I’m always looking for great weekend getaways, and I’ve got a stockpile of bookmarked websites for inspiration.  Often, these bookmarks get buried under more recent findings, but I brushed off my plans for Fallingwater after I saw Travel Bug Diary mention it in her 2012 travel highlights.  The trip started to piece itself together further after Budget Travel highlighted a few nearby state parks to complete my weekend.

I had grand intentions for this trip, some of which will have to wait for later.  My original plan was to leave Friday at 5pm for the drive up to Ohiopyle, PA so I’d have time to bike part of the Great Allegheny Passage.  Unfortunately, a combination of being stuck at work late, rainstorms, and a tornado watch delayed my departure by about 12 hours.  No bike ride for me this time, but it did look fantastic if you’re in the area.  Instead, my first stop was into the Laurel Highlands, still a bit dark and gloomy.

From there, just a bit south was the grand attraction of the weekend: Fallingwater.  This Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece is one of his most famous, and rightly so.  The building itself is genius and the setting is beautiful, even on an ugly spring day.

Entry into the home is only allowed with a guided tour.  I debated for awhile whether to choose the standard tour (about an hour) or the in-depth tour (two hours) and in the end, chose a standard tour.  I had hoped to use the time saved for additional hiking in the area, though in the end would have had time for either one.  Still, the standard tour covered a lot of information and for first-time FLW tourists, I think you’ll still be impressed.  The surrounding grounds are also quite scenic, and most visitors don’t bother to take the 10-15 minute walk (one-way) up to a scenic viewpoint.

While Fallingwater itself appears to be isolated, the town of Ohiopyle is an easy drive away and is quaint.  The town was pretty sleepy in April, though locals told me it springs to life in the summer when bikers, whitewater rafters, and hikers come through.  Based on the number of ice cream shops in town, I believed them.  You won’t find chain hotels without driving at least 30 minutes out of your way, but there are ample B&Bs and campgrounds.  I unfortunately didn’t have time to stay overnight.

Ohiopyle Town is Enveloped by State Park Land, Including these Small Falls

I enjoyed strolling on the easy trails in the state park and picnicking on my own before heading out of town.  Despite being a short visit, it was a nice corner of Pennsylvania and one that could easily fill a weekend on its own in a different time of year.  This time, though, my destination was in West Virginia.

As much as I love the outdoors, I decided to spent the evening in Thomas, WV.  There’s not much to do there, but there’s just enough to make it a great base for the many parks in the area and the locals are friendly, making it a gem of a town.  The pour over coffees at TipTop were surprisingly upscale and the music at the Purple Fiddle was entertaining, even if it wasn’t world-class.  With Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, Seneca Rocks, and Dolly Sods all nearby, I’d highly recommend Thomas as a town to stay.  Again, don’t expect any chain hotels, so consider a local guesthouse instead.

West Virginia is actually one of my favorite states these days because of it’s wide variety of natural beauty and outdoor activity.  The state is full of adrenaline-packed adventure, but for a quiet afternoon, Blackwater Falls State Park is a good choice.  Like many other West Virginia state parks, this one houses a lodge and other helpful facilities, making it a family-friendly destination.  The real attraction here are the namesake falls, which unfortunately were blocked off at the time of my visit after trees had destroyed some of the trail (stairs) down to the base of the falls.  I got as close as I was able and even still they were beautiful.

Luckily, there was still more to do in the state park, including hiking to Lindy Point and watching the abundant deer.

My last stop for the weekend was further south, at Nelsons Rock Outdoor Center.  Nelsons Rock is home to the only American-made via ferrata, an engineering feat that allows you to rock climb using a long series of iron rungs that were installed directly into the rock face that you can use as hand holds or foot rests.  You clip yourself into an attached cable using carabiners and use the rungs for support.  They tell me its safe, but you’ll definitely want to stay focused for the trip.

Nelson's Rock Via Ferrata

Frankly, the course wasn’t as fun as I expected it to be.  With morning temperatures hovering around 30 degrees, it took all my brainpower not to dwell on how numb my fingers were from working with metal carabiners and rungs.  Additionally, it’s hard to enjoy the views when you’re trying not to think about how precariously perched you are!  I have to give tremendous kudos to the staff for keeping the group safe and under different circumstances, I think it could be a blast.

All in all, my weekend getaway really transported me to an entirely different set of places, without even stepping foot on an airplane to get there.  These parks and attractions were in my own backyard and had been overlooked (even by me!) for a year or more while they sat dusty in my bookmarks.  Maybe I didn’t leave the time zone, but I definitely experienced something new.

What’s in your backyard?

