How to Retreat from Every Day Life: Stay at Revelle’s River Resort

Retreat from Every Day Life: Stay at Revelle's River Resort

Revelle’s River Resort is located deep in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest, along more than 2 miles of river frontage. We are a great retreat any time of year! Spring and summer bring fishing, tubing, hiking, and much more outdoor activities. Winter brings great local skiing and snowboarding.

Revelle’s has facilities available year round – perfect for a weekend getaway. Comfortable cabins are complete with heat, wood burning stoves, full kitchen, hot tubs, and bathroom facilities. Our newest year round facilities include our White Tails and The Moose.

Campground facilities include coin laundry, dump station, 3 point hookups, hot showers, picnic tables, fully stocked country and camping store, clean restrooms, entertainment, on-site riverfront dining and more.

Several rental facilities are available for your special event! Perfect for any celebration such as family reunions, birthdays, wedding receptions and much more

Revelle’s River Resort

Faulkner Road

Bowden, West Virginia 26254

304-636-0023

info@revelles.com

www.revelles.com

Go Back in Time at The Historic General Lewis Inn

Go Back in Time at The General Lewis Inn

The Historic General Lewis Inn, opened in 1929 as an antique furnished hotel with a white linen dining room open to the public, continues the traditions of service, attitude, and quality begun by the Hock family. It remains in the same family and though providing air conditioning, WiFi, and flat screen TVs today, we celebrate the traditional values associated with our beginning.

Located three blocks from downtown Lewisburg in a residential neighborhood, all the pleasantries of an historic district with an artistic slant, including a performing Carnegie Hall, Greenbrier Valley Professional Theater, galleries, shops, even an authentic Irish Pub, are an easy walk should our guests chose to leave the Gardens or the rocking chairs on the porch. We’re an easy escape to a human focused world.

Family reunions can be a lot of fun. You get to see family members you may not have seen for a couple of years. Perhaps, there are ‘new’ family members you haven’t met. The good news is there are plenty of family reunion locations throughout the U.S. The possibilities are endless!

It’s important to make arrangements early and find a place that works for everyone. This is a good way to prevent family feuds! If you wait too long to plan your family reunion, your favorite hotel or resort could be booked solid. Also, family members may not be able to attend due to previous travel plans.

How to Plan a Family Reunion, Cut Costs, and Have a Good Time

Book Your Family Reunion Locations Early! Photo credit: Stock exchange-Sign-Helen Bobis

Book early

Beach family reunion locations are popular. The most popular beach vacation destination is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. If you have your heart set on having your family reunion in SC then you better book your location early. Otherwise, the entire family will be left out in the cold.

Tie your family reunion to an important date

If grandma and grandpa are celebrating 65 years of marriage, celebrate their special day at the family reunion. Building your family reunion around a holiday could be tricky. Big holiday’s like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are during the travel ‘high season.’ You may not be able to find accommodations or someone may not be able to attend.

Hold your family reunion in the off-season

It may be cost effective to hold your family reunion in the off-season. Family reunion locations such as Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and other popular destinations can be expensive during the ‘high season’ which is usually during the summer. Some family members may not be able to afford to attend. Take this into consideration when planning your family reunion. Holding in the off-season could work for everyone.

Meet at a family member’s home

Holding your family reunion at a family member’s home is another way to cut costs. Perhaps, a family member with five or more acres of land will be willing to host the family reunion. Everyone can bring something, a hot meal, desert, or soft drinks. Of course, cash would probably be accepted too!

Decide on the size of your family reunion

Your family reunion doesn’t have to be large. A small and intimate family reunion could be more inviting. First-time family reunion planners may want to plan a smaller affair. You’ll get a sense of what it’s like to plan reunion.

Raise money for your family reunion 

Send out an email blast and ask family members to have garage sales, silent auctions, raffles, car washes, rummage sales, etc. to raise money for your family reunion.

Plan cost-effective family activities

Ask family members what they like to do. Ask family members what their kids like to do. You can’t please everyone. But you can plan activities ahead of time to keep people entertained. Ideas are:

• Renting a karaoke machine.
• Set up a sound system outside (if you’re holding at your home).
• Booking golf outing.
• Swimming
• Hiking
• Going to the park.
• Renting a ‘bouncy castle’ or other inflatable rentals.

Now you know how to plan a family reunion, cut costs, and have a good time! Keep the lines of communication open. Correspond via email or Facebook. Keep in mind that everyone may not have a computer or Facebook page. Contact family members when you have the date, time, and location settled. Keep family up-to-date with the latest information. Happy planning!

CRUISE CONTEST: Win a free cruise! 

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West Virginia: You Can’t Beat No-Fee Admission at State Parks

Visit Scenic West Virginia

West Virginia’s maintains more than 50 state parks. With no-fee admission at state operated facilities, there are playgrounds, lodges, campgrounds, hiking trails, fishing holes, cabins golf courses – something to do – close to you.

North Bend State Park near Cairo, WV is known for its affordable overnight packages and special events. Find year-round getaways and dining at www.northbendsp.com or call 304-643-2931.

A restored 18^th century mansion sits on Blennerhassett Island, Parkersburg WV. The Island Belle sternwheeler transports visitors to the island. Enjoy tours, horse drawn wagon rides, and more. Come to the island, www.blennerhassettislandstatepark.com, 304-420-4800.

