Because we had been to West Virginia before (See: West Virginia: Part 1), we didn’t need to spend much time to finish up our itinerary. We had planned to do the trip in one go but because of a family emergency, we had to cut our trip short.
I have always wanted to see some sort of road side largest whatnot…well turns out West Virginia has the World’s Largest Teapot! I was quite excited but also slightly disappointed because it wasn’t nearly as large as I thought it should be. It was raining and muddy but I still had to get a picture with it!
Our next stop was The Palace of Gold. Wow! This place was incredible! It was by far one of my favorite places we visited. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside because it is a temple but from looking at the outside, you can only imagine how gorgeous it was on the inside. We walked all around outside the temple while we waited for the next tour. We missed the tour by a few minutes but we enjoyed exploring while we waited.
Once you leave the tour of the temple you are encouraged to explore the property. They have peacocks and ducks and swans and large statues and there was a room we went into with people dancing and praying. It was an amazing experience. Allot a few hours for the Palace of Gold because I could have stayed here all day!
Next stop was a tour of West Virginia Penitentiary. This was a great tour, not only was it interesting but it was also informative. The woman that gave the tour was actually a guard when the prison was open. She told us fascinating stories!
The walls were full of intriguing artwork all done by the inmates.
We wanted to go into the Mothman Museum but sadly it was closed when we were there. We really needed to use the bathroom and my boyfriend wanted coffee but even the coffee shop across the street was closed. We weren’t sure why because it wasn’t a weird day or hour. We quickly took a picture of the Mothman Statue and went about our day.
Even though it was drizzling, we stopped at Ritter Park Garden. The pictures online were gorgeous so I was quite excited to go but sadly not much was bloomed yet even though we went in May. Through our disappointment, we laughed, took some pics and went to our airbnb for the night. I would recommend going here more towards July when the roses are in bloom.
The next day we started off our day with a tour at the Trans-Allegheny Asylum. The tour was very cool! We definitely lucked out with awesome tours this trip! It was extremely informative, sad, and creepy all at the same time. I highly recommend it. Allot a few hours. I believe the tour was around 2 hours and we had to wait about an hour for the tour to start.
After the tour we went to New River Bridge. It was gorgeous! My boyfriend was even able to find the way to get us to the bottom of the bridge. We saw it from above and below, which I recommend because both views were breath taking! Above the bridge, the clouds were dancing in the sky and coming in very quickly. It was cool to see! They felt so close.
We took a quick little trip to Grandview State Park Overlook. This literally took us about 10 minutes. We went, we saw, took pictures, and we left. It’s not something I highly recommend but it was cool if it’s on your way.
Babcock State Park was a beautiful sight. I could have stayed here all day and had a picnic. It’s quite picturesque. There were old men fishing, family’s playing in the grass, people taking pictures and drawing. It’s a peaceful place to hangout. I couldn’t stop staring at the mill. I wanted to take it all in. Something about it captivated me.
If you ever wanted to check out a fun roadside freak show, the Mystery Hole is the place to go! We weren’t allowed to take pictures or videos of the inside but I recommend going. It’s full of optical illusions that make your head spin- I literally left with a headache and feeling dizzy but it was worth it! Check it out if you dare!
On our last day in West Virginia, we took a tour of a Coal Mine. This was a very cool experience. It was interesting to learn about coal mining and the lives of the miners, especially because it is a big topic of discussion in the United States currently.
Well, I have now explored West Virginia twice and feel I experienced most of what West Virginia has to offer. Have you been to WV? If so, what did you like about it?