Calling all Parrotheads to the Greenbrier in July

Calling all Parrotheads! The warm Key West breezes will be blowing in West Virginia on July 5 when Mr. Margaritaville himself -- the master of all land sharks Jimmy Buffett -- headlines at The Greenbrier. So grab your flip flops, adjust your changes in attitude-changes in latitude, prepare for fins to the left-fins to the right, cause it's gonna be the only bait in town. What a fun concert it will be!

Read more in the Roanoke Times, and at Jimmy Buffett's website.

The Greenbrier plans first "Discovery Series" of special interest weekends

White Sulphur Springs, WV - January 2, 2014: This January, The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia is launching its first annual Discovery Series, a collection of eight weekend events with themes ranging from interior design to the culinary arts, blues music to craft beer brewing, and from antiques to wellness.

Weekends will be hosted by industry personalities such as: design guru Carleton Varney, Curator of The Greenbrier; a team from the hit PBS show, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW; Monte Durham, celebrity wedding consultant and fashion director of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta; and Mandy Hale, blogger and author of The Single Woman: Life, Love & a Dash of Sass and the forthcoming March 2014 release, I've Never Been to Vegas But My Luggage Has.

 

Carleton Varney Weekend January 24 - 26, 2014  The grandeur of today's Greenbrier has been shaped by its 65+ year relationship with the legendary design firm of Dorothy Draper & Co. This January, visitors are invited to join Carleton Varney (protégé of Dorothy Draper) and President of the company, for a fascinating weekend featuring design workshops, private walking tours, book signings and cocktail parties with Mr. Varney. Broadway star Rita McKenzie will be performing in Carleton's honor.

Brews and Blues Weekend January 31 - February 2, 2014  Celebrating local artisanal breweries and the best of blues music from the region, this weekend is dedicated to beer tastings, dinners and lectures along with live blues music provided by The Adrian Duke Project.

  

Culinary Weekend February 7 - 9, 2014  Led by The Greenbrier's executive chef Bryan Skelding, this weekend is dedicated to all things food. Guests can participate in everything from a hands-on chocolate experience to etiquette classes, and from a five-course wine dinner to a behind-the-scenes kitchen tour.  This is the perfect foodie weekend!

  

Romance Weekend February 14 - 17, 2014  The Greenbrier was recently named one of the "Most Romantic Date Destinations in America" and guests staying over Valentine's Day weekend can experience horse-drawn carriage rides, wine and chocolate pairings, spa treatments in The Greenbrier's Five-Star mineral spa, ballroom dancing lessons and more.

  

Wellness Weekend March 7 - 9, 2014  The Greenbrier began as a wellness destination almost 250 years ago when the mineral hot springs were discovered and is today the world's top Five-Star mineral spa. The Greenbrier's wellness weekend is designed to relax both body and soul with yoga and Pilates classes led by expert instructors, a 5k run through the surrounding hills, and morning meditation walks paired with healthy eating classes and wellness workshops.

Antique Treasures Weekend March 14 - 16, 2014  Star appraisers Ken Farmer and Matt Quinn, executive producer Marsha Bemko and host Mark L. Walberg from the hit PBS show, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, will be on hand at The Greenbrier to give lessons on antique appraising and will even appraise items brought by guests.

  

Art Enthusiast Weekend March 21 - 23, 2014  Painting demonstrations, glass blowing and a series of presentations by visiting artists and art scholars (on subjects including "Enchantment" and "Frank Lloyd Wright") are sure to entice the art lover. Artist in Action, Larry Moore will be holding painting demonstrations throughout the resort for the entire weekend.

  

Women's Weekend March 27 - 30, 2014  This three-day women's getaway will feature talks on empowerment, relationships, style and cooking. A special shopping spree with major discounts in The Greenbrier shops will be followed by an Evening Gala to round out the weekend, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Mountaineer Autism Project.

 

"We are thrilled to be launching this dynamic series of weekends of fun, learning and  entertainment at America's Resort," says Jeff Kmiec, President of The Greenbrier.

Rates begin at $199 per night; full details of content and pricing are at: www.thegreenbrier.com/discovery.

ABOUT THE GREENBRIER:

Located in White Sulphur Springs in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, The Greenbrier has been welcoming guests since 1778. Known as "America's Resort," it encompasses more than 10,000 acres of undulating landscape that includes: four golf courses (including the exclusive Greenbrier Sporting Club's private course); a championship indoor and outdoor tennis facility (including five outdoor clay courts and five indoor courts); The Greenbrier Clinic (specializing in executive health); a 40,000-square-foot spa; a mélange of sporting activities; shops; private homes at The Greenbrier Sporting Club; guests-only casino; and, at its heart, a vast and imposing grand hotel. Purchased in 2009 by West Virginia entrepreneur James C. Justice II, The Greenbrier has undergone a $250+ million restoration and is now home to The Greenbrier Classic, a PGA TOUR, FedEx Cup event, and will soon launch The Greenbrier Medical Institute, a state-of-the-art medical complex on the resort's grounds.

