Since the island can only be accessed through the ferry, there is a notable absence of cars, and a subsequent replacement with electric golf carts, throughout this true cape village. However, this allows for the kind of quiet and reflection one does not typically find in such a stunning environment. Walk along the 14 miles of pristine beaches that make their way around Cape Fear, or head out for a fishing, canoeing, kayaking adventure on the tidal creeks and salt marsh that lie along the north side of the island. You never need to worry about the crowds that typically plague such notoriously beautiful areas since the seclusion of this island makes it a well kept vacation secret.

Once you experience the allure that is Bald Head Island, you will want to come back year after year. Many visitors fear that any area with such breathtaking surroundings is bound to be run over with real estate developments and swarms of people overtaking the miles of beaches. Of the 12,000 acres that constitute the island, however, 10,000 of them are protected as nature preserves, meaning they will always remain in their natural, and beautiful, state.

When you want to get back to nature, Bald Head Island offers more than the typical beach and water activities. You can find a maritime forest, rare in any part of the country, in the middle of the island that is ripe with a variety of trees, including cedars, live oaks, junipers, dogwoods, and yaupons. Take a mid-afternoon stroll along the walking path as you soak in the smells of this dense forest, keeping an eye open for any animals that may scurry along nearby.

In addition to the forest, the M. Kent Mitchell Nature Trail provides even more amazing views of nature while also educating visitors about the native plant species. The trail starts on the edge of the forest, makes it way next to the salt marsh, and takes tourists over a tidal creek so they can view firsthand some of the best aspects of the island. Along the trail, the diverse plant life is labeled, allowing visitors to recognize plants they may have never seen before.

Since every active vacationer needs a rejuvenating meal after a long day of swimming in the ocean, playing on the beach, or venturing through the forest, Bald Head Island offers something to appease everyone’s tastes. For fine dining to simply toast the most reinvigorating vacation of your life, head over to the Bald Head Island Club Restaurant, where you will find an extensive wine collection, premium steaks, regional seafood, and a comely atmosphere. If you prefer more casual dining that centers around the magnificent view, make your way to Eb & Flo’s. Enjoy your delicious seafood dinner outside as the warmth of the night settles upon you after an exciting day of adventure.

Visiting Bald Head Island is meant to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience that allows you to escape from the stresses of everyday life. To get the most out of your trip, stay in a Bald Head Island vacation rental that sits along a white sandy beach and has an unobstructed view of the ocean. You can sit on the porch at the end of the day, and listen to the sound of the waves crashing ashore while enjoying a thoughtful conversation with a loved one. Make your way back to the beach to watch the sunset from the sand, and then take the short walk back to your vacation rental so you can rest for another full day’s activities. Whatever you have planned for your trip, your vacation home will make it easy to enjoy all this pristine village has to offer.

Vacation time is here! Pack up your clothes. Pack up your shoes. Pack up your toothbrush, toothpaste, and some sunscreen. And, of course, don’t forget to pack the most important thing of all: your golf bag. Welcome to Golf Vacation 101. Let’s take a look at some things to consider when planning the golf vacation of your dreams.

Well, we may as well get the bad stuff taken out of the way first and confront question number one:

How much vacation money do you have saved?
I know, I know… you probably don’t have a fortune saved up for your golf vacation. After all, you just finished paying for a new Hybrid club and then there were those Christmas presents you had to buy a few months ago…

But whatever the case – no matter how much money you do or don’t have – you can find a golf vacation that’s just right for you. If you do happen to have a lot to spend to get away, you would be wise to go where the warm weather beckons golfers from all across the world. How about the southern United States? California? The Virgin Islands? Hawaii? Why, you could see a volcano or three while you tee up on the green.

But if you don’t have the funds available for extravagant vacations such as these, (remember, not only do you have to pay golf fees, but you must also cover hotel stay, transportation, food, and other activities) you could take a much cheaper vacation. If you live on the East Coast of the United States, you could drive yourself and a few friends to a golf club a few hours south to play for a few days. Granted, it may not be a resort-like atmosphere, but if you are there strictly for the golf, that shouldn’t even matter!

Are you bringing non-golfers on your trip?
If you are bringing along girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, or family members who don’t want to golf but who do want to get away with you, you should try to chose a golf place that is close to other attractions such as shopping malls, amusement parks, movie theatres, or beaches. Many golf resorts even offer packages that allow you and your guests to ‘stay and play’. Most of these resorts offer packages to save you money on room and greens fees. Look at all of the ins and outs and read between the fine lines of the packages you are looking into before making a final decision about which place to choose. This way, you won’t be the only one who gets to have fun on the vacation. And, while your family stays entertained, this makes more and more time for you to tee up!

Is your potential vacation course challenging enough for you?
If you are concerned about having an overly difficult or not-difficult-enough course to play on while you vacation, realize that most golf resorts offer a variety of courses available to choose from. After all, these places realize that all golfers have different abilities, likes, and dislikes. If you are very concerned though, it never hurts to speak with people from the resort by phone, or even talk to past guests that you know stayed in the same place. A little opinion can go a far way!

Finally, make sure that you enjoy your vacation and your golf. Typically vacation time comes around only once a year for most people. So make the most of your fun in the sun!

Challenge:
Perhaps the most basic consideration when choosing destinations and courses is the difficulty level of the courses you’re considering. Generally speaking, many fine golf destinations have a variety of courses available, which will allow golfers of various abilities to enjoy themselves, so this factor may impact more which courses you choose rather than which destination you decide upon.

