Here we are at Snowshoe, WV, for a Memorial Day weekend getaway. Yes, it is known primarily as a ski resort, but as it turns out it is also a great spring/summer/fall destination as well. Right now I am sitting out on an open square sipping on Starbucks, listening to a local band strumming away, and enjoying the sunshine and cool mountain top breeze. Originally we had been planning to go to Strasburg, PA, in the Amish Country to ride on a real-live steam engine and visit the National Toy Train Museum there. However, when it turned out that every hotel in the area was already booked, we moved onto Plan B — Operation Snowshoe.
And what do you know, when I checked out the Snowshoe website, the first thing that jumped out at me was the nearby Cass Scenic Railroad, complete with its own real-live steam engine! So we were sold on the idea — no dealing with the stressful drive on 95, a scenic trip to the Mountain State, and somewhere we’ve never been before now. And here we are. Voila! (Plus the rates are more than reasonable this time of year.)
In making our itinerary, we planned it around making the 12 noon train trip to Whittaker Station, two hours round trip. But when you have a toddler around, plans rarely stay as they are because things change in less than the time it takes to ski straight down the mountain. Do you sense a story coming? If so, you are right!
We got to Cass Station with about 15 minutes to spare, and the train was absolutely packed with no where to sit. Even worse though, Sam was starting to get tired and was losing his marbles as we conquered a corner to stand in. Could we really do this for two hours and not kill him, each other, or be killed by our fellow passengers? We decided no, and five minutes before the train left, we just — got off. Got off after traveling for four hours and talking it up to the Saminator the whole way? Yup! Treacherous territory indeed, but it turned out to be the right thing, thank God!
We got to see the entire train as it pulled out, a dramatic sight with the black steam rising in the air and whistle bowing. And we were so in luck — they had a really neat wooden train playset alongside the tracks which Sam loved. And then there was an awesome gift shop with lots of trains… Plus the ticket office was kind enough to refund our fare which covered our bag full of bribes, I mean, trinkets. We’ll be back though and will stay on the train for the duration. In the meantime we have a Cass Railroad mug, baseball cap, and toy steam engine to help remind us of the Trip We Never Took.
LibbY