Breaking News

Slide into summer with Tygart Adventures

By Jade Ruggieri Following the country roads to Tygart Lake State Park, there’s untouched beauty of the natural landscapes West Virginia is known for. With 10 miles and 1,750 of clean, fresh mountain water, the lake boasts views in Taylor County. Partnered with ACE Adventures, Tygart ...

Got a jones for the open road, ready to go again

I hadn’t been out of the car for a full 24 hours before I shot off the first link. “11 Epic Fall Foliage Road Trips to Drive This Year.” Whoosh. No sooner had it reached its recipient than my phone dinged with a return text. “Look at you already jonesin’ for another trip,” Chad replied after putting a “love” react on the previous share. And he’s right, I was jonesin’, indeed. Hard. Feeming for the open road, hurting to be back out there in the world — stopping whenever and wherever the urge and his special hat took us, gazing up at glorious ...

Washed out: Best laid plans a thing of the past

Katie McDowell Anyone who knows me knows I’m a bit of a planner I’ll dog the details to death — Google menus at restaurants where we’re going, check the weather a thousand times, curate an outfit for any possible outing. I can’t tell you how many times someone has asked me to look into something for them, because, well, I’m really good at going down rabbit holes, researching the museums, passes, tickets, start-times, rentals, tours, what have you of a place. And that’s before I take on the food potential. My friends used to call me “The Cruise Director” — ...

A COVID-19 time capsule: What can it tell us?

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the time capsule buried in front of my elementary school (shout out to William Tyler Page in Montgomery County, Md.) It was planted in among an herb garden in a little square near the entrance (the smell of fresh thyme still takes me there), a stone bearing a plaque with two dates: when it was set, and when it would finally be unearthed. I didn’t understand what it was at first, only that it seemed like some sort of treasure, or clue. When I asked my mom about it I only became more obsessed. What could be in it? Who would be alive when ...

Sobriety is possible, even enjoyable — I swear

Katie Long McDowell Sometime back around 2013, I was put on a 10-day course of strong antibiotics to battle an infection I had. When prescribing the drugs, the doc was adamant: I was to stay away from alcohol the entire time, as ingesting it while taking the pills could make me “super sick.” “I mean it,” I still recall her saying. “Not even mouthwash. You will puke everywhere.” “Got it,” I told her. “No sweat.” The truth, of course, was that I was sweating it very much, indeed. I hadn’t gone a week without a drink for long, long time — never ...