Room 311 at the Isaak Jackson Hotel might as well have had The Who staying in it. We pulled back beds, ripped carpet from the seams of the walls, pulled headboards off the wall, and inspected every square inch of the transient rental space with flashlights using I-phones to snap and magnify photos of offending lint disguised as carpet fiber…remotely resembling a bug. The room was rock-star trashed but parasite-free…to the best of our knowledge. Sleep wasn’t easy to come by. When you’re the main dish of a secret insect feast leaving quarter-sized itchy welts up and down your body, paranoia conquers capability. Eventually, we had the guts to shut off the light and risk unconsciousness.
A hazy light penetrated our window in the morning. At some point in the night, I can’t pinpoint exactly when, we managed to find some sleep. Feeling better than the day before we hit the lobby to grab a standard hotel breakfast. We briefly returned to our rental space and removed our luggage from the bathtub, checked for pests, and loaded our small bags back into the Jeep. Next stop Snowshoe, WV. The 50-mile drive would have us climb 2922 feet though narrow switchbacks. I pulled to the right frequently to let short lines of cars pass our Jeep as I babied the RPM’s and took in the scenery. We passed through rich farm-land valleys before ascending into dark green mountain inclines affording the occasional vista.
Our one-hour drive took two, and we found our AirBnB easy enough. It only took one load to relocate our provisions for two days from the Jeep to our 7th story condo. Once again, the place we’re in is abandoned, which explains the price. It was smart to bring our own food. A cursory look around revealed some cross-country mountain bike trails, a pool, a horse stable, and just a few miles up the road…Snowshoe Resort.
The sun was out and we pulled the top panels off the roof of the Jeep. At 5000 feet we enjoyed our first joy ride with temps in the 70’s and 200-mile views of the surrounding West Virginia mountains. A more detailed investigation of our neighboring area unveiled some pretty epic downhill mountain biking, a couple of nice outdoor patios, and a laid-back vibe that suited us perfectly. We could easily see ourselves settling in here for a lengthy stay. For once, we’re content to not keep driving.
91 WHY Street 