Tragedy in West Virginia coal mine

~25 coal miners dead in blast~

Whenever a tragedy occurs in the coalfields, I turn to Carl Kilo for information ... and today is no exception. He has worked it, he knows it, he is part of the coal community.

What surprised me was Tom White's immediate response to Ben Tribbett's post about a heart breaking loss of 25 lives ... and possibly more ... because I was unaware of Tom's connection to West Virginia and the mines. Not one to mince words, Tom laid it on the line:

My Grandfather was a West Virginia coal miner who died of Black Lung, as did his father before him. My Dad worked for a short time in the mines as did my uncles and I have many cousins currently working in coal mines in West Virginia. My Dad’s people were Welsh immigrants who traded the mines in Wales for those in West Virginia.

So, as I hear of the tragedy in a mine near Charleston, WV I begin to wonder if I am going to get a call or an email bringing bad news.

Then I run across this post by Tribbett who uses the mining tragedy for a political attack on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

This is not the time for political attacks or attacks on "big coal" ... this is the time to pull together as Americans and recognize the contribution of these hard-working men and grieve with their loved ones. Our prayers are with their families.

A trip back in history on the Cass Railroad ... West Virginia

About Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Take a ride back in history when lumber was king! Nestled in the mountains of West Virginia, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park offers excursions that transport you back in time to relive an era when steam-driven locomotives were an essential part of everyday life. Trips to Cass are filled with rich histories of the past, unparalleled views of a vast wilderness area, and close-up encounters with the sights and sounds of original steam-driven locomotives.

The town of Cass remains relatively unchanged. The restored company houses now rented as vacation cottages, add to the charm and atmosphere of the town. From the company store and museum to the train depot, you'll find an abundance of things to do prior to your departure on the historic Cass Railroad.

The Cass Scenic Railroad is the same line built in 1901 to haul lumber to the mill in Cass. The locomotives are the same Shay locomotives used in Cass, and in the rainforests of British Columbia for more than a half-century. Many of the passenger cars are old logging flat-cars that have been refurbished.

Once you board the train, the real excitement begins! The great pistons of the carefully restored Shay locomotive will start pulsing, driven by hundreds of pounds of steam pressure. The shaft begins turning, the wheels find traction, and the locomotive begins to move. With thick, black smoke belching from its stack, the train pulls away from the station, passing the water tower from which the locomotive tanks are filled. As the train rounds the curve up Leatherbark Creek, you'll pass the Cass Shop, where the locomotives are serviced and repaired, and a graveyard of antiquated but fascinating equipment on sidetracks.

As the pressure builds, the locomotive is driven at full steam, and the laborious journey up the mountain toward the two switchbacks begin. The loud huff of the stack, the clanking of gears and pistons, the furious scream of the whistle at the crossings, and the ever present clackety-clack of the rails will indeed make you feel as if you have been transported back in time. The train soon passes through the first switchback, reverses up a steep grade, and ascends to the second switchback where the process is repeated, and then finally into open fields and Whittaker Station. The switchback process allows the train to gain quick altitude, and in this instance, the train is traversing a grade of up to 11 percent, or 11 feet in altitude for each 100 feet of track. A 2 percent grade on conventional railroads is considered steep!

Dress warmly for high elevations! Except for The Leatherbark Car and cabooses, the cars are unheated.

Photos by SWAC Daughter
August 29, 2009

West Virginia: Lions and tigers and bears ... oh, my!

At least two sightings of a full-grown African lion in the Cold Knob Mountain vicinity of West Virginia have game officials on the hunt. The claim comes from an area where mountain lions are known to exist ... but an African lion?

The latest report from a bow hunter who claimed that he saw the King of the Jungle earlier this month has exotic animal expert Jim Forga along with Greenbrier County Animal Control officers and the Department of Environmental Protection baiting the animal with raw chicken and using a video camera in hopes of spotting it.

So far twenty pounds of raw chicken have disappeared but there has been no confirmation that it was the lion who ate it. If able to prove the animal's existence, officials plan to use a bear trap to capture it and relocate it to Forga's Tiger Mountain Refuge, a shelter for exotic animals.

Who knew? In the mountains of West Virginia -- lions and tigers and bears ... oh, my!