West Virginia Road Trip! Part 2: "Taking The Waters" at America's First Spa!

At Berkeley Springs Spa!

Live Music & Dinner!

West Virginia is open for business and #vacation #travel fun! Come on down!

NOTE: Due to possible COVID-19 restrictions, which seem to be changing daily, before you travel or book Anything, CALL every place you want to go and make SURE they are open and operating! I have included phone numbers for almost every place we went to and enjoyed in this post. Although I have also included website hotlinks, do NOT rely on websites and online reservation sites- they are often not kept up to date! Every place we stayed at was spotlessly clean, and we had NO negative issues whatsoever! Dan and I are not kids- he is 73, and I am 61- and we had a fabulous West Virginia getaway!

Part 2: "Taking the Waters" at America's First Spa in Berkeley Springs!

Our 9-night Road Trip loop thru West Virginia first took us from the Elkhorn Inn Theatre in the southern mountains of Landgraff, in McDowell County, up to Romney, in Hampshire County, to ride the Potomac Eagle Dinner Train (see this post: https://southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com/2020/07/west-virginia-road-trip-come-on-down.html). Then we drove a little farther north to Berkeley Springs, in Morgan County, to "take the waters" at America's First Spa!  Berkeley Springs is only about an hour north of Romney, and being a die-hard "spa babe", I have wanted to "take the waters" there Forever! Being history buffs, when Chef Dan and I do road trips we stop to read the historic signs we encounter along the way whenever we can, and we pulled over to see the cool 1932 Pinoak Fountain:

Pinoak Fountain

We also pulled over to see the gorgeous view looking down into the valley where the Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon took place in January, 1862:

Prospect Peak

Overlook of Cacapon Valley

Overlooking the site of the Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon

Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon

Berkeley Springs is known as "America's First Spa", as George Washington bathed there (as did we!), and it's the ONLY spa in a State Park! We stayed right next door to the spa- literally- at the historic, 1933 Country Inn of Berkeley Springs: https://www.thecountryinnwv.com/ Tel: (304) 258-1200, and it truly was one of the loveliest places we stayed on this trip. History buffs that we are, we chose to stay in their Queen Deluxe Room, which is pictured on their website: https://www.thecountryinnwv.com/queen-deluxe, in the historic main building, even though that meant walking upstairs; our room was lovely, I loved the old political cartoons they have framed in the hallway (which proved, conclusively, that nothing ever changes...), and I found an enjoyable 1930s book to read in their library: The Silver Flute, by Lida Larrimore... 

Our Queen Deluxe Room

The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs

Old political cartoon...

Old political cartoon...

Old political cartoon...

When I called to book and learned that they had live music the evening we arrived, I immediately made us reservations for 













dinner on their patio so we could enjoy the music- and it was great! The band was Matt Otis and the Sound www.mattotismusic.com from Pennsylvania, and it was standing room only, with every seat taken, as they have quite the fan base! They played a variety of music (the violinist is superb!), including covers of classic rock and their own songs, and they were so good that we bought two of their CDs! We had a great table outside right near the bandstand, and enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak and seared tuna, and several G&Ts, while listening to the music.

G&T  and Great Music!

YUM! Dinner and Music!

Music at night out on the Inn's Patio...

We went to the Berkeley Springs State Park https://wvstateparks.com/park/berkeley-springs-state-park/  Tel: (304) 258-2711 shortly after we arrived and checked into the hotel, literally walking next door, and it was SO cool! It was SO great to see families and children enjoying the waters, frolicking in the swimming pool, and taking in the historic sites, such as "George Washington's Bathtub", which I, of course, had to dip my feet in for a photo!

Roman Gath House at Berkeley Springs State Park

Berkeley Springs State Park

"Taking The Waters"!

At Berkeley Springs State Park

George Washington's Bathtub!

Our Private Bath at Berkeley Springs

Berkeley Springs is a mineral spa that has been in use since before colonial times. It's renowned for its warm spring water, which flows at a constant temperature of 74.3 degrees, and the park’s Old Roman and Main Bathhouses offer a wide selection of spa services, 














