July in Alderson, WV

Volunteering at the Alderson Hospitality House during July has been a great experience!

The goal of Alderson Hospitality House is to provide housing for family and friends who come to visit the women inmates at the nearby Alderson Prison Camp. Lodging and meals are offered without charge on the weekends. This provides support for the families and friends and supports the women at the camp. Frequent visits are shown to directly reduce the rates of recidivism.

Alderson hospitality house is in an old, beautiful building built in 1888 as the dorm for the Allegheny Collegiate Institute. The house is on 3 floors, has 13 bedrooms, and 7 bathrooms. Guests are welcomed by a great staff: Kathleen and Brian DeRouen and their two boys, Micah and Vitale, Julia Means, and Kayla Wiser.  

The Hospitality House is a busy place and I was soon washing sheets and towels, making beds, and cleaning bathrooms! And climbing endless stairs! There are many stairs to get to the front door, plus the 3 flights of stairs in the house!

Alderson has a train going through at least 15-20 times a day (and night). Amtrack drops off passengers 3 times a week.

We had lots of fun together too!  I arrived just in time to enjoy Alderson's multi-day Fourth of July celebration. Alderson claims the best Fourth of July celebration in the state! It started on Thursday, July 2, with the town coming out to cheer for the fireman's rodeo! Volunteer firefighters from the surrounding area, including the women firefighters from the prison  camp, competed in several competitions. It was great fun!

The next morning was a 5K run to benefit a school program.  Brian, Julia, and Kayla ran.

Micah and Vitale ran in the kid's races.

Then on the fourth they had a parade!! Politicians, beauty queens from babies on up, almost every fire truck in 3 adjoining countries, churches, roller derby, baton club, businesses, bands, horses, and whoever wanted to march!  

On the night of the Fourth there were fireworks! And a music group brought thousands to this small town of 1200 for a night of music and fun. I watched the fireworks from the Alderson bridge with some guests.

The next day there was a rubber ducky race with nearly 3,000 ducks released into the Greenbrier River.  There were lots of prizes so everyone was watching!

Brian and Kathleen and the boys left for a vacation in California, leaving Julia, Kayla, and I to run the house.  I started my project of painting the kitchen yellow with white trim. It took a while, but turned out great. Kathleen, who is the wonderful chef for the House, was pleased.

In between running the house for guests and painting, Julia, Kayla, and I played.  We went to New River Gorge National River. We went swimming at Glade Creek and had great pizza at Fayetteville.  It was a great day.

We also went to a concert at the park.  

Brian, Kathleen, Julia, and Kayla are involved in the community of Alderson. Julia tutors a neighbor for his GED.

Kathleen, Julia, and Kayla grow vegetables in the community garden for great meals for the House!

Kathleen was instrumental in starting a community co-op grocery store, the Green Grocer, when the only grocery store closed. Basic food necessities would have been impossible for older folks or those without a car. Kayla works at the Green Grocer.

Brian, Kathleen, Julia, and Kayla all are involved with the food pantry, which provides bags of food to the community once a month.

Brian wrote a grant to bring recycling to Alderson and he is often there sorting recyclables.

Kayla is working as many hours at the Green Grocer as she can because she will soon be starting a nursing program in Lewisburg.

It has been an amazing month of getting to know dedicated, caring, and fun people helping to run the Hospitality House and the families and friends who show their love for their daughters, wives, girlfriends, or friends by their regular visits to their loved ones at the prison.  I enjoyed it is tremendously!

Outer Banks, NC and more

I left Virginia and headed to the Outer Banks, NC.  One of those places I've read about and so wanted to see! From Elizabeth City, NC, I crossed several bridges across rivers, inlets, and sounds before reaching the long peninsula of the Outer Banks bounded by the Atlantic on the east and the Albemarle Sound on the west.  The area is flat with sand dunes and many tourists enjoying the ocean and beaches.  

At Nags Head, NC, I got a flat tire!  Again I had cell service and AAA assistance, and was soon on my way.  I headed to Cape Hatteras National seashore at Oregon Inlet campground and had time for a walk on the beach.

A flock of pelicans was feeding in the Atlantic and it was fun to watch.  There were only a couple of people on the beach.

Across the road was a marina with colourful boats lined up ready to go fishing.

There was a fabulous sunset!

The next day I went to the Wright Brothers memorial at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  

It is amazing how the world changed with the short flight of 120 feet in 1903!  This was an interesting stop.

Next I drove back towards Virginia and had to stop for a drawbridge where the bridge turned rather than lifted up.

I drove across Virginia and camped at the Shenendoah valley national park at the Loft Mountain campground.  I'd been there before about a month earlier.  It is such a beautiful area!

I was heading to West Virginia and had a few errands to do so I went to the closest large town with a Costco and did some shopping.  Rain was forecast so I camped at a pretty park in Virginia, Douthat State Park near Milboro, Virginia.

I camped near a stream.

It stormed as promised with thunder and lightening but I was safe and dry in the RV!

Next day it was time to head to Alderson, West Virginia for a month of volunteer work at Alderson Hospitality House.  It will be a change from sightseeing and driving.

Virginia History

I can't believe I've driven over 12,000 miles on this trip!  What fun to see so many new things!

I drove over a 20 mile bridge across the lower end of Chesapeake Bay: the Chesapeke Bay Bridge-Tunnel. While driving I saw an bald eagle with a large fish in its talons flying along beside me! I would have loved to stop and take a photo! 

I got stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam near Virginia Beach while heading to Colonial Williamsburg! When I stopped for gas I could not get the RV started. After a wait and a jump from AAA, I was able to replace the battery free under warranty from Auto Zone!  Yay for being with cell coverage, AAA service, and free battery replacement!  I made it to the Anvil RV park around 8. The RV park was close to Williamsburg, next to a train track, on the city bus line, and had a pool!

I explored Jamestown on Tuesday in over 100 degree heat.  The museum was great (and cool) and the outside exibits were interesting. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America and was settled in 1607. 

They have restored ships that the first settlers arrived in. Only men and boys came first and were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London.  

Model of James Fort, which was so small by our standards! Jamestown was the first capital of the colonies from 1619 to 1699.

Jamestown also depicted an Indian village. The natives were friendly at first and provided crucial support.  Relations soured and that led to the annihilation of the local Pasaphegh tribe by the English.

The next day I took the bus to Colonial Williamsburg. This was a great presentation of restored shops, churches, homes, and government buildings. John D. Rockefeller was responsible the restoration of these buildings beginning in the 1920s.

Re-enactments tell the history of Colonial Wiliamsburg, the capital of the Colony of Virginia from 1699 to 1779, when it was relocated to Richmond. Employees dressed in costume telling the events of the 1700s is an entertaining way to learn.

Patrick Henry was passionate about citizens' rights and was a primary mover of the Revolution.

George Washington encouraged his troops before the siege of Yorktown.

Africans were brought to Jamestown in 1619 and slavery was deeply established in the colonies by the time of the Revolution.  

The next day I stopped in Yorktown to see the site of the Yorktown battle and siege.  Thus was a great victory for the American army. 

Then I headed across the James River for 3 days at the Chippokes Plantation State Park.  I rode my bike, swam in the Olympics sized swimming pool, looked for fossils and sharks teeth along the James River, took a tour of the plantation house, and saw Eagles!  Great Virginia park!

View of James River towards Williamsburg.

Huge Swimming pool with 8 kids and 5 adults.

Cypress swamp with lots of frogs!

Couldn't find sharks teeth but pretty dragonflies.