Day 14 - Point Pleasant, WV

We got a late start out of Parkersburg, around 11am. I got breakfast at Sonics, a moden day drive in. A 17 year old came stumbling out on rollerblades with my sandwich and hot coffee. It made me nervous just watching her.

We followed route 68 out of town heading south west for 30 miles to Ravenswood. The roads, or at least these roads flattened out and it was a nice relief from the hills and trails of previous days. I was able to keep up a comfortable 15 mph pace, following the road as it hugged the Ohio river.

Ravenswood didn't have much in it other than a quick stop for lunch and 20 miniutes on an internet terminal at the local library.

We jumped back on the road for another 30 miles to Point pleasant.

Point Pleasant is the town of the Mothman. It's a local myth that now seems to help hold the econmy together. Most every shop has a mothman effigy or poster up on the wall. There is a statue of the creature right in town square. There is a mothman museum on main street and an annual mothman festival in September which attracts paranormal enthusiast far and wide.

The storie goes that a couple spotted the half man half moth back in the woods not to far from town in the 60s. Since then it has become local myth and the inspiration for a major motion picture.




We stayed at the Lowe Inn which looks like a hold over from the boom times. The inn is full of antiques in it's various rooms and parlors, including the original telephone switchboard on display in the lobby. It was in use through the 90s. An elder staff memeber would continue to patch the cables to direct calls and listen in to stay awake at night, so the owner told me. The long hallways have old dark wooden doors with transoms above and skeleton key locks.




I'd say our highlight came sitting at the local diner eating breakfast sandwiches at 11pm on a Saturday night. Ryan played John Denver's Country Road on the juke box and we signed their guest book and and a town poll of the states visitors our from. Both were recorded in beat up spiral notebooks with coffee stains on them.

In the morning we walked along the flood wall that protects the town from the Ohio river. It had been painted with these beautiful murals depicting Native American and early Settler scenes.


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