including massages, saunas, baths, and showers. Dan and I took a private room in the Roman Bath House for a ½ hour bath, soaking in the warm, relaxing water, and then we filled a gallon jug with drinking water from the outside taps at the “Gentleman's Spring”, before I went to dip my toes in George Washington's Bathtub! From the Park website: "Long before the first Europeans discovered the warm waters of Berkeley Springs, it was already a famous health mecca which attracted Native Americans from the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada and the Great Lakes to the Carolinas. Those first settlers, who came in 1730, learned the uses and value of the springs from the Native Americans and began spreading the word of its benefits throughout the settlements of the east. Perhaps the most notable and influential advocate of the curative powers of the springs was George Washington, who, at 16, visited them as a member of a survey party. As the party, which was surveying the western limits of Thomas Lord Fairfax's lands, camped there for the night, young Washington noted in his diary: "March 18th, 1748, We this day called to see Ye Fam'd Warm Springs". For many years afterwards, George Washington visited the springs regularly, and it was largely through his efforts that its fame as a health spa grew throughout the colonies. At the urging of the Colony of Virginia and in the public interest, Lord Fairfax conveyed his land holdings at the springs and fifty adjacent acres to the Colony of Virginia in 1776. Shortly thereafter, the land was offered for public sale. George Washington, three signers of the Declaration of Independence, four signers of the Constitution, seven members of the Continental Congress and five Revolutionary generals were among the prominent colonists who made initial purchases there. Hence, the spring's reputation as a health resort became firmly established. Borrowing the name of a famous counterpart in England, the General Assembly of Virginia formed the town of Bath on this location in 1776 and created a board of trustees to govern the new town. James Rumsey, who later invented the first successful steamboat, was then contracted to construct five bathhouses and several other public buildings. This officially established the springs as a resort facility". More interesting historic info on Berkeley Springs: https://berkeleysprings.com/oddities-and-legends/secret-destiny-of-berkeley-springs/ The Inn and Park are right in the middle of the downtown Historic District, and after we "took the waters", we found a GREAT bar with yummy, small foodie plates: The Naked Olive Lounge! https://www.nakedolivelounge.com/  Tel: 304-500-2668 The Lounge is chic, friendly, lively, and fun, and Dan and I shared a delicious Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board made with locally-smoked salmons; he had a glass of wine, while I had a yummy Honey Ginger Bourbon Cocktail. They also have The Naked Olive Shop  https://www.thenakedolive.com/ right next door, which sells a variety of fine olive oils, Balsamic Vinegars from Modena, Italy, and condiments, so of course we had to go in and buy some to take home, including Truffle and Pepper Oils, and their Blackberry Ginger Balsamic for cocktails! (Unfortunately, they can't do tastings at this time).

Honey-Ginger Bourbon

Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board at The Naked Olive

At The Naked Olive

The next day we went "sightseeing", stopping first outside the Berkeley Castle, which Dan actually bid on many years ago when it came up for auction! (At that time, the bidding opened at $10,000, LOL, and the castle sold for about 100K; it recently sold for $1.4 million...) Closed now to the public, it has a very interesting history, and I would have loved to see it inside, as Dan had, when it was still filled with the original furnishings- it even has a dungeon! Berkeley Castle is perched on a hill overlooking the town of Berkeley Springs, and was built back when the town was called Bath, after the town of the same name in England also famed for its waters, the name given to it by George Washington and pals when they formed a town around the springs in 1776. Bath is still the official name of the tiny municipality that surrounds the mineral springs, as well as the Historic District, which was established in 2009. The castle was designed in the English-Norman architectural style and built by Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit, who was quite a guy: a successful whiskey distiller, Civil War Veteran, honorary Kentucky colonel, and a wealthy, well-connected landowner, businessman, and politician. He built it between 1885 and 1891, entirely for love... and then his widow partied hearty and lost it all... From https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/west-virginia/medieval-castle-wv/ :

“Suit, a veteran of the Civil War, met 17-year-old Rosa Pelham, the daughter of a congressman, when he was 46. He fell in love with her and proposed marriage. She refused, and the two parted ways. Five years later, the two ran into each other once again, and once again he proposed marriage. This time she accepted, perhaps due to his solemn pledge to build her a castle in the town of Bath. Later that day, the couple walked up the hill to Warm Springs Ridge and decided it was the perfect spot to build their castle. So, Suit purchased the land and married Rosa a few days later. Construction began in 1885 by 100 German masons. Each stone was hand cut from the silica sandstone mined in the area. It took them until 1891 to complete the castle. Unfortunately, Suit did not live to see his vision completed. He died just short of the castle's completion in 1891. As stipulated in his will, in order for Rosa to receive her inheritance, she must see the castle to completion. So that is exactly what she did. The elite of high society would come to the castle from D.C. and around the country. Each event had a full orchestra and catering. She would even rent entire train cars to bring people in, and further pay for hotels and spas in which they could stay, sometimes for longer than a week. This lavish spending eventually caught up with her, and she was broke by the time she was 50 years old. As a result, the castle was sold at a public auction in 1909, and Rosa moved to a small cottage to raise chickens”. You can't make this stuff, up, kids!    

The Castle on the hill!

Berkeley Castle

The Gate of Berkeley Castle

Outside Berkeley Castle

The original Gate Post, now in the valley below

Dan at the castle he once bid on!

We then Had to go to the Berkeley Springs Brewery: https://www.berkeleyspringsbrewingcompany.com/  Tel: (304) 258-3369 for a beer sampler, as all their beers are made with that special Berkeley Springs spa water, and I just Had to try them! All the beers we tried were tasty, and some of the names were hilarious- such as "Her Dirty Bathwater"! If we can get back, I would Really like to try their Boozy Brisket on a Brioche Bun, and Beer Cocktails! 

Berkeley Springs Brewery

Berkeley Springs Brewery Beer Sampler

We then discovered a winery- the Cold Run Valley Winery- which makes fruit wines from fruits grown on their farm: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cold-Run-Valley-Winery-104159694368012  Tel: (304) 258-2828 Dale Carlisle, the owner, gave us a tasting of all their wines, and we bought their yummy Strawberry, Blueberry, and Apple-Blueberry-Strawberry wines to take home! 

At Cold Run Winery

Cold Run Winery

Sir John's Run

overs Leap!

Next: WV Road Trip, Part 3: To Shinnston, to meet Punjab the Camel!  West Virginia is open for business-, and #vacation #travel fun! Come on down!