Do you remember last week when I thought I got a good deal by using Priceline to lock in a low price on a hotel in Colorado Springs?  Well, paying $45 for a hotel is only a good deal if you actually stay at the hotel.  If instead your flight is canceled, you’re stuck with a prepaid, non-refundable reservation that you can’t use.

Picture this: I’m sitting in the Richmond airport, thrilled that I finally have a flight reservation that looks like it will take off.  I’d managed to switch my car reservations last minute for pick-up in Denver instead of Colorado Springs.  Finally, I could breathe a sigh of my relief, pull out my Kindle, and settle into vacation mode.

…Until I realized that my flight was scheduled to land at 11:59pm and it was still a 90-minute drive down to the Springs.  And physically, I’d be on east coast time.  Oops!  Well, my options were to nap on the flight and then buy a Red Bull upon landing so I could make the drive, forfeit the $45, or resort to Cancelon (which most likely meant forfeiting the $45).  Any sane person would say, “It’s only $45.”  Any travel-maniac would say, “But it was such a good deal!  I can still make it work!”.  Guess which category I fell into?

That is, until I landed in Dulles and found my flight was delayed and would now be landing at 1:15am.  Suddenly, even my travel-maniac self figured that driving to Colorado Springs would be a nightmare.  That extra hour made all the difference.

Remember, I’m a stubborn girl by nature and a cheapskate at heart, so I wasn’t ready to give in yet.  I called the hotel and asked them if they’d consider refunding my room – or switching me to their Denver location – but despite having the world’s friendliest stafff, there was nothing they could do a third party booking.  Oh, well.

A 1-800 phone call later, I was talking to a very pleasant representative at Priceline.  I reminded myself the two key rules to any customer service phone call: 1) Always be polite and 2) Keep all emotions (i.e. frustrations) out of the call.  Sure enough, my just-the-facts approach that my flight had been cancelled was enough for Priceline to consider refunding my nonrefundable purchase.  They asked a few questions about my original flight reservation and told me that I’d receive a response via email after my information had been verified.  Sure enough, I received a confirmation of a full refund shortly thereafter.  Success!  The refund has already been processed to my credit card.

This tactic won’t work (and I wouldn’t suggest it anyway) unless you have proof of a change outside of your control.  Frankly, I didn’t even expect a refund in my case, though I knew even if they said no I’d feel better that I had tried.  Good insurance would likely do the trick, but I self-insure, meaning I’d take the loss this time around and figure in the long-run I’d be money ahead on saved premiums.  I’m grateful that Priceline stepped up anyway and I’ll certainly remember that the next time I need a hotel.  Hopefully, I’ll actually be able to use it as planned next time!

While I hope that none of you have to deal with flight cancellations, it’s an unfortunate reality that with the amount of flying most of you do, you’ll likely be faced with a cancellation sooner or later.  If you’re also trapped in a nonrefundable hotel reservation (whether Priceline or otherwise), remember it’s always worth a phone call.  The worst they can do is say no, but you might be pleasantly surprised.

If you’re used to redeeming hotel points, it can get easy to fall into a trap of expecting luxury in every stay.  But what happens when you no longer have the points or cash to fund that type of travel?  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Am I In the Right Place?

For the Love of Music:

1. Booking a Trip to Memphis
2. Marriott’s Look No Further Guarantee & the Courtyard Memphis Airport
3. Many Musical Attractions in Memphis
4. There’s More to Memphis Than the Blues
5. When You Run Out of Hotel Points…

In all seriousness, I knew exactly what I was getting into.  One of my New Year’s travel resolutions goals was to visit at least one new state in 2013, and from Memphis it would be easy to duck into Mississippi or Arkansas.  Without time to do both, I chose a quick side trip to Clarksdale, MS in order to stay with my musical theme.  Clarksdale is a small town that isn’t on many tourists’ radar unless you’re in town for the Harmonica Jam Camp (which was going on during my stay) or other workshops.  The casual visitor will stop in for a night or two of live blues at Ground Zero and Red’s Juke Joint and spend their day at the blues museum or heading out on the Quawpaw River.  By all means, if you’re in town, try the catfish at Owen’s Soul Food and skip Resthaven unless you want to leave smelling like an ashtray.

Being such a small town, hotels aren’t all that plentiful, and if chain hotels are your thing, Choice Hotels are your only bet.  However, the Shack Up Inn was absolutely perfect for my stay.  The accomodations are actually former sharecropper shacks, which have been decorated the whole nine yards to make you feel like you’re in the Mississippi Delta of 100 years ago.  Today, the shacks include full kitchens and living areas, making it a cozy place to settle in with a cold drink.  Amenities include free rental (acoustic) guitars instead of room service, to give you an idea of what to expect.

