Weekend Trip: Falling Waters and Martinsburg, WV

It's amazing how a little time away from your surroundings can help change your perspective on life. So I've decided to take some day and weekend trips to do just that. In the past three or so years I've only been more than 100 miles from home once, and so trips are definitely in order.

For this first trip, I was propelled to travel to the natural waterfall attraction in Falling Waters, West Virginia. I wasn't sure of the surroundings, which makes it all the more adventuresome. The 200-mile round trip included an overnight stay in Martinsburg, WV, and a leisurely stroll through the historic downtown.

The best part of the trip was definitely the scenic hills and open land along Route 17.

A farmhouse and land along Route 17 near Paris, Virginia.

Once I reached the small town of Falling Waters (population 876), I had to ask a gentleman at the local Sheetz, "So where are these falls?" He told me to follow him and pointed to the obscure sideroad exit before going on his way. Needless to say, the falls did not disappoint. Here is a relaxing video of them that I uploaded on Youtube.

As green as all that looks, I will say it was quite chilly! Almost looks like it was filmed in mid-summer. But the temperature was in the low 40s with wind chill near freezing.

Afterward, I checked into a Comfort Inn and took my afternoon nap. Old people thing. ;o)

One room, king bed, warm breakfast for $108 plus tax. Will try to go lower next time.

Evening meal was a turkey and cheddar panini from a nearby restaurant called Laddies. Not the best panini, but the fries and mac 'n' cheese hit the spot. Then I settled in on a Lifetime Network movie, Sinister Switch. Daughter gets kidnapped and a stranger claims to be the daughter until the parents figure it out. How many times has that been done before?

 

I started the next morning with a delicious warm breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits, and gravy. 

I had seen these pumpkins the day before on the porch of a house just outside downtown Martinsburg, so I unrolled my car window and snapped this funny photo before traffic caught up to me.

Downtown Martinsburg has a lot of to offer, but not many people were out and about on this cold November day. Still, I managed to check out a few shops before returning home. Here are some pictures.

Wide shot of Historic Old Town Martinsburg in the early morning.

A holiday window display.

Looks like this store is long closed.

Rooms of tribal masks in one of the antique stores. I collect masks, but resisted a buy this time.

Peppers followed me around in the antique store.

An elderly man talking to himself while riding his bike on the main street.

A glass store. I spoke to the woman at the checkout about the weather and Covid.

Lots of tattoo places around the area.

The backside of buildings off the main drag.

Birds flocking for food next to the private lot above.

Caught this antique store just before I left. Lots of great stuff to look at.

It's apparent in some of these photos that the economy has dealt a blow to this quaint little town. I'm sure the pandemic has not helped. But there are those small businesses that are making an effort to keep the spirit of the town alive, and I can only wish them well. I may return in the summer if I am nearby to see if things have picked up.

One more picture along the route. I could have pulled over dozens of times more to take photos.

The grass in this photo reminds me of Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World."

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