just spent an absolutely delightful weekend in fayetteville west virginia with my outdoor loving pal heather. we crammed in a bit of everything: rafting, hiking, coffee shops, dining, shopping, live music and sightseeing.
we departed friday afternoon and drove up to our cozy airbnb right in downtown fayetteville. once we were checked in, we set out to find some food, and decided upon the secret sandwich society. all of the sandwiches were named after old presidents (and/or their wives or nicknames? i don’t really know).
we stuffed our little faces and then went to bed to recharge for our morning adventure. but before adventures, obviously, i needed coffee. thankfully, approximately 14 feet from our airbnb, there was a super cool coffee shop with the best vibes and fun baristas.
and then it was rafting time. i absolutely love whitewater rafting. my fam isn’t as much in love with it as i am, so it was nice to have a likeminded friend to join me. we chose cantrell ultimate for our outfitter, the last family owned rafting company in the area. we have always had great experiences with them. we loaded up and spent the morning with dakotah, who celebrated his 19th birthday by guiding us down the new river. it was a leisurely amount of adventure – no one fell out, but we all got soaked.we all opted to hop out to scramble up to a 20 foot jump off the aptly monikered “jump rock”. and then we all also accepted the opportunity to float through one of the less treacherous rapids. getting back into the boat was the hardest part of both of these extracurriculars.
obviously. i screenshot these photos from the photography website. if only the price structure wasn’t so ridiculously unreasonable.
we came back to the airbnb, had lunch, showered up and then set out to shop. first though, we visited cathedral coffee shop, which was pretty cool on the inside. since wwe may or may not have just gorged ourselves on dumb crap i brought from trader joes (pumpkin spice cake), i opted for coffee only, but we definitely planned to return…
look away. we for sure ate the cake straight from the container. nothing to see here.
searched for good memorabilia at gift and gear spots. and hit up all of the many antique and vintage and consignment and thrift shops. never located the perfect t-shirt. but DID hit the jackpot with another rainbow mug for my collection and some old tupperware measuring cups.
after a little regroup in the airbnb, we piled into the car in search of the highly photogenic glade creek grist mill, located in babcock state park.
we wandered around. toured the mill. checked out the visitor center. took all the pictures. heather captured me in all my influencer glory, getting the perfect shot.
you might think we would have had enough at this point, but you would be wrong. we drove straight over to where we had heard tell of some live music and craft vendors and an art show. we watched the virginia creepers play for a bit. they were super fun. the people watching was also top-notch. turns out, this part of west virginia might lean a little woke.
they wrapped up at 8, but we snuck out a bit early, you know, to beat the crowds. we had hoped to eat at pies and pints, but the wait was so long and we were tired, so we tried a mexican restaurant we had passed by. it did not disappoint. the food was great. but the atmosphere was, well, a lot. there was a huge table of 20 or so young folks on a bachelor/bachelorette trip. they were so wild and fun. and the servers were all very much into it. at some point a conga line started. alcohol was flowing. it was a good time. we chatted with our server for a bit and learned about the restaurant. ate way too much. and finally stumbled out into the night, back to the airbnb, where we crashed. hard.
the next morning, after breakfast at cathedral coffee, we checked out and headed off to hike the endless wall trail. it’s pretty short, especially if you take the road back to the parking lot to make a loop, instead of the out and back. the views were nice. the weather was perfect. the exercise was minimal. and the company was good for the soul.
we went to the visitor center, but decided not to do the 800 stairs for the view of the bridge, making the picture above the only one i have of the bridge. ha. we saw it a lot. especially rafting. but. no proof, i guess.
before we departed from the area, we drove over to cathedral falls, which was not super flowy, but was right off the road, so nothing lost. and the drive was interesting and pretty.
i think at this point, we hit a wall. we knew there were a few other things we could do, but we decided to just start on our way home. we did end up stopping at an antique mall on the way back. but, i found zero treasures.
it was a great getaway weekend. a fun time with a good friend. 🙂