2017-25
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| traveling through West Virginia Allegheny mountains |
Lewisburg West Virginia
White Sulfur Springs West Viginia
Greenbrier Resort
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WV State Fairground, parking area
behind the Rv campsites |
Campground: West Virginia State
Fairgrounds. Full hookups 30 and 50 amp. $30 regular rate. $3
discount with Good Sam or AARP etc. Grassy sites, electric, water
and sewer connections are spread apart for most of the sites but
mostly usable.
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| from Burnsville to Lewisburg WV |
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| Lewisburg, a vibrant small town |
Distance traveled: 110 miles
I've arrived in Lewisburg, the closest
destination I could find at a fair price for camping here at the
state fairgrounds. The small town of only 3,500 still has a
surprisingly active and fun downtown area to explore. Having a
Carnegie Hall, one of only 4 in the world, an active local theater
group and is a hot spot for retirees. But my main interest is about
12 miles down the road in the even smaller town of White Sulfur
Springs.
This is a high priced area for shopping and dining. Lunch average price paid in downtown restaurants: $25. Antique shops and do-dad shops have high prices on most all of their offerings. I did find a nice coffee shop with reasonable prices and on the outskirts of town are a few of the basic commercial restaurants (Rudy Tuesdays) and your Walmarts, Lowes, Dollar Tree etc.
The Greenbrier, one more bucket list
item checked off.
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| The Greenbrier Resort |
It has always catered to the well-to-do
crowd of business men, political statesmen, tycoons, world leaders
and has even hosted 26 Presidents and continues to do so today. Vice
President Mike Pence was here just a few days ago. With a first rate
golf course which the average person can not see as it is hidden
behind green painted fencing, trees and shrubs all along the main
road leading to the resort. It even has a private casino on the
lower floors but is only accessible to guests staying at the resort,
or if you purchase a membership. I did neither, but I did enjoy a
great lunch at one of the restaurants in the hotel. High end boutique
shops line one level, along with a bowling alley and indoor and
outdoor infinity pool.
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| high end shops on lower level concourse |
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| large ball room on main floor |
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| lower level leading to indoor swimming pool, bowling alley |
There is even an AMTRAC train station
across from the hotel which goes between New York, Washington D.C.
And Chicago. Providing easy access and would make for a fun trip.
The railroad has been in operation since the mid 1800's.
But enough of that, I was there to tour
the bunker which was originally built in the Eisenhower era as a safe
place to members of congress to go in the event of a nuclear attack.
This being after WWII and our dropping the first atomic bomb. After
the war and the start of the Cold War, with Russia gaining power and
nuclear capabilities congress needed a safe place close to the
capital in case of nuclear attack. The Greenbrier would become that
safe haven.
It was all secret of course. Congress
appropriating the funds and having the Greenbrier “expand” the
hotel and at the same time build an underground convention center as
it was called. The bunker was built in 1958 into the side of a hill
with the West Virginia Wing being built over the top of it. The
locals being told that it would be an underground conference facility
and part of the space was actually used as such with the public being
totally unaware that it was in actuality a part of the secret bunker.
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| the original secret bunker dining room, seating for 400 at a time |
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the end of the tour, what secrets remain behind the
walls and doors we didn't get to go through |
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an innocent hallway, but lies behind it
was a secret bunker, hidden in plane site
as part of it was used for convention exhibits etc. |
The tour covers a good portion of the
underground bunker with it's massive 20 ton steel and concrete doors,
two auditoriums designed to house the House of Representatives and
the Senate. Dormitory bunk-bed style sleeping arrangements for the
house and single beds for the senators including over 500 staff
members. For 30 years, each of the 1,100 beds were assigned to a
member of congress. Note: none were reserved for their families
though space was later available on another level. Dining hall, work
rooms, extensive power plant, water storage etc. Currently much of
the underground space is leased out to corporations for storing
digital data. So not all of the rooms were available to view and due
to the sensitive data being stored in the old bunker spaces, no
photography was permitted in much of the tour areas.
Ultimately the facility was never used
during it's 30 years of activation. An article in the Washington
Post, May 31st 1992 revealed it's secret location and
purpose making it instantly obsolete, though by then it had already
become somewhat known. Congress would decommission it in 1995. So
of course the question is: where is the new secret bunker?
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the room VP Mike Pence spoke in
just a few days before I arrived... obviously to a
"select" group |
Roku Update:
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| Pluto TV channels 600+ |
As a full time Rv-er we don't always
have good “over the air Tv” connections. I'm not a fan of paying
$$ for satellite tv and the headaches setting it up at each campsite.
The alternative is a device like Roku. Since getting Roku, a small
device that attaches to the back of my tv set and connects to the
internet via my Verizon tablet hotspot which I have an unlimited plan making
it all possible.
One of the programming choices is
called “Pluto” and is set up much like satellite tv channels.
I've explored up to the 600's and have discovered lots of channels
I'll be watching including travel, learning, documentaries, home
improvement, live news feeds etc. A second link shows all the movies
available. A few other channels I like include “popcorn flix”,
“youtube”, CBS and VUDU a movie channel.
Although one can pay for the movies and
shows without commercials, I don't pay any fees and basically turn
off the sound when a commercial comes on.
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| many free movies supported by adds |
RV Update:
While staying here at the Lewisburg
State Fairgrounds, I found an Rv service that will come to my camper
for repairs. It appears I have a pinhole leak in my hot water tank
and will have it replaced. While at it, I'll also have a new Awning
installed as the one that came with my camper has a cheap plastic
fabric that has begun to peal and separate. I've ordered a better
fabric with a cover for the awning when closed up.
All this while watching the news and
keeping a close eye on hurricanes advancing on Florida.
More photos:
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