Three Rivers Avian Center visits more than a dozen state parks this summer. Hawks, owls and eagles are presented in an interpretative program open to the public. Learn more at www.tracwv.org.

Pipestem State Park, Hinton WV, reports bald eagle sightings. Fly fishing in November is great. The state records for striped bass was caught at nearby Bluestone Lake. Visit www.pipestemresort.com.

For West Virginia state park info, visit www.wvstateparks.com or call 304-558-2764 for literature.

Upshur County, West Virginia

Take a trip to Buckhannon, Upshur County, and discover what’s happening in one of  West Virginia’s premier small towns.

Geographically located in the center of the state, Upshur County allows for easy access from a major interstate. Just take Exit 99 from Interstate 79, follow the signs and a quick, 15-minute drive along U.S. Route 33 – lands you in the city limits.

Buckhannon’s Main Street features a variety of quaint shops and unique dining establishments. You may spend hours looking for treasures in antique and collectable shops along the way and then stop for a relaxing meal in one of several restaurants. Afterwards, top it off with dessert from one of the few walk-up Dairy Queen restaurants left and a fixture in Buckhannon for 60 years.

Upshur County is home to many talented artists, several of whom exhibit their creations – from woodwork to photography to painting, sculpture and more – in the Main Street Gallery. Speaking of artists, three of those also operate their own shops in the county – Ron Hinkle Dying Art Glass, Catherine Miller Designs and the Art of Eden Gallery.

Upshur County’s history dates back to the French and Indian War when brothers Samuel and John Pringle abandoned their posts and made their way south to present-day Upshur County. For three years, they made a hollow sycamore tree their home. Today, the third generation tree towers majestically over Pringle Tree Park along the Buckhannon River.

Samuel Pringle is depicted in the city seal mural with Native American Chief Buckongahelas that adorns a building at the intersection of Main Street and Route 20. This mural attracted statewide attention when it was completed in the summer of 2006. It is directly across from the Upshur County Courthouse, another significant landmark in Upshur County, completed at the turn of the 20th century.  During the Civil War, the original courthouse sustained heavy damage and was eventually torn down and replaced by the present-day structure.  Upshur County changed hands several times during the Civil War, hosting both Union and Confederate soldiers.

To commemorate several dates and locations significant in the county’s history, there are now five Civil War Trails markers in the county. These five markers are part of a several-state Civil War Trails markers program that leads visitors to these sites.

Fishermen and boaters alike enjoy the Buckhannon River and the town’s close proximity to Stonecoal Lake and Stonewall Jackson Lake as well as Audra and Holly River State Parks and several ski resorts also offer a plethora of outdoor opportunities. The West Virginia Wildlife Center in French Creek is the state’s official zoological park and offers the chance to see animals in a natural setting.

West Virginia Wesleyan College, a small private school that numbers some 1,500 students hosts many lectures, plays, art shows and more that are open to community members. Once a year, Upshur County hosts the West Virginia Strawberry Festival, a five-day festival with three parades that draws parade and band units from around the country and several international units as well. The festival pays homage to the strawberry and the sweet fruit abounds during the festival from strawberry shortcake to specialty strawberry drinks, strawberry auctions and more.

To learn more about what’s happening in Upshur County, call 304-473-1400 or go to www.VisitUpshur.org.

Less than 4 hours from Washington D.C., Tucker County, WV is where you want to be when they starting receiving their annual 160-200 inches of snowfall. The last two seasons has produced more than 200 inches of snowfall! Ski the Valley means a choice of two big ski mountains. Over 76 slopes and trails, seven lifts, terrain parks, a snow tubing park, air boarding and a full schedule of special events at two West Virginia ski resorts make one great vacation! Ski both of these resorts on one lift ticket. The Ski the Valley lift ticket is a two-day ticket available for one great price at both downhill resorts, Timberline and Canaan Valley Resorts. You can now ski two great mountains at one great price! 

In the past three decades, the region has nurtured a reputation of being a ski destination for vacationing families. Timberline boasts the longest run in the Southeast — the two-mile-long Salamander Run. Canaan Valley’s tubing hill and air boarding is a hit with kids of all ages! Add to the winter resort mix other snow play activities such as sledding, ice skating and nature hiking is offered at the two state parks, Canaan Valley and Blackwater Falls. The large quantity of natural snowfall is also perfect for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. There are 4 centers that provide those services to our guests. Whitegrass Ski Touring Center is one of the premier touring centers in the east. The Nordic centers provide tours, lessons, maps, backcountry information and equipment rental. There’s backcountry “aplenty” to explore! 

For those looking for something to do off the mountain, the Canaan Valley area is surrounded by quaint mountain towns, Davis and Thomas, which contain fantastic specialty shops, restaurants and galleries. You might be able to stumble into a shop that is having a wine tasting or into a restaurant where a local musician is playing music. As a winter destination, Canaan Valley is known for its broad selection of lodging choices. Beautiful vacation homes reside slope side, within walking distance or just a short drive away from the ski resorts. There are sizes and rates to fit any vacation budget. The area also offers condominiums, hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts to fit your family’s budget. 

Visit skithevalley.com or call 888-975-SNOW (7669) for more details.