#cathedral_cafe

[claireinnc]

New River Gorge State Park -West Virginia

This was one of our adventurous weekends. We had booked a morning adventure to walk the narrow path under the New River Gorge Bridge. We drove up on Friday evening and arrived at our hotel - The Quality Inn. There was definitely nothing quality about this one. We dropped our bags and headed to the local restaurant. This would not have been our first choice, but we were tired and needed something close.

On entering the bar, I knew we had hit local! Too local for my liking. The red check, plastic table cloths and bright lights were not what I was expecting. At the bar, a row of bearded men, with baseball caps sat downing their beers. A look at the couples sat at the tables reminded me of times gone by, on old US shows. Red necks!

We sat down at a free table and a young waitress arrived to take our order. I was apprehensive about speaking too loud in a British accent. I did not want any attention in this bar!! When I asked for a glass of Chardonnay, she looked at me with a blank look and so I reverted to a glass of white wine. She looked a bit blank and then said, 'I'll see if we have any.' This summed up the place. The menu consisted of burgers or super burgers and of course fries - and they definitely were fried!

We really didn't stay long and I didn't really eat much...it was too fried!

The following morning we were up early to enjoy our challenge! We booked a guided walk under the New River Gorge suspension bridge. The bridge held the record for the longest steel arch bridge in the world until 2003. It is still the longest single span steel arch bridge in the United States and the third highest bridge in the country. Underneath the four lanes of busy traffic and in the midst of rusty red girders and beams is a two foot wide, steel walkway - only open for guided walks. That was our plan!

We were slightly worried about the weather, but it remained dry and not too windy for the entire time. After arriving at the booking centre, we were harnassed up and debriefed. Our guide then directed us to the minibus for the short drive to the start point.

After unloading form the mini bus, the group headed down a short path to the gated entrance. At this point, the guide explained that as we moved onto the bridge, we would have to deal with sensory overload - the noise from above, the fact that the path moved slightly and of course the height and dramatic scenery. He was right!

We were hooked onto the safety wire one by one and with the guide in front, Richard took the first steps. Slow and steady to begin with, to ensure we adjusted to the unusual experience. It took us about an hour to walk across, due in part to the constant photo stops and the informative chats with the guide. The structure itself was awesome and a great feat of engineering. The scenery was beautiful and I was so glad I had my camera with me.

At one point, the guide suggested we sit and dangle our legs and all the group bravely took the challenge. It was a very strange feeling and a cool thing to do.

We had a great morning and then went for lunch at a local cafe - Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville. This was such a cool place, inside an old church building. The food was great, the atmosphere lively and just a fun place to be. The town also had some great outdoor shops and a great vibe.

In the afternoon, we took a drive down to the river and the valley. After a short stroll, the wind picked up and we were treated to a spectacular scene of leaves swirling and falling like rain drops.

Our second day, provided us with the opportunity to do great hike to Old Point - a different view of the bridge. It was a lovely morning and we were treated to deer running across our path as we made our way to the view point.

We loved West Virginia and enjoyed the beautiful fall colours.

#teachertravelsnc #west virginia #NewRiverNPS #wvbridgewalk #cathedral_cafe