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| At Berkeley Springs Spa! |
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| 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:
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| 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:
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| Prospect Peak |
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| Overlook of Cacapon Valley |
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| Overlooking the site of the Civil War Battle of Great Cacapon |
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| 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...
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| Our Queen Deluxe Room |
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| The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs |
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| Old political cartoon... |
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| Old political cartoon... |
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| 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.
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| G&T and Great Music! |
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| YUM! Dinner and Music! |
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| 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!
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| Roman Gath House at Berkeley Springs State Park |
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| Berkeley Springs State Park |
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| "Taking The Waters"! |
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| At Berkeley Springs State Park |
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| George Washington's Bathtub! |
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| 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).
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| Honey-Ginger Bourbon |
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| Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board at The Naked Olive |
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| 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!
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| The Castle on the hill! |
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| Berkeley Castle |
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| The Gate of Berkeley Castle |
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| Outside Berkeley Castle |
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| The original Gate Post, now in the valley below |
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| 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!
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| Berkeley Springs Brewery |
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| 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!
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| At Cold Run Winery |
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| Cold Run Winery |
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| Sir John's Run |
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| 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!