There are two main draws to staying here:

1. The decor and theme
2. The fun of sitting on your front porch, grilling up some burgers, playing your rental guitar, and sharing cold drinks with your neighbors

Despite having a fantastic stay, their tagline remains ”The Ritz We Ain’t” and if you aren’t used to low-key hotels, you won’t be happy here.  Your breakfast is a cup of Folgers with a sickly sweet doughnut, the included toiletries are other guests’ leftover mini bottles, the wi-fi is intermittent at best, and you might find yourself receiving advice you didn’t ask for.

While the Shack Up Inn didn’t beat out my Moroccan cave hotel’s novelty, it was by far the most interesting place to stay in town and a comfortable place to spend a night.

I loved learning more about Memphis’ music and pop culture, but no matter how much fun I was having, my attention span can only handle so much information about one topic.  Luckily, Memphis had a lot more to offer.
For the Love of Music:

1. Booking a Trip to Memphis
2. Marriott’s Look No Further Guarantee & the Courtyard Memphis Airport
3. Many Musical Attractions in Memphis
4. There’s More to Memphis Than the Blues
5. When You Run Out of Hotel Points…

National Civil Rights Museum
Given that this museum was under renovation during my visit (and will remain so throughout 2013), I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I decided to visit anyway, and despite half of the exhibits being closed, I still spent 2.5 hours there!  The museum does a great job of laying out the context behind the United States’ civil rights movement and a timeline of events as well as pointing out the details of how the city of Memphis factored into everything.  While there is a lot of information on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s work, I felt the museum did a good job of sharing other parts of the story as well.  Seeing the room in the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated along with other historical landmarks truly reminds you that all of this occurred in relatively recent history and the museum also touches on parts of the world where civil rights are still very much in dispute.  I’d highly recommend a visit, with plenty of time to digest the history and ponder your thoughts.

Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum
Slave Haven is a small collection of artifacts displayed in a 19th-century home that was part of the Underground railroad.  Pamphlets describe being able to see the cellar where escapees waited during their flight to freedom along with some of the original passageways, but in reality, visiting Slave Haven is so much more than simply seeing old, dark places.  The actual collection of furniture, memorabilia, and other artifacts isn’t all that different from anything I had ever seen before, but the presentation is so unorthodox that it made for a unique visit.  Instead of simply reading about the history, you’ll learn slave songs (and actually sing out loud with the group), huddle up with strangers to represent what it may have felt like coming over on slave ships, and hear more stories about the underground history while uncomfortably standing in a cold, dark cellar.  Like the Civil Rights Museum, this place gives a comprehensive look at a sad part of our country’s history and is worth a visit.

The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange
After visiting several great museums, I stumbled upon a loser.  To be fair, I only stopped in because I found myself with extra time before I had to return to the airport, and it seemed like a better use of my time than wandering around in the rain.  Unfortunately, even though this museum had a lot of potential, they failed on the execution.  The first part of the museum looks at the history of cotton: everything from how it impacted daily life and the region’s economy to how its harvest evolved as technology progressed.  Much of the information was shared was at a fairly elementary level, but the frustrating part was that the films interspersed throughout the exhibits repeated – verbatim – the written displays rather than having the two types of media supplementing each other.  The second part of the museum talked about cotton in today’s society and again contained only basic information.  Give it a pass if you’re in Memphis.

The Peabody

No, The Peabody Hotel and its famous ducks are not unique to Memphis, but it remains a city attraction anyway.  Like the cotton museum, I had no intention of going to see the parading ducks, but it was right around the corner and I still had time to kill (not to mention, the Peabody has pretty good happy hour specials…), so I figured I’d stop in for the ducks’ afternoon parade to the elevator.  I ended up being amazed., but not by the ducks.  In fact, it’s completely uninteresting to watch a couple of ducks waddle their way from a fountain to an elevator.  What captured my attention was that there were at least 200 people gathered 30 minutes early to see these ducks.  The people-watching was insane, partially because kids in general can be silly to watch and partially because the adults (with or without children) were intensely into the experience.  The verdict?  I’d pass if you don’t have children and instead find a good seat at a bar on Beale Street.

The Food
Rounding out my getaway was a few thousand calories worth of delicious treats.  I sampled the barbecue at Rendezvous and Central BBQ to give it a fair shot, and even though both were good, I’m a Carolina-BBQ fan at heart.  Similarly, Blue Plate Cafe’s southern biscuits with sausage gravy were good, but not life-changing.  However, if I had the chance, I absolutely would fly back to Memphis just for the slightly spicy fried chicken and chess pie at Gus’s…yum!  Take my advice and don’t bother with the side dishes; you’ll want to sve room for a second helping of chicken instead.  It’s a good thing (for my waistline, anyway) that I probably won’t be back in Memphis for awhile.