There are a slew of West Virginia posts coming your way, but before this “series” gets underway, I thought I’d explain to you, dear reader, how this all came about.

A West Virginia native, none of the sites that I will be posting about were new to me. However, at the same time, they were kind of new, because I don’t really think I appreciated them before. I had my eyes set on roaming the streets of Southeast Asia, exploring Chile’s pristine Patagonia, laughing at monkeys in Costa Rica, experiencing Machu Picchu…

As soon as I could, I got out of West Virginia. I wanted more. I wanted to know, do and see more. I wanted diversity, anonymity, experiences that didn’t involve a homogenous group where everybody knew everybody…so I left.

I left with a rather biased view of the place that I wanted out of for being so biased. I now see the error in my behavior.

This time I really saw that West Virginia is so much more than what I often portray it to be; it’s a state rich with culture. In general, the people are humble and genuine; the sites are beautiful, the flora dense; it’s good and simple. I had such a good time while I was back home.

It was neat to revisit my state’s natural wonders as an adult and have another opportunity to properly capture their beauty. The last time I was around those parts, I had a disposable camera and was in sixth grade. Who could have imagined then that I would be traipsing around some 15 years later, visiting from Chile and just now really realizing how beautiful my home state is?

West Virginia, almost heaven…