Spring Road Trip Wrap Up - Saturday and Sunday March 18th and 19th - Beckley WV to Wheeling WV then home - no hikes

There isn't a ton to report for the rest of the trip home.  We went to Wheeling Saturday mostly on I-64 and US-35.  It was a pleasant early morning start to the drive and the trip went well. Wheeling was all about visiting Wheeling Island Casino, someplace we used to visit once or twice a year when we lived in PA.  It was very fun and we got lots of play time.  

After the casino we ate at Cheddars, one of the less common members of the Darden restaurant group of which Olive Garden is the best known.  I absolutely loved my blackened salmon meal and it was a very good value. The atmosphere was lively in the bar and the appetizer croissants were delicious.  

The Hampton Inn we stayed at was very full of high school students hanging out in the lobby and the hotel had actually called earlier to see if we could go for a normal room instead of the suite I had reserved.  We were very worried that we'd be facing a long noisy night with people slamming doors and stomping up and down the hallways etc but thankfully it was quiet.

The drive home was mostly back roads.  I pounded out 70 fast miles on I-70 from Wheeling to New Stanton PA but then we took US-119 and US-219 all the way up into New York.  It was an enjoyable and low traffic drive and I feel like I covered a lot of new ground overall this trip.

This was a very successful vacation, one of the best we've had in years. We hiked and walked a total of about 40 miles.  There was lots of new territory, a new favorite city (Lynchburg) and even some nice warm sunny days to reward us for our long journey south.

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