No Power? No Problem!

This past weekend was supposed to be a romantic getaway for Tommy & I since he typically works every weekend while I sit at home stewing my next blog posts.  We only had a weekend to getaway, so we weren't planning an excursion too far from Pittsburgh.  We did some searching for somewhere in the mountains or near some body of water within a 2-3 hour drive.  We ended up booking a getaway at the Riverside Retreat in Elkins, WV.

Riverside Retreat is this cute little cottage in the middle of no where.  Both of us were also extra pumped to find out that Riverside Retreat was pet friendly for a SUUUUPER minimal fee.  AWESOME!  The pups are coming along for the trip.

So we hop on the road after a long week of work and school, and were ready for our much needed weekend getaway!  As soon as we hit Washington, PA (which is seriously JUST outside of Pittsburgh) the storm clouds start rolling in.  We didn't think too much of it other than looks like we'll be relaxing INSIDE the cabin this weekend rather than outside.

As the skies got greener and greener and the wind was blowing harder we started to get a little nervous during the drive.  OF COURSE there was construction EVerywhere...which also meant these huge road signs had blown all over the road.  Note to self -- you can't see the reflectors on the road signs when they are laying on their side in the middle of the interstate.  We were in the middle of the worst storm DRIVING!  I kept being reminded of the movie Twister, which Tommy was very vocal about disliking.  I, on the other hand, was a huge lover the of the movie.  I couldn't help but think of this scene from Twister.  Every town we drove through had no power AT ALL!  It was so scary.

We were trying to reach the Beardslee's House.  They owned the cottage and we had agreed to meet them at their house, which was just down the road from Riverside Retreat.  We had never met them before, but they seemed nice on the phone.  We tried to call them on the way to let them know the roads were scary, there were no traffic lights, street lights, etc...so we were running behind schedule.  But we got a busy tone...hmm...no power at their house either.

FOUR HOURS later, we arrived at what we believed was the Beardslee's home.  We were greeted in this crazy rain storm/debris disaster by a small man holding a candlelit lantern and an umbrella, Paul Beardslee.  We were welcomed into their home and his wife Anne also couldn't have been kinder.  They informed us the cottage was not accessible due to debris and also had no power...the water runs from electricity.  SO not even a flushing toilet or running water. Um...NOW what?!

They invited us to spend the night in their home.  We didn't really have much choice having the dogs with us and being hours away from Pittsburgh.  So we took them up on the offer.  We quickly learned their house was a former Bed & Breakfast which made it a little more comfortable of a stay than just spending the night in a stranger's bedroom.  Tommy and I kept looking at each other like IS THIS REAL LIFE??  We woke up the next morning thinking we'd be able to head down to the cottage.  When we learned there was still no power and they weren't expecting any for another 4-5 days we decided we'd just make a day trip/long drive BACK to Pittsburgh.  The Beardslee's ended up being some of the kindest people ever.  They made the best blueberry pancakes in the world AND fresh brewed coffee...try doing THAT without power. Now that's what I call hospitality!!

We were able to drive down the Riverside Retreat to take a peak so we can see what awesomeness we're getting ourselves into the next time we go back to Elkins.

It was beautiful!  We can't wait to go back.  The Beardslee's were so incredibly nice.  That situation, these days, could have ended so many different ways.  We are so glad that it ended up the way it did.  We decided since the next morning it was such a nice day outside (just powerless) that we'd take the long way back to Pittsburgh and make a day trip out of it.  So we went through more of the Monongahela National Forest.  It was beautiful.  We stopped at Blackwater Falls:

Isn't it awesome looking?  It surprisingly reminded us of El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico (I'm rolling my "r's" when I'm saying that to you.   So we kept driving.  We had no cell service, which was ALSO awesome.  We seriously kinda loved it.  I mean can you remember the last time you had to use a road map to find your way home instead of a GPS!? 

Our hoo-rah getaway ended up turning into a powerless delight.  We had a great little road trip.  Wished we could have had more time out of town, but it was a great trip overall.  We can't wait for our take-two weekend in the Mon Forest at Riverside Retreat.