nice view of the Kanwaha River. The Hotel Staff were friendly and helpful. The lobby had a bunch of couches so can't really say it is spacious but gives a easy-going mood in the evenings. The queen size bedroom I had was comfortable but to me lacked a refridgerator : ( There is wireless but was a pain to figure out how to set through the Hotel site.... I had the government rate charged for me so it was a good value spent that I get reimbursed. There is a restaurant/bar. Parking lot is free for hotel guests.

Don't want to offend any of you West Virginia travel buddies--but West Virginia towns do feel a bit scruffy after traveling in Virginia... But scruffy is cool too!

Found something in Martinsburg that I've never seen before--an actual "puppet theater"!  I didn't know such a thing existed any more!  Thanks for keeping alive a milleniums-old tradition!

Sadly, "the Meteor Cafe" where I played a couple of songs for a very receptive crowd last year is now shut down...

...So this leg of my USA 2008 tour comes to an end... I've created a lot of memories in these last two days!

Charles Town (not to be confused with "Charleston") is mainly known for it's casino and racetrack--an effort to bring out-of-state cash into the area... Other than that, the town is a little bit scruffy... but quite active--all the park benches at the park were being occupied.  I did my set on a bench downtown--a couple of rednecks yelled at me as they drove past... that was about it...

Harper's Ferry is a great spot for both history and nature enthusiasts--the little town is rich in historical events and symbolism (mainly John Brown's violent attempt to start a fight against slavery here) and it also has some stunning views of two rivers converging in the shadow of steep ravines.

You park your car a couple of miles from the town and take a bus--I decided to walk it instead--just to soak in the nature a while.   The town itself has a couple of dozen mini-museums that focus on different aspects of the town:  John Brown himself, the Niagara Movement (early Civil Rights movement), Civil War battles, the wetlands etc. etc...  All very nicely done I must say...

Really wanted to keep on hiking up the ravines--but today I'm on a Parkbenching Mission--and I've still got a couple of towns I want to hit before nightfall...

The Greenbrier, world famous, for its hidden bunker for the Then US President during the Cold War. I was there at re-opening of the bunker to the people. I was attending a conference that was attended by the WV Gov. Joe Manchin, Ret. LTG Dan Christman, and many other entrepeneur small business owners. ( Hell News Correspondent Tim Russert was checking in when I was checking out) The Greenbrier appears to be Overrated but it was the Bestest place Ive ever stayed at..for Free. I cant tell y'all the secret, all I can say it involved military affairs. The ground were beautiful; we didnt have the time to go horseback riding or golfing but just walking around the grounds was soo peaceful. Of course all the Beltway Big-wigs come down cuz it isnt far away from DC. But I was so impressed, the food was fab, -sigh-

This is where my journey began, After the fourth of july 2006 til now I have been on my own. This point was where I have been on this journey back and forth across the US, to Europe, to Middle East and soon I will return to the US after being gone for a year.

Im a member of th Army Guard and I was sent to US/Mexico to do border security ops. If you have kept up with the news on american tv y'know about the ongoing illegal immgration issue with mexico. So I went, did my year there so I hope this ends up sounding like a nice story...

July 4th, I spent the last night with my long time boyfriend through college. We broke up that night. It wasn't hard but we had to discuss the future and our future together would have caused us to spend a long time apart. Since this is MY story, we are both 21 at the time so I knew we were on 2 different paths and when 2 people that care about each other know that, it's makes for a good relationship! I wouldn't see him for another 12 months but by then we were both changed.

After I was dropped off, i joined 100+ other soldiers from around the state and we flew by C-130 'Hercules' to Las Cruces, New mexico.

It was a 6 hour flight and i recall the landing...as soon as we landed and the plane finally stopped we all started to feel ourselves being baked inside, i was feelin kinda jittery. The hull opened and I jus saw white flashes, heat waves across the white sand of the air field we landed on. It had to been over 100 degrees, at least in july in new mexico. We filed off the plane and only caring one olive drab duffel bag i followed those in front of me as we began our adventure, not really sure what we were getting into but getting to know some of the people I know we were in for a trip. Hard to believe 2 years later I am still serving with a dozen of the people i left west virginia with, from one desert to another....

