Wild and Wonderful

West Virginia is a pretty fun corner of the world.  Today we saw a whole group of Civil War reenactors, looking appropriately sweaty and tired in their wool uniforms, first breaking camp at an old church and then again further along the road towards the river.  The day after we arrived we got to watch a clutch of turtles hatch.  Ed found the turtle nest about three months ago while removing a tree stump and had saved the eggs, dirt and all, in a small aquarium.  It was very nice of them to wait for our arrival to dig their way out; after a couple hours there were four tiny turtles toodling around.

Baby turtles! The shell is about the same size as a quarter

After a couple days of down time we got to pack up our bags again.  Carl's college friend Brendan and his fiancee Alyson drove down from Boston to spend a day at Knutty Acres, swimming in the river and enjoying the company of 6 dogs.  From there we joined them on the drive to Morgantown and West Virginia University, and then on to Columbus, OH for a wedding.

Grill full of delicious bounty

Carl and Brendan were both eager to show us ladies all of their old college haunts.  Our first stop was Coopers Rock, which is a beautiful wooded area threaded through with hiking and biking trails.  I even found a new friend.

The Giant at Coopers Rock

The views extended all the way over to Morgantown and were pretty amazing.

Coopers Rock

Our second day in Morgantown we slept in, strolled around town to find some Mountaineers gear, and then headed to the Forks of Cheat Winery for some lunch.  Cheese, meat, crackers, and wine makes a balanced meal, right?

Enjoying some cheese, meats, and wine at the Forks of Cheat Winery

 It was pretty funny walking around campus.  We amused ourselves by trying to identify the freshmen, wandering glassy-eyed among the brick buildings, and watching the antics of frats and sororities recruiting new members.  Needless to say, we all felt really old, so we drowned our sorrows with amazing burritos from Black Bear and beer at Morgantown Brewing Company.

Morgantown and WVU as seen from the president's house

 The best part of the drive to Columbus was the massive thunderstorms with torrential rains and arcs of lightning.  We got to stay on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Convention Center, at the same time the cat convention was going on.  While we didn't see any cats, there were a lot of weird people wandering the halls.  The wedding itself was in an old Catholic church in the historic Germantown area. We all did our best to behave.

Behaving in church

 Scott and Katie make a beautiful couple, made even better with bubbles.

The happy couple post ceremony

 The ceremony was over in time for us to catch the second half of the West Virginia football game, to Carl and Brendan's great joy.  Soon enough it was time to get dressed back up for the reception, dinner, and dancing. We clean up pretty good.

All dressed up

 Carl made lots of new friends with his vest.  With all the time and effort I put into making that thing, I should hope so.  Thanks, Grandma, for the sewing machine that's smarter than I am!

Full effect of Carl's fashion statement

The fantastic four, foot loose and fancy free

Good times were had by all.  The next day Brendan and Aly dropped us in Lewisburg, PA on their way back to Boston and we bid our dance partners adieu.  Ed and Nancy met us there to hang out with their old friends, check out the house where Carl grew up, and enjoy delicious sandwiches and homemade wine from Oips.  Now we're back on the funny farm, relaxing and preparing to go to Greece.  The fun just never stops!