The day started with a 6'ish roll out for me looking out over the beautiful farm behind sister Dee's house and their perfectly manicured yard and flower gardens. Mike was already at work so we sat around and viewed the vistas until it was time to take off to see some new areas. The area of Orkney Springs was just beautiful high up in the mountains where several resorts for skiing and camps for Christian youth camps. We lazied around until Uncle Mike came home from work then we headed out to Winchester to pick up Paw Paw and head to Berkeley Springs.
Berkeley Springs is about 40 miles north of Winchester on SR 522. It was a nice 4 lane ride until we hit the W.Va. line which quickly turned into a 2 land road as we headed up the mountain from the small city. We noticed the huge castle on the side of the mountain built in the 1800's as we climbed the mountain. We stopped and viewed the vista that showed three states; Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. The view from this vistas shows the Potomac and the Cacapon Rivers as one of the most photogenic views in the country. We found the road leading out to the old summer place which crosses a one lane low water wooden bridge across the Cacapon River.
We saw several locals swimming in water as we crossed the bridge. Nancy spotted the old house where she once played with her grand folks, parents and cousins. I failed to initially recognize the place as it was over grown and in some disrepair. We walked up onto the porch and saw where the roof let lots of water and moisture into the interior, yikes the smell of mold and mildew was overwhelming. It was sad to see the damage and deterioration of the old place. We pushed the door open and the inside damage and smell was terrible. The roof leaks were evident with damp wet moldy wood. We were completely saddened by this damage.
We spent about 30 minutes taking pictures and then rode up to the Dawson homestead which looked nothing like we remembered it. The gardens and fields were over grown and there was considerable run down damage to the house and buildings. We left and headed back up the mountain to the down town area where we stopped at the Earth Dog Cafe eatery where we enjoyed eating with the locals and the food was decent and plentiful. Barbecue was the specialty as most of us chowed down with good portions and the sides were exceptional tasty. I would eat there again in heartbeat. Well after a ride back to winchester in the rain at time we dropped Paw Paw off then headed to Woodstock. We got back around 9:30 and then after watching some of the Olympics it was horizontal lab for me, LATER
