Wait, we've gone HOW FAR in the last hour?
And we thought California was west of Pittsburgh. We guess not. (Or at least, the town of California, PA.)
West Virginia, finally!
Next thing we knew, we were crossing the Ohio River.
We were so focused on finding our exit that we didn't realize until we got off and saw the highway marker that we were now in Ohio.
Because everyone goes through West Virginia to go Ohio to go to West Virginia, right?
Matthew studied the Adenas back in 5th grade, so we were definitely interested to visit here.
The Mound Builders complex also hosts other exhibits on West Virginia, including this on King Marbles. There is also a video playing that features the Wildwood National Marbles Tournament, which coincidentally is being held this week.
Another exhibit featured dolls dressed in clothing from the 1800s, crafted by a local West Virginian. Celia loved looking at the different fashions through the century.
As she pointed out years and styles, Jude gestured here and said, "And this is a bike!"
After seeing some of the outfits, she's glad to live in times where shorts and T-shirts are summer wear, and not corsets and hoops.
This exhibit on pottery from the Homer Laughlin China Company was impressive. Some of the pieces were simply beautiful. Do you recognize the plates on the lower rail? They're Fiestaware, popular in kitchens to this day.
Finally, about the Adenas! A small museum shows the history of the local Adena tribes. Unfortunately due to the reflective glass and large windows, much of it doesn't photograph well.
Visitors can climb to the top of the mound and look out over the town. It's extremely step and the steps take some serious stamina. It's interesting be standing atop peoples' graves, but at the same time awe-inspiring that the tribe felt them important enough to build such a large mound to honor them.
Across the street is the former West Virginia State Penitentiary. Tours are available, but we skipped in order to get back on the road.
Back to Ohio - this time to stay.
I had forgotten how flat the interior of Ohio is. After the seemingly endless mountains of the last few days, it seems strange to see nothing but flat ground.
We checked into our hotel - one we stayed at when Celia was in preschool. We had been here to see some doctors about her stomach condition. When I opened the door to our suite, I realized we had been put in the exact same one we were in back in 2008. It's had a bit of a makeover - new furniture, rugs, and and updated kitchen. We've changed a bit too - we have another child and Jude's grown a little since then.
We decided to make a trip to Jungle Jim's a local megamart. I do mean mega - Luke described it as "If Walmart and Shoprite and Target and Whole Foods had a common grandchild." There is an entire "American" market, followed by aisles and aisles of imported favorites. I picked up some British-made Cadbury chocolate, and Australian Tim Tams. Sooo delicious.
When we got home, I made dinner. Celia said, "This chicken tastes different. Not bad, just different." I said, "That's probably because it's a pork chop."
Back out on the road tomorrow -- stop back and see where our adventures take us!
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