Things that happen in Zenith, WV

1. You paint gourds, really- it's fun and actually a relaxing moment where everyone just kindof chills and dips into acrylic paint. We painted our own images of WV...ended up with some pretty flowers, mountains, rivers and cabins. Very cool souveniers to take home for us each to put in our gardens.

2. You throw apple pieces from a front porch about dusk and wait for the deer to come out. They are more abundant in high summer but they still snuck around and ate them up like a bear on a beehive.

3. You walk through trails and wish so badly the bright green moss could grow in your own backyard- but this will not happen, ever in our bright but tropical backyard.

4. You count how many cars pass while sitting on the front porch, and wave to every one, and they wave back. You wonder how they could drive so fast on those hairpin turns, but they do. I drive like an old granny up there, holding on the to wheel for dear life while looking down at unguarded steep mountainsides on either side. flatlander!

5. You sit around a fire, and look at a coconut sitting on a table. I am not allowed to talk about this particular family ritual as it has deep ancestral meaning, and is within our circle of trust (which I also have been sworn not to talk about).

6. You look for the recently spotted bear while walking on the trails behind the house, hoping to see him, but realizing that really, you don't need to see him at all. Or for him to see you.

7. You buy cheese, spices, dried fruit, dried meat and various items from local Mennonite shops and ponder what really goes on in those innocently dressed female minds as they watch us tourists hoard their goods like hungry wolverines.

8. You search out cemetaries with really old gravestones, and take pictures. Cuz, you know, America's (Caucasian) history isn't like Europe's- anything from the Revolutionary war is worth a photo. Even though there are sites just as old in the South- it's not the same to me.

9. You wait till all the babies are asleep and play "the greatest game ever" or some such name- a very fun game similar to Password that you only need pen and paper for. It's fun, and we enjoyed it.

10. You enjoy the fact that your phone has been turned off for 7 days and although there is a tv- most only watch it early in the am for a half an hour for news, and then- it's off. Too much stuff to do outside!

11. You wash your clothes and hang them out to dry. You take short baths because the hot water cannot last for 6 adults and 3 children. You don't even try to wear sandals, and you don't worry about what day it is.

12. You wonder why alot of the local farmhouses have ominous looking metal stars hanging on them. Woodland cult members? Church of Mother Earth? Pentagrams R' Us? Makes you wonder.....and that's cool if they want to anyway....

13. You realize you are one of the highest peaks north in the state, and revel in the cooler air at night.

14. You also know that you and your husband could buy a house with many acres in a second, because it's not overpriced Florida...and move there real quick.

15. You realize the locals have to drive about 45 minutes to get near a grocery store, restaurant or even small cafe.

Heaven!!!