Weather, Seasons, and Related Concerns:
On the flip side, if you or your group eats, sleeps and plays golf while traveling, assuming the handicap and letter of introduction requirements do not pose a problem, traveling to the U.K. during the summer months can be a golfer’s dream, since the sun in that part of the world does not set until as late as 10 or 11 p.m. and rises again by 4 or 5 a.m. This allows for 36 holes a day, with daylight to spare for other activities.

Off Season?
Many golf travelers like to save money by traveling off-season. This is a great idea, provided they’ve thought about the drawbacks as they pertain to them. Some golfers don’t mind playing in the rain, heat, or the wind, and their or their companions’ age or health is not a factor. For example, prices are down sharply in Florida and Palm Springs during the summer months – for those who can stand the heat (and in the case of Florida, the humidity).

Other Activities:
What else is there besides golf? And does it matter for your purposes? As mentioned above, weather can cause you to reconsider your plans to play, and even the hardiest players are occasionally faced with course closings due to weather. If this happens, you may be stuck with very little to do. Or, you may be traveling with a family, spouse, or others who do not play, in which case you will need to be sure there’s plenty for everyone to do.

How Many Courses Do You Need?
Another factor worth considering is the amount of time you have to play, and how many courses you have the time and desire to play. For a weekend getaway, you might consider a destination with only one or a few courses – a destination that otherwise would prove unsuitable for a weeklong excursion. Bald Head Island, North Carolina, for example, is a wonderful private island destination where the only mode of transportation is golf carts. It’s a fine, quiet place to relax for adults or families, with terrific beaches, a couple of restaurants, and nice accommodations consisting mainly of rental houses and a couple of bed and breakfasts. The island has only one golf course (albeit an excellent one), although you can take the ferry to the mainland (where you will have parked your car) to take advantage of the hundreds of courses in nearby Myrtle Beach, SC and Brunswick, NC – all within about a half hour’s drive.

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1. Introduction

West Virginia, endlessly covered with forests and known as the “Mountain State,” offers breathtaking scenery, natural resource-related sights, and year-round, outdoor activities.

Once rich in coal and timber, it was shaped by the mines and logging railroads which extracted them, but when decades of removal began to deplete these commodities, their rolling, green-carpeted mountains yielded secondary byproducts—namely, hiking, biking, fishing, rafting, climbing, and hunting to tourists and sports enthusiasts alike.  Its New River Gorge, which offers many similar activities, is equally beautiful with its rugged banks and azure surfaces, while the principle city of Charleston, revitalized during the 1970s and 1980s, now features museums, art, shopping malls, restaurants, and world-class performance venues.

2. Charleston

Located on the Kanawha River, and sporting an easily negotiable street grid system, it is subdivided into the Capitol Complex and the downtown area with the East End Historic District linking the two.

From the former, which is the heart of state government, juts the ubiquitously visible, gold-domed Capitol Building itself.  Constructed of buff Indiana limestone and 4,640 tons of steel, which themselves required the temporary laying of a spur rail line to transport them, the building had been laid in three stages during an eight-year period: 1924 to 1925 for the west wing, 1926 to 1927 for the east wing, and 1930 to 1932 for the connecting rotunda.  It was officially dedicated by Governor William G. Conley on June 20, 1932, on the occasion of West Virginia’s 69th birthday as a state.

Its gold dome, which extends five feet higher than that of the Capitol in Washington, is gilded in 23 ½-karat gold leaf, applied between 1988 and 1991 as tiny squares to cover the otherwise copper and lead surface.

Two-thirds of its interior, which encompasses 535,000 square feet subdivided into 333 rooms, is comprised of Italian travertine, imperial derby, and Tennessee marble, and the chandelier in the rotunda, its center piece, is made of 10,180 pieces of Czechoslovakian crystal illuminated by 96 light bulbs.  Weighing 4,000 pounds, it hangs from a 54-foot brass and bronze chain.

Across from the State Capitol, but still within the complex, is the West Virginia Cultural Center.  Opened in 1976 and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, it was created to showcase the state’s artistic, cultural, and historical heritage, and houses the West Virginia State Museum, the archives and history library, a gift shop, and a venue for cultural events, performances, and related programs.

The former, a collection of items which represents the state’s land, people, and culture, is subdivided into 24 significant scenes covering five periods: Prehistory (3 million years BC to 1650 AD), Frontier (1754-1860), the Civil War and the 35th State (1861 to 1899), Industrialization (1900 to 1945), and Change and Tradition (1954 to the 21st  century).  The 24 representations themselves trace the state’s evolution and include such periods as “Coal Forest,” “River Plains,” “Wilderness,” “The Fort,” “Harper’s Ferry,” “Building the Rails,” “Coal Mine,” “Main Street, West Virginia,” and “New River Gorge.”

Thirteen monuments, memorials, and statues honoring West Virginians for their contributions to the state and the nation grace the Capitol Complex’s landscaped grounds.

Culture can also be experienced at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, a modern, 240,000-square-foot, three-level complex which opened on July 12, 2003 and represents one of the most ambitious economic, cultural, and educational projects in West Virginia’s history.  Offering sciences, visual arts, and performing arts under a single roof, the center houses the dual-level Avampato Discovery Museum, an interactive, youth-oriented experience with sections such as Health Royale, KidSpace, Earth City, and Gizmo Factory.  A 9,000-square-foot Art Gallery, located on the second floor, features both temporary and permanent exhibits, the latter emphasizing 19th and 20th century art by names such as Andy Warhol, Stuart Davis, Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Vida Frey, and Albert Paley.  The ElectricSky Theater, a 61-foot domed planetarium, offers daily astronomy shows and wide screen presentations.  Live performances are staged in two locations: the 1,883-seat Maier Foundation Performance Hall, which is home to the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, but otherwise offers a variety of performance types, from comedy to popular singers, bands, repertory, and Broadway plays, and the 200-seat Walker Theater, which features plays and dances with cabaret-style seating for the Woody Hawley singer-songwriter program.  The Douglas V. Reynolds Intermezzo Café and three classrooms are located on the lower level.

