To Bluefield, WV

On the fifth day of my cross-country trip, I drove from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Bluefield, WV, along Interstate 81. Why Bluefield? That's the town in which my eldest daughter, Dorothy, and her husband, Frank, live. That made this the first day of my trip in which I reached a primary objective! So, yes, it was a shorter travel day as well.

However, I had a bit of a start when I found myself, not in West Virginia, but in plain Virginia! I'd forgotten that, coming from the southwest, I would encounter a little bit of Virginia before reaching its redneck cousin. Luckily, West Virginia wasn't far beyond.

There are two states with Virginia in their names because of the political and cultural differences that emerged between the eastern and western parts of the original Virginia colony. The eastern part, known as Tidewater Virginia, was dominated by wealthy planters who owned large estates and relied on slave labor. The western part, known as Trans-Allegheny Virginia, was populated by small farmers and settlers who opposed slavery and favored democracy! During the American Civil War, Virginia seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America, but the western counties refused to follow and formed their own government. In 1863, these counties were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia, while the rest of Virginia remained loyal to the Confederacy.

Unfortunately, since then, West Virginia has taken on the least educated and most racist people who fled Virginia as it became more prosperous and progressive. So sad to see people who could become educated, refuse to do so since the local culture now holds that educated people tend to be more egalitarian and, well, liberal.

Regardless of its politics, however, West Virginia is one of our most beautiful states.

I got my motel, charged up the car, and had a nice visit at the motel with Dorothy and Frank. Sorry, no pics tonight but tomorrow we are meeting again and will have lunch with Frank's mom and stepdad.