[ lifestyle ]
Wild , Wonder f u l West Virginia
A Family Staycation
BILL WOODRUM
The year 2020 was supposed to be a year of great adventure for my family . It happened to be the singular year where several life events collided , including my 25th wedding anniversary with my wife , Lori ; my 50th birthday ; my son , Alex , turning 18 ; and his graduation from high school . Instead of parceling out small celebrations and purchases , we discussed and decided upon a large , encompassing visit to Ireland to bring the variety of our milestones together into one wonderful trip abroad in July .
For added excitement , friends of ours were also celebrating similar events , and we decided to go together : seven people , 10 days and stops all throughout Ireland . The planning went on for months starting in late 2019 . We had purchased flights , booked rooms — including hotels , castles and Airbnbs — rented cars and everything else you can imagine . There were spreadsheets and shared documents in the cloud . We had our own Facebook Messenger group to help us document ideas for stops and visits . It became a real labor of love .
When the news of the coronavirus started to emerge in February 2020 , friends were making me aware that this wasn ’ t just the flu . There was discussion of some quarantining and wearing masks . Nevertheless , we proceeded undaunted with our planning . More pubs got put on the list , and we added the Ring of Kerry as a destination . By April , it was clear that this wasn ’ t just another flu and widespread quarantines at home and abroad would be the new normal . By the beginning of May , our resolve began to crack , and in early June , we cancelled the trip . We did , unexpectedly , receive full refunds from all bookings . This left us with a decision to make as to where we would be taking our break and celebrating our milestones .
The predictions for June and July continued to be grave outside of West Virginia . High community transmission rates and overall gloomy projections snuffed out the possibility of travel . At that time , we decided to do a West Virginia staycation and take our son to parts of the state he hadn ’ t visited before . As a native West Virginian and as part of my job at the Robert C . Byrd Institute , I get to drive all over the state for work . Usually , though , my family has other commitments that keep them from enjoying these trips with me . This seemed like a great opportunity to show Lori and Alex parts of our state I love most .
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