Shopping can be done at two major venues.  The Charleston Town Center Mall, located adjacent to the Town Center Marriott and Embassy Suites Hotel, and near the Civic Center, is a one million square foot, tri-level complex with more than 130 stores, three anchor department stores, six full-service restaurants, and a food court with ten additional fast food venues, and is accessed through three convenient parking garages.  Sporting a three-story atrium and fountain, the upscale, Kanawha Valley complex was the largest urban shopping center east of the Mississippi River when it opened in 1983.

The Capitol Market, located on Capitol and Sixth Streets in the restored and converted, 1800s Kanawha and Michigan Railroad depot, is subdivided into both in- and outdoor markets, the latter of which can only be used by bonafide farmers and receives daily, fresh, seasonal deliveries, usually consisting of flowers, shrubs, and trees in the spring; fruits and vegetables in the summer; pumpkins, gourds, and cornstalks in the fall; and Christmas trees, wreaths, and garlands in the winter.  The indoor market sells seafood, cheeses, and wines, and offers several small food stands and a full-service Italian restaurant.

An evening can be spent at the TriState Racetrack and Gaming Center.  Located a 15-minute drive from Charleston in Cross Lanes, the venue offers 90,000 square feet of gaming entertainment, inclusive of more than 1,300 slot machines, live racing, a poker room, blackjack, roulette, and craps, and four restaurants: the French Quarter Restaurant and Bar, the First Turn Restaurant, the Café Orleans, and Crescent City.  The adjacent, Mardi Gras-style hotel was completed in 2010.

3. Potomac Highlands       

The Potomac Highlands, located in the eastern portion of the state on the Allegheny Plateau, is a tapestry of diverse geographic regions and covers eight counties.  Alternatively designated “Mountain Highlands,” it had been formed some 250 million years ago when the North American and African continental collision had produced a single, uplifted mass.  Subjected to millennia of wind- and water-caused erosion, it resulted in successive valleys and parallel ridges, and today the area encompasses two national forests: Canaan Valley, the highest east of the Mississippi River, and Spruce Knob, at 4,861 feet, West Virginia’s highest point.  Its green-covered mountains yielded abundant timber, the logging railroads necessary to harness it, two premier ski resorts, and a myriad of outdoor sports and activities.

The Potomac Highlands can be subdivided into the Tygart Valley, Seneca Rocks, Canaan Valley, and Big Mountain Country.

A. Tygart Valley

The town of Elkins, located in the Tygart Valley, is the transportation, shopping, and social center of the east central Appalachian Mountains and serves as a base for Potomac Highland excursions.

Established in 1890 by Senators Henry Gassaway Davis and Stephen. B. Elkins, his son-in-law and business partner, it originated as a shipping hub for their coal, timber, and railroad empire, the latter the result of their self-financed construction of the West Virginia Central Railroad, whose track stretched between Cumberland, Maryland, and Elkins, and served as the threshold to some of the world’s richest timber and mineral resources.

The town, serving the needs of the coal miners, loggers, and railroad workers, sprouted central maintenance shops and steadily expanded, peaking in 1920, before commencing a resource depletion-caused decline, until the last train, carrying coal and timber products to the rest of the country, departed the depot in 1959.

The tracks lay barren and unused for almost half a century until 2007, when the newly-established Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad again resurrected them—and the town—transporting the first tourists for scenic-ride purposes and resparking a slow growth cycle with a subsequently built restaurant and live theater in its historic Elkins Railyard and additional hotels nearby.  Consistently ranked as one of the country’s best small art towns, it is once again the service hub of the Mountain Highlands, reverting to its original purpose of providing hotel, restaurant, shop, and entertainment services, but now to a new group—tourists.

The railroad remains its focus.  The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad offers three departures from the Elkins depot.  The first of these, the “New Tygart Flyer,” is a four-hour, 46-mile round-trip run which plunges through the Cheat Mountain Tunnel, passes the towns of Bowdon and Bemis, parallels the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River, and stops at the horseshoe-shaped High Falls of Cheat, during which time it serves an enroute, buffet luncheon.  Upgraded table service is available in 1922-ear deluxe Pullman Palace cars for a slightly higher price.

The “Cheat Mountain Salamander” is a nine-hour, 128-mile round-trip to Spruce, and includes a buffet lunch and dinner, while the “Mountain Express Dinner Train” mimics the New Tygart Flyer’s route, but features a four-course meal in a formally set dining car.

The Railyard Restaurant, sandwiched between the Elkins depot and the American Mountain Theater, provides all on board meals.  Emulating the depot itself with its exterior brick construction, the .5 million, 220-seat restaurant, leased to the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, serves family-style cuisine on its main level and upscale dinners in its second-floor Vista Dome Dining Room, its menus inspired by railroad car fare from the 1920s to the 1940s.  It toted the opening slogan of, “Take the track to the place with exceptional taste.”

The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad’s Rails and Trails Gift Shop is located on its main level.

