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8.1.25One Final StopI’m sure Newport, RI has more good stuff in it to experience, but aside from the Cliff Walk, we weren’t overly impressed. We awoke to rain, further dampening our experience, and promptly left to head to our final destination: an Airbnb Airstream camper in the woods of Hedgesville, WV.The drive from Rhode Island to West Virginia broke me, honestly. I haven’t been sleeping overly well since our first night in Buffalo, and the fatigue was catching up to me. 7 hours with stop-and-go traffic sprinkled throughout ended up worsening my condition such that I had to have Ashley drive for about 30 miles at one point so I could take a 20 minute nap.We passed through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the tiniest bit of Maryland before finally arriving in West Virginia. By the end of the trip, I was seeing stars in my peripheral vision.The Airstream camper is renovated and cute inside, but as a tall person, I don’t fit into it as well as I’d like. The bathroom is going to be a problem, I fear. After taking one look at the full bed, I realized I’d be sleeping on the couch so Ashley and Myrtle can have room to rest.I wasn’t interested in going out to eat with the dog in tow, and Hedgesville is barely a city with anything in it anyway, so we opted to just go to the local grocery store for food and snacks. Because it rained, the campfire wood was still damp, making it difficult to get a fire going. We managed to get enough of one lit with shreds of sticks and bark from a nearby tree to roast some wieners before it fizzled out. I felt good about our sense of resourcefulness overall. Even despite not being fully prepared to camp, we made it work.
8.2.25The Woods of West VirginiaI slept like dogshit on the couch, and the shower was a puzzle I wasn’t keen to solve so early in the morning. My body needs a good night’s rest so badly, I think I’d sleep outside on the ground if it meant I could get more than an hour at a time. Might take a Benadryl before bed tonight just so I can muscle through and get some actual rest in before the long drive home tomorrow.There’s next to nothing to see or do in Hedgesville, so we went one town over to Martinsburg—the largest city in the West Virginia panhandle. Even though it has an Amtrak service and hosts the end of MARC, Maryland’s commuter rail whose Brunswick Line ends in Martinsburg, the city still feels very sleepy.We walked around its historic downtown to check out the shops and historic properties, such as the Martinsburg Roundhouse. The roundhouse is apparently the last of its kind and listed on the Register of Historic Places due to being heavily involved in a moment of the Civil War as well as the Railroad Strike of 1877.While there was very little to do in the city, I got a kick out of photographing the oldest part of downtown. The city was founded in the early years of the American Revolution and has a load of old, historic buildings charged with character. There’s no shortage of small-town beauty embedded in all the various styles, and it reminded me of several small Kentucky towns I’ve been to over the last couple years.The city sealed up an apple-shaped time capsule in 1990, so I gave that a look, too (pictured).
8.3.2537%We got up early to embark on the long drive home. The sooner we left, the more of the afternoon we’d have to prepare for work again the next day after nine days off.Our route took us past Pittsburgh. On my list of oddities and unique things to see was the US’ steepest street—the last ‘incline’ I hadn’t yet done in that city. You’d think San Francisco would take the cake, but apparently it’s Canton Ave in PGH.I can’t full convey how thrilling it was to drive up this absurdly built, 37% grade street. I didn’t even really think before I swung into it. I set the truck on sport mode, and hit the gas without going too fast. As soon as all four tires started up the incline, I regretted it, then I felt a wave of excitement, followed by another wave of fear and panic before finally settling down into excitement again. Ashley and Myrtle clung to each other in the back seat, protesting as I inched the pedal closer and closer to the floor. I gripped the wheel tightly hoping that we’d be alright, but truck didn’t struggle for a second. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have worried; if it weren’t traversable, it wouldn’t be open to the public.I parked the car and got out to take a few photos. The stairs are a necessity to get up and down. Even though the vehicle could do it, it’d be a struggle to walk up and down without proper shoes and balance.After leaving Pittsburgh, I drove us home and we arrived by 4 PM. Ashley went to bed super early, and now I am here at my desk, plugging away at this entry and reflecting on the great roadtrip we got to enjoy over the last week with Myrtle.
8.4.25The DistrictI had a shoot at The District at Deerfield this morning. It’s a new mixed use complex with loads of apartments, restaurants, bars, and future shops out near Fields Ertle. One of the fixtures is Fifty West’s new location. While up on one of the balconies, I took a photo of the space and liked how the rule of thirds worked nicely with the horizon.The property is still under construction, but I think this will be a pretty popular spot a la The Approach at Summit Park, Factory 52, or the Peters Cartridge Factory Apartments. Were I looking for suburban living with a livelier setting, this might be a decent option.
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