Wheeling

My family is originally from a small town just outside of Wheeling, so it holds a special place in my heart. I love hearing about the history of Wheeling, especially about the flood in the ‘30’s. There is a rugged and survivalist beauty about the whole area.

Beautiful. Relaxing. We spent a week at Oglebay when moving from Maryland to Ohio.

Wheeling has the feel of an old industrial town fallen on hard times, mostly because it’s an old industrial town that’s fallen on hard times. Actually, it’s starting to recover now. As a side note for any lovers of classic country music, Wheeling is where WWVA broadcasts from.

I live about 20 minutes south of Wheeling, where both of my parents work and where I currently attend college.

The best view of the town, in my opinion, is from the upper parking lot of Ohio Valley Medical Center (it’s a huge building and difficult to miss). To get to the parking lot, you’ll turn onto a side street and drive up a fairly steep hill, then make a left turn at the top. From the parking lot, walk over to the edge that sort of drops off, and you will have a lovely view of Wheeling.

We came in to deliver a load, and I really liked going over that old bridge! The town was tightly packed together, but had a charming elegance somehow. I wanted to stay and shop and eat, but we didn’t have time. I’d love to go back and stay longer!

The city of Wheeling itself is not the greatest, but the outskirts of Wheeling are very pretty. There are some very nice parks (Wheeling park and Oglebay) Oglebay decorates their park with millions of lights from November to January. It is the prettiest thing! Also Brad Paisly is from a little town right outside of Wheeling. They named the street he grew up on after him.

but it seems beautiful. I want to go back to the vicinity for a weekend motorcycle trip.

But the view of Wheeling was so pretty. It looked like someone took a giant icecream scooper, scooped out part of the mountains, and put a town in the crevass. Very quaint and beautiful. I bet they have great snowboarding in the winter…

I live here!

Wheeling has a fascinating collection of old buildings—my favorites are the two churches that are turned directly back-to-back to each other, like siblings who aren’t speaking. I also love the old bridge, the big antique signs (for a cigar company, maybe? it’s been a couple of years) and a great old hotel downtown that was the first hotel where I ever stayed for a night by myself. It’s kind of run down, but in a poetic sort of way, not in the Detroit war zone kind of way.