Continuing the historic, red brick exterior, the adjacent American Mountain Theater, founded in 2003 by Elkins native and RCA recording artist, Susie Heckel, traces its origins to a variety show performed for tourists at a different location.  But increasing demand merited the November, 2006, ground-braking for a .7 million, 12,784-square-foot, 525-seat structure with aid from her sister, Beverly Sexton, and her husband, Kenny, who owned the Ozark Mountain Hoe-Down Theater in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Opening the following July, the theater offered family-oriented, Branson-style entertainment performed by a nine-member cast, with Kenny Sexton serving as its president and producer and Beverly writing the score.  Two-hour evening shows include comedy, impressions, and country, gospel, bluegrass, and pop music.

Davis and Elkins College, located only a few blocks from the Historic Railyard, shares the same founders as the town of Elkins itself—namely, Senators Henry Gassaway Davis and Stephen B. Elkins.  Established in 1901 when they donated land and funding to create a college associated with the Presbyterian Church, it was originally located south of town.  Its Board of Trustees first met the following year and classes were first held on September 21, 1904.

Today, the coeducational, liberal arts college, located on a 170-acre hilled, wooded campus with views of the Appalachian Mountains, is comprised of 22 new and historic buildings in two sections—the north, which stretches to the athletic fields and the front campus, which is located on a ridge overlooking Elkins.  Thirty associate and baccalaureate arts, sciences, pre-professional, and professional degree programs are offered to a 700-student base.

One of its historic buildings is Graceland Inn.  Designed by the Baltimore architectural firm of Baldwin and Pennington, the castle-like, Queen Anne-style mansion, originally located on a 360-acre farm, was completed in 1893.  Initially called “Mingo Moor,” and intermittently “Mingo Hall” after the area south of Elkins, the estate served as the summer residence of Senator Davis, who regularly transported a train of invited friends and associates during July and August so that they could escape the Washington heat and enjoy Elkins’ higher-elevation, cooler temperatures.

The estate was ultimately renamed “Graceland” after Davis’ youngest daughter, Grace.  Following his wife’s death in 1902, he continued to conduct business from offices inside it, while Grace herself resided there during the summer months with her family.

The estate was finally ceded to her own children, Ellen Bruce Lee and John A. Kennedy, its last two owners.

Acquired by the West Virginia Presbyterian Education Fund in 1941, it was used as a male residence hall by the college until 1970, whereafter it was closed.  Restored during the mid-1990s, it subsequently reopened as an historic country inn and as a dynamic learning lab for hospitality students.

Overlooking the town of Elkins, on the Davis and Elkins College campus, Graceland Inn, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, features a two-story great hall richly decorated with hardwoods, such as quartered oak, bird’s eye maple, cherry, and walnut, a grand staircase, a parlor, a library, and its original stained glass windows.  The Mingo Room Restaurant, reflecting the mansion’s initial designation and open to the public, is subdivided into four small rooms lined with red oak and fireplaces and an outdoor verandah, and eleven guest rooms, located on the second and third floors and named after prominent family members, contain antiques, Victorian reproductions, turrets, canopy beds, sleigh beds, armoires, marble bathrooms, and claw foot tubs.

Graceland Inn, the David and Elkins College, the town of Elkins itself, the historic depot and railyard, their tracks, and the Appalachian Mountain’s coal and timber resources are all inextricably tied to the town’s past–and its future.

B. Seneca Rocks

“Seneca Rocks” designates both a region of the Potomac Highlands and the outcroppings after which that region is named.

Resembling a razor back, or shark’s fin, and located at the confluence of the Seneca Creek and the North Fork South Branch Potomac River, the 250-foot-thick, 900-foot-high Seneca Rocks, accessible by West Virginia Route 28, were formed 400 million years ago during the Silurian Period in an extensive sand shoal at the edge of the ancient Iapetus Ocean.  As the seas decreased in size, the rock uplifted and folded, erosion ultimately wearing away its upper surface and leaving the arching folds and craggy profile they exhibit today.

Made of white and gray tuscarora quartzite, the formation features both a north and south peak, with a notch separating the two.

The current Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, which replaced the original visitor’s center, features relief models of the area, films, interpretive programs, and a bookshop.

A path leads to the Sites Homestead, part of the center.  Constructed in 1839 by William Sites as a single-room log cabin below Seneca Rocks Ridge, it is typical of then-current Appalachian homes whose German Blockbau-style featured square logs and v-notched corner joints spread apart by stone and clay chinks.  Its small casement windows were equally of German origin, while its “hall and parlor” floor plan reflected English style.  Chimney location indicated house location: northern-style dwellings incorporated internal ones and southern style homes sported external ones.

In the late-1860s, one of Sites’ sons expanded the homestead, adding a second floor, and, after use as a hay barn, the Forest Service purchased it in 1969, restoring it during the 1980s.  In 1993, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The greater Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, offering significant outdoor sports opportunities, contains a key portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, whose mountains and forests collect water which then flows into the Potomac River and the bay itself.  Acting as a cleansing and filtering mechanism, its headwater forests purify the water before it reaches the streams.  Spruce Knob is both the highest point in the Chesapeake Watershed and the entire state of West Virginia.

Aside from facilitating water, the area has provided sustenance to humans, who first lived in Native American villages within its mountains, and then created farming settlements and logging camps, extracting its resources and supporting life for some 13,000 years.  Today, it is home to 15 million people.

The Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area itself is part of the much larger Monongahela National Forest.  Established in 1920 with an initial 7,200 acres, the present 910,155-acre forest contains the headwaters of the Monongahela, Potomac, Greenbrier, Elk, Tygart, and Gauley Rivers; five federally-designated “wildernesses”—Dolly Sods, Outer Creek, Laurel Fork North, Laurel Fork South, and Cranberry—whose very remote and primitive areas only offer lower-standard trail markings; and four lakes.

A Mecca for outdoor sports enthusiasts, the national forest features 169 hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails which cover more than 800 miles, 576 miles of trout streams, 129 miles of warm-water fishing, 23 campgrounds, 17 picnic areas, and wildlife viewing of black bear, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, gray fox, rabbits, snowshoe hare, grouse, and woodcock.

C. Canaan Valley

Blanketed with bigtooth aspen, balsam fir, and spruce, Canaan Valley, stretching 14 miles, is the highest such valley east of the Mississippi River, its namesake mountain separating it from the Blackwater River and creating a deep, narrow canyon in the Allegheny Plateau.

The pristinely beautiful area encompasses two state parks—Canaan Valley Resort and Black Water Falls State Parks; two ski areas—again Canaan Valley Resort and Timberline Four Seasons Resort; and the nation’s 500th wildlife refuge.

Natural sports abound: hiking, horseback riding, fishing, golfing, swimming, rafting, and interpretive nature walking during the summer, and skiing, snowboarding, and tubing during the winter.

Nucleus of most of this is 6,000-acre Canaan Valley Resort State Park, which encompasses 18 miles of trails, wetlands, open meadows, northern hardwood forests, wildlife, 200 species of birds, and 600 types of wildflowers.

Canaan Valley Resort, located within the park, offers 250 modern guest rooms, 23 two-, three-, and four-bedroom mountain cabins with fireplaces and full kitchens, 34 paved, wooded campsites with full hook-ups, and six lounges and restaurants, including the Hickory Dining Room in the main lodge.

Its 4,280-foot mountain, whose longest run is 1.25 miles and whose vertical drop is 850 feet, features one quad and two triple lifts, and 11 trails for night skiing.  Its winter activities, like those of the extended Canaan Valley, include skiing, snowboarding, airboarding, tubing, snowshoeing, and ice skating, while summer programs include scenic chairlift rides, guided walks, golf, tennis, and hiking.

D. Big Mountain Country

Big Mountain County, location of West Virginia’s second-highest peak, serves as the birthplace of eight rivers—the Greenbier, Gauley, Cheat, Cherry, Elk, Williams, Cranberry, and Tygart—while its Seneca State Forest, which borders the former in Pocahontas County, is the state’s oldest.  An interesting array of sights include steam-powered logging railroads, astronomical observatories, preserved towns, a premier ski resort, and their associated assortment of outdoor sports and activities.

The Durbin and Greenbier Valley Railroad’s fourth excursion train, the “Durbin Rocket,” departs from the town of Durbin itself, located some 40 miles from Elkins.

Powered by a 55-ton steam engine built for the Moore-Keppel Lumber Company in nearby Randolph County, and one of only three remaining geared Climax logging locomotives, the train makes a two-hour, 11-mile round-trip run along the Greenbier River and through the Monongahela National Forest as far as Piney Island, where the rental “castaway caboose” is disconnected and pushed onto a very short spur track for a one or more night stay.

The ultra-modern, high-tech National Radio Astronomy Observatory, located a short distance away in Green Bank, offers an opportunity to learn about radio wave astronomy.

Designing, building, and operating the world’s most advanced and sophisticated radio telescopes, the observatory produces images of celestial bodies, such as planets, stars, and galaxies, millions of light-years away by recording their radio omission quantities.

The Green Bank Science Center, nucleus of this experience, features a museum which introduces the science of radio astronomy, radio waves, telescope operation, and what is being learned through them about the universe; the Galaxy Gift Shop; the Starlight Café; and the departure point for the escorted bus tour of the facility, prior to which an introductory film and lecture are presented in the theater.

The tour’s highlight is the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), designed when the previous 300-foot device collapsed in 1988 and Congress was forced to appropriate emergency funds to design it.

Dedicated on August 25, 2000, after a nine-year development period, it is 485 feet tall, is comprised of 2,004 panels, has a 100-by-110 meter diameter, a 2.3 acre surface area, and weighs 17 million pounds.  The world’s largest, fully maneuverable telescope with a computer-controlled reflecting surface, it is functionally independent of the sun, permitting 24-hour-per-day operation, and receives wavelengths which vary between 1/8th of an inch to nine feet.

Initially employed in conjunction with the Arecibo Observatory to produce images of Venus, it later detected three new pulsars (spinning neutron stars) in the Messier 62 region.

A 15-minute drive from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory is another significant sight, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.

Tracing its origins to 1899 when John G. Luke acquired more than 67,000 acres of red spruce in an area which ultimately developed into the town of Cass, it became the headquarters of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.  The town, supporting the workforce needed to convert the raw resources into finished products, sprouted shops, services, houses, a sawmill, tracks, and a railroad to haul the timber.

Instrumental to the operation had been the Shay, or similarly-designed Climax and Heisler steam locomotives, whose direct gearing delivered positive control and more even power, allowing them to ply often temporarily-laid tracks, steep grades, and hairpin turns, all the while pulling heavy, freshly-felled timber loads.  The Western Maryland #6, at 162 tons, was the last, and heaviest, Shay locomotive ever built.  The railroad inaugurated its first service in 1901.

