Charleston, WV: July 24-25, 2019 - Kanawha

Back in August 2016, on my way to visit Clayford, I stopped for lunch in Charleston, the capital of West Virginia, just for a lunch and gas break, but I thought the quick bit I saw of it was enchanting, and I've wanted to make a proper stop there ever since.  With an unexpected few days off - I work at least one of my umpteen jobs almost every day now - I made the journey.

Traffic was horrendous on the way up, unfortunately, but the timing still worked out fairly well for what I wanted to see while I was there.  The only downside was that I had to rearrange my schedule to do the science center first, which was actually for me just an IMAX movie, so it felt a little unbalanced to drive all that way and then sit in a dark theater first thing.  Oh well.

I watched a movie about humpback whales narrated by Ewan McGregor.

Next, it was off to the West Virginia State Museum.

Which told all the history of the state since its inception:

And I have to admit, I thought it was founded a little more recently than that.

The Disneyworld-esque tunnel took me through all the eras:

Honestly, this place was great.  At the end there was a small art gallery and collection of historical knick-knacks:

The lobby area upstairs was nice as well:

Next, I saw a brief preview of the Capitol building, which I was saving for real for the next morning.

I then took a brief detour out of town into the Kanawha State Forest.  Kanawha is also the name of the river that borders Charleston as well as the county that Charleston is in.  The forest was quite nice - it was the quietest forest I've ever been in, with a noticeable hush right as I got out of my car.  I hiked around briefly then returned to the city:

Then it was time to check in to my hotel at last, and finally, finish off the evening by a stroll through town:

My dinner was at a mall foodcourt - obviously not the most authentic local dish I could have found - but it was the one place I'd been on my drivethrough three years earlier and I wanted to go back.  The mall is nothing to sneeze at:

Continued on past the convention center:

And down to Magic Island Park:

Where I proceeded to take about a hundred photos of the sun as it was setting:

From a bridge, I also tried to get a good shot of the skyline, such as it is, but there wasn't a good angle to really get the whole thing:

A quick stop at an Irish pub followed, then one last attempt to get the red dregs of the dying sun:

Before bed.

The next morning, I had one item on the agenda: tour the Capitol.  Unfortunately, it is currently in repair, so I did not get to see the full splendor and majesty of the dome.  I got to see a great display of what construction looks like, though:

But the tour was fine nonetheless; got to see the house and senate chambers and other assorted doodads:

Upon returning to my car, I realized I had more time than I had anticipated having, so I did something I basically never do: I picked something at random from apple maps and went to see it.  The closest point of interest seemed to be the Marmet Dam and Locks, in the nearby town of Marmet:

Which I can almost guarantee no one else I know has ever gone out of their way to see.