On April 10, 2008 Nepal will be having a democratic election to become a Democratic Republic and to write a new constitution.  The king no longer resides on the front of the Nepal's currency but has been replaced with a picture of the beautiful Mt. Everest.  For the last 250 years Nepal has been a Hindu monarchy and now it is up to the people to decide in which way they want to move.  The abolition of Nepal's monarch is inextricably linked to a broader story playing out in this Himalyan country about the end of the country's civil war which has been between government forces againist Maoist rebels.  A break through came in 2006 when the rebels agreed to put down their weapons and re-join government politics with a Peace Agreement. 

Much more to write in the coming days.........

This was one of the best places I have EVER stayed. Ironic that it is merely an 'Expess" hotel. Please Don't let that fool you! The hotel has 100% fresh linens (no multi-use comforter) and embroidered towels & pillow! A different one for any taste! Ex: firm, soft, fluffy, etc. The views are great (on one side, but I wasn't even over there!) Ideal location. All access TV, video, DVD, Web-TV type connection keyboard, and Wireless Internet! The people were absolutely awesome! I have a very close friend there, and was having a drawn out court battle. I have had to return there on several occassions over the past year. The first time I was at another hotel, but... Since my first stay here, I will NEVER stay anywhere else! They call their breakfast "Continental", it is more like a luxurious buffet of sorts. From numerous fresh fruits and yogurt, to exquisite Belgian Waffles, danishes, and muffins, cereal, breads, bagels, several juices and milks to choose from. The list goes on and on! The atmosphere was incredible! I'd advise anyone even close to Charleston to check this one out! They have these GREAT deals, which is how I buy. They include RT airfare and accomodations for very discounted rates. I average 3 nights there when I have to go, and everything together (plane tix, hotel, tax, etc.) comes to only $2-300!!! A MUST for anyone!

Brother's Pizza of Martinsburg serves pizza, pasta, subs, wraps, appetizers, tacos and burgers. It's very reasonably priced - two people can eat dinner (2 soft drinks, appetizer, calzone and wrap) for around $25, a rather typical price for dinner for two in Martinsburg. Brother's Pizza offers dine-in, delivery and carry out. The dining room features a rather quiet atmosphere with two flat screen televisions flanking both sides of the room. They are not blaring in your ear while, you eat - we sat right under one and were not disturbed in the least. We enjoyed the company of a college basketball game during our meal. The experience reminded me of an evening at a sports bar but without the smoke. Service was friendly, but a little slow, and the kitchen messed up my order. I ordered a tuna salad wrap with no tomatoes, and I received a turkey, bacon, lettuce and TOMATO wrap instead. The turkey wrap was number two on my list, so I picked off the tomatoes and dealt with it.

WVU and Pitt are rivals.  They have been for many years.  We call our football games against one another "The Backyard Brawl" since a little more than an hour separates us from Pittsburgh.  In the past few years, we have been athletically superior to our rivals in football, but not today.  We lost, and it wasn't pretty.  It was the final game of the season, and a win against Pitt ensured us a spot in New Orleans at the National Championship BCS Bowl game.  We were favored to win by 17 points.  Many WVU fans already bought their tickets to the Big Easy.  The equation sounds simple, but it isn't.  The college football season has been so crazy this year, and our game is no different.  After a disappointing loss to USF a few weeks earlier, we finally played our way up the ranks to #2 again in the nation.  Teams ranked #2 in the nation lost 7 times this year, so we knew we needed to be careful.  After 2 missed field goals in the first quarter by WVU's Pat McAfee, I knew there was going to be trouble.  Were we too excited to play solid ball or were we afraid that we'd choke at the BCS?  Who knows...All I know is that only a few days later, our coach quits and there are rumors that his brother bet against our game.  People say that the game was lost on purpose.  Our endearing coach has gone from Rodriguez to FRAUDriguez.  Maybe there are way too many politics going on in college football, too.  Whatever the case, we didn't make it to the national championship game, but we had a heck of a performance against in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.  "Sooner" rather than later, we'll show the nation that we are a great football school.   Best of luck to our new coach (Bill Stewart) and the Mountaineers for 2008!