During two 11-hour, six-day-per-week shifts, the town’s mill was able to cut more than 125,000 board feet of lumber per shift and dry 360,000 per run with its 11 miles of steam pipes, adding up to 1.5 million board feet cut per week and 35 million per year.  After 40 years of milling at Cass and Spruce, more than two billion board feet of lumber and paper had been produced.

Operating until 1943, the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company sold the enterprise to the Mower Lumber Company, which maintained it for another 17 years, at which time it was closed and purchased by the state of West Virginia, in 1961.

The railroad and the town of Cass, which remain virtually unchanged, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Aside from the historic buildings, there are several other attractions.  Connected to the large Cass Company Store is the railroad-themed Last Run Restaurant.  Turn-of-the-century logging can be gleaned at the Cass Historical Museum.  The Shay Railroad Shop, having once housed coal bins, offers additional books and crafts for sale.  The metal, Cass Showcase building above it, having stored hay to feed horse teams, features an introductory film and an HO-scale train and town layout reflecting their 1930s appearance.

Escorted walking tours of Cass, usually conducted in the afternoon after the trains have returned from their daily excursions, offer insight into what it had been like to live and work in a turn-of-the-century company town, while the Locomotive Repair Shop tour includes visits to the Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association’s shop, the sawmill area, and a look at Shay and Climax locomotive maintenance and repair.

An excursion on the Cass Scenic Railroad itself, which commenced tourist rides in 1963 and is therefore the longest-running scenic rail journey in the country, is a living history experience.  Pulled by one of the original Shay or Climax steam locomotives, the train accommodates passengers in equally authentic logging cars which have been converted to coaches with wooden, bench-like seats and roofs, while a single enclosed car, offering reserved seating, sports booth-like accommodation and is designated “Leatherbark Creek.”

All trains depart from Cass’s reconstructed depot, at a 2,456-foot elevation, climbing Leatherneck Run, negotiating 11-percent grades, maneuvering and reversing through a lower and upper switchback, and arriving at Whittaker Station, which features a snack stand, views of the eastern West Virginia mountains, and a reconstructed, 1946 logging camp.  The eight-mile round-trip back to Cass requires two hours. 

A four-and-a-half hour, 22-mile round-trip continues up Back Allegheny Mountain, passing Old Spruce and the Oats Creek Water Tank, and plying track laid by the Mower Lumber company, before reaching 4,842-foot Bald Knob, West Virginia’s third-highest peak.

Limited runs are also offered to Spruce, an abandoned logging town on the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River.  This train also transits Whittaker Station.

Although not affiliated with the Cass Scenic Railroad, the Boyer Station Restaurant, located six miles from Green Bank on Route 28, offers inexpensive, home-cooked, country-style meals amidst railroad décor with wooden, rail depot-reminiscent tables and benches, train and logging memorabilia, and large-scale, track-mounted model railroads.  It is part of a 20-room motel and campground complex.

Winter sports account for a significant portion of the Big Mountain Country’s offerings.  Ten miles from Cass Scenic Railroad State Park is Snowshoe Mountain.

Located in the bowl-shaped convergence of Cheat and Back Allegheny Mountain at the head of the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River, the area, striped of trees by logging between 1905 and 1960, had been discovered by Thomas Brigham, a North Carolina dentist, who had previously opened the Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain Ski Resorts.

Reflecting European style, Snowshoe Village is located on the mountain’s summit and offers 1,400 hotel and condominium rooms, restaurants, shops, services, and entertainment.  The 244-acre resort, which combines the Snowshoe and Silver Creek areas, has a 3,348-foot base; a 4,848-foot summit, making it the highest such ski resort in the mid-Atlantic and southeast; 14 chairlifts; 60 runs, of which the longest is 1.5 miles; and 1,500-foot vertical drops at Cupp Run and Shay’s Revenge.  Average snowfall is 180 inches.  Spring, summer, and fall activities include golf, boating, bicycling, climbing, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking, skating, and swimming.

The extended area’s Seneca State Forest, named after the Native Americans who had once roamed the land, borders the Greenbier River in Pocahontas County and contains 23 miles of forest, 11,684 acres of woodlands, a four-acre lake for boating and trout, largemouth bass, and bluegill fishing, hiking tails, pioneer cabins, and rustic campsites.

4. New River-Greenbrier Valley

The New River-Greenbrier Valley region of West Virginia is topographically diverse and ruggedly beautiful.

Split by the Gauley River, its northern section is comprised of a rugged plateau in which is nestled the calm, azure Summersville Lake, while mountainous ridgelines, affording extensive interior coal mining, are characteristic of its central region.  Horse and cattle grazing is prevalent on the flat farm expanses which intersperse the eastern edge’s lush, green mountain plateau, divided by the Greenbrier River, the largest, untamed water channel in the eastern United States, which flows through it.  Its southern region is a jigsaw puzzle of omni-directional ridgelines and very narrow valleys.

New and Bluestone River-formed gorges provide a wealth of rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, and white water rafting opportunities in this region of the state.

The area’s most prominent, and beautiful, topographical feature is the New River Gorge National River.  Flowing from below Bluestone Dam, near Hinton, to the north of the US Highway 19 bridge near Fayetteville, it dissects all the physiographic provinces of the Appalachian Mountains.  A rugged, white water river, and among the oldest in North America, it flows northward through steep canyons and geological formations.  Approximately 1,000 feet separate its bottom from its adjacent plateau.  On July 30, 1998, it was named an American Heritage River, one of 14 waterways so designated.

Its related park encompasses 70,000 acres.

Signature of the New River Gorge National Park is its New River Gorge Bridge.  Completed on October 22, 1977 at a million cost, the dual-hinged, steel arch bridge is 3,030 feet long, 69.3 feet wide, and has an 876-foot clearance.  Carrying the four lanes of US Route 19, it was then the world’s longest, and is currently the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas and the second highest in the world after the Millau Viaduct in France.  Its longest single span, between arches, is 1,700 feet.

There are three related visitor centers and vantagepoints.  The Canyon Rim Visitor Center, located two miles north of Fayetteville on Route 19, offers exhibits, films, interpretive programs, trails, and a scenic overlook, while the Grandview Center is located in Thurmond off of Interstate 64 on Route 25.  The park’s headquarters are in Glen Jean.  

Fayetteville is the hub for New River Gorge kayaking and white water rafting.

Coal, as synonymous with West Virginia as logging, is an industry the tourist should experience sometime during his visit.  The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, located in the city of the same name, offers just such an opportunity.

A 1,400-square-foot Company Store, coal museum, fudgery, and gift shop serves as a visitor’s center and threshold to the sight’s two major components.  A coal camp, the first of these, depicts 20th-century life in a typical coal town, represented by several relocated and restored buildings.

Plying 1,500 feet of underground passages in the 36-inch, Phillips-Sprague Seam Mine, which had been active between 1883 and 1953, track-guided “man-cars” driven by authentic miners, encompass the complex’s second component and make periodic stops in the cold, damp, and dark passage to discuss and illustrate the advancement of mining techniques.  The rock duster, for example, ensured that coal dust would not explode deep in the mine.  Strategically positioned roof bolts avoided cave-ins.  Pumps extracted water.  Dangerously low oxygen levels dictated immediate evacuation.

Coal had fueled the world’s steam engines for industrial plants and rail and sea transportation.

The Phillips-Sprague Mine is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

5. Conclusion

West Virginia’s three principle regions of Charleston, the Potomac Highlands, and the New River-Greenbier Valley offer immersive experiences into the past which shaped the present by means of its pristinely beautiful and resource-rich mines and mountains that yielded coal, timber, logging railroads, and an abundance of outdoor sports.

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What to do in Florida this Year

Golf

Florida is almost as well known for its golf courses as it is theme parks and enthusiasts will not be disappointed along the Gulf Coast – Florida boasts over 1,000 courses and there are over 80 in the Naples area alone! Many hotels have their own courses and there are numerous golfing communities where you’ll find private villas to rent. The courses are open year-round but quietest during the summer months from May through to October.

Fishing

The beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel are known as the “Tarpon capital of the world” and fisherman flock here every spring to fish the Boca Grande Pass. The name of the game however is “Catch and Release” as there is a 50$ state permit fee to kill a Tarpon. For those interested in sea-fishing, there are many charters and fishing trips for all levels of angler – these are available from all along the coast, including Marco Island, Sarasota, Fort Myers Beach, Clearwater and Tarpon Springs. Try your hand at hooking shark, barracuda, black fin tuna and Spanish and king mackerel. There are also miles of shoreline, countless oyster bars and acres of sea grass beds that attract an abundance of salt water fish. For the fresh water angler, Rotonda has miles of canals and numerous golf course lakes offering some excellent bass and catfish. Other popular areas include the freshwater canals in Cape Coral and the Caloosahatchee River. Local freshwater fish include bass, crappie, blue gill and catfish. If you don’t fancy bobbing about on the water, there are ample fishing opportunities from the piers and bridges. Popular spots in the St Petersburg/Clearwater area include Long Pier at Redington Beach, Pier60, St Petersburg Pier, Fort De Soto Park and The Friendship Trail Park at Gandy Bridge for Spanish mackerel, red drum, speckled trout and snook.

Canoeing & Kayaking

Many enthusiasts head for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which encompasses 110,000 acres of uplands, islands, and estuaries from Gordon Pass at Naples to Everglades National Park. There is a visitor centre between Marco and Naples, south of US 41 on Tower Road. Fort Myers Beach & Sanibel are also known for good kayaking – paddle through Pine Island’s aquatic preserves for a good look at the local birdlife

Cycling

Boca Ciega Millennium Park in Seminole, Pinellas County has nature trails as well as pedestrian and cycle paths. Sanibel island offers 17 miles of protected cycle paths, ideal for families. Local companies hire a range of bikes including tandems and accessories for children. Fort de Soto Park on the Pinellas Peninsula has a 7 mile recreation trail where visitors may run, bike, rollerblade or walk The Pinellas Trail is a unique linear park covering 50 miles from St Petersburg to Tarpon Spring with cycle and hiking paths Caloosahatchee Regional Park, Alva offers a 10 mile looped mountain bike trail over rolling terrain with the opportunity of spotting wild boar, deer and gopher tortoises. Bike hire is available in the park. Myakka River is one of Florida’s largest State Parks with ample facilities for walking and cycling. There are seven miles of flat, paved roads for cyclists as well as back-country dirt roads (depending on the weather). Cycles can be hired in the park. Many of the parks which offer cycle tracks have daylight hours of opening and regulations including wearing a helmet so it is always worth checking any local restrictions at the park information centres or cycle hire shops before you set off.

Bird watching

Florida attracts “twitchers” from all over the world, drawn by the vast array of migratory and resident birdlife.The South West Florida Birding Festival takes place on the 19-21 January 2007 providing an excellent opportunity to learn about the rich bird life of this region. There will be guided trips and expert presentations. Full details can be found on the Rookery Bay website (see below). The estuaries, inlets, back-waters and country parks provide many bird-watching opportunities along the Gulf Coast some of the most popular locations are listed here. Pelican Man’s Bird Sanctuary in Sarasota is one of the largest Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centers in the U.S., and home to over 70 species of Florida’s native and migratory birds. The Rookery Bay mangrove estuary, just south of Naples, is home to over 150species of birds including bald eagles, ospreys, roseate spoonbills, black skimmers, and least terns. The Sanibel Lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island is a prime viewing spot, particularly during the October migration. Birds spotted here include warblers and Peregrine falcons. The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve near Fort Myers has a boardwalk trail and observation decks for visitors, where you can spy wild turkeys, blue jay, herons and woodpeckers as well as a variety of other wildlife. Other visitors include bobcats, raccoons,deer and squirrel. The “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island is a hotspot for migratory bird populations and serves as a stopover for a number of species, including egrets and night herons. The riverfront at Caloosahatchee Regional Park, Alva is home to blue egrets and great blue herons as well as a vast array of other local wildlife and plant species. Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, Dunedin has an Osprey trail for a rare glimpse of these magnificent birds in their natural habitat.

It’s that time of year when the call of the beach is just too strong to ignore. You know you’re going to end up heading south pretty soon, but for this vacation you want to incorporate something more into your ocean-themed holiday. A little nature would do you some good, and a historical setting never hurt anyone. Therefore, it seems that Amelia Island would be a good place to get all your getaway goals accomplished.

Amelia Island is the kind of destination that is layered in terms of its ability to please everyone in your traveling party. There’s likely to be some overlap in the things everyone wants to do, as well, considering that the beach, playing tennis, hiking, and shopping are pretty crowd-friendly. Basically, don’t worry about anyone complaining of boredom during this trip to the Sunshine State.

Another reason you won’t be suffering through any downtime is that you’re entertaining the notion of renting a vacation home. You’ve heard rumors that many beach bungalows and resort condos are stocked with games, movies, books, and are conveniently located to all the most popular sights. A little investigation will prove this rumor to be true, so to ensure that not a moment of your precious vacation is wasted, follow your instincts and reserve a unique property that will please the whole family.

Considering that you and your traveling companions are looking forward to squeezing every drop of entertainment out of the beach as possible, you’re aiming to reserve a place that’s right on the water. About 100 feet from the shore, you’ll find a cozy spot with central air, a spacious kitchen, a screened in porch perfect for dining, and all the luscious views you can imagine. Being able to take a dip before breakfast without having to set foot in a car will prove to be a priceless novelty, so warn the kids now so they won’t faint with excitement later.

Being where you are also spells nearness to fishing, biking trails, bird watching opportunities, and tons of shops and restaurants. A collection of clay tennis courts is a short drive away, as is a world-class golf course, so you won’t have to worry about packing on the pounds this trip thanks to all outstanding and painless ways you’ll be burning off those seafood dinners and tropical drinks.

Historic, Victorian-styled downtown, with its blocks of charming streets and fascinating background as a seaport and fishing village will also catch your eye, and will also be pretty darn close to your beach house. Spending a day or an evening shopping and sightseeing won’t have to mean hours in the minivan, so take your time and throw the itinerary out the window. This vacation will be delightfully spontaneous due to your unassumingly convenient home away from home.

Things that have bogged you down on previous vacations, like noisy hotel neighbors, no space to unpack your clothes, and a little too much family togetherness, will be things of the past this time around. The vacation property that you end up choosing, if you go for what you really want, will be roomy and open, with closets and bed space to spare. Never feeling claustrophobic will do wonders for everyone’s mood, so venture forth towards all the sights of Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach without ever feeling dread about coming back.

So for those days when you’re biking through Fort Clinch State Park or canoeing through the marshy waters on the lookout for bald eagles, you won’t be worrying about your job, your car payment, or your inadequate hotel room. Savor the landscape with true appreciation, and congratulate yourself for investigating all the alternatives when it was time to pick out a place for you and your family to lay your heads at night.

Educating yourself is always a good idea, so go online to check out all the different Amelia Island Vacation Rental possibilities. You might just end up planning one of your best trips ever.

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Maggie’s Place Home Rental On Bald Head Island. Location: Bald Head Island, Southern Coast, Coastal, North Carolina, USA (20 minute ferry ride from Southport) View Map Accommodations: House, 3 Bedrooms + Convertible bed(s), 2.5+ Baths (Sleeps 8-10) Relax, enjoy wildlife and the sounds of the nearby ocean as you sit on rocking chairs enjoying views of lighthouses and sunsets. With over 1300 sq. ft. of porches, this newly decorated 2000 sq. ft. home features island decor and family friendly accommodations. Three roomy bedrooms with 2.5 baths plus an outdoor shower and a fish cleaning station provides for everyone. Only 1 minute from the beach, steps away from the 4.5 Star 18 hole George Cobb designed golf course, about 900 feet from the newly decorated clubhouse. Located just a short walk or bike ride from the village makes it easy to get to your boat, rent a canoe, eat at the dockside restaurants or visit and walk up to the oldest lighthouse in NC(Old Baldy 1817). Two golf carts, grill, beach chairs, games and movies along with cable TV in every room. For more information or to make reservations please E-mail either wwyc@sbcglobal.net or go to www.vrbo.com

Visit www.baldheadisland.com to learn more about island life and browse vacation rentals and property for sale. Bald Head Island is a unique coastal North Carolina community with thousands of acres of preserved, natural beauty. This enchanting island is the perfect spot for a beach vacation or second home.
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only golf carts are allowed to drive on roads in bald head island.
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