On the Road Day 2 (Pt. 2)
Journal Entry:
Thursday, March 15, 2017 (Afternoon) Montgomery, WV
Jake Maguire:
We visited Mary-Versa Clemens-Sewall’s house in Pittsburgh, PA, and arrived there at about 12:30. The $26 toll on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) was a little surprising, but we paid it and continued onwards. The turnpike was a very nice road, and there were some cool tunnels, like the 6,070-foot-long Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, that we drove through along the way.
Mary-Versa’s parents, Ms. Clemens and Mr. Sewall, were very nice, and we were happy that Mary-Versa was able to see her family during spring break. They also prepared a delicious meal for us of pasta and sauce, salad, Italian bread, gourmet cheese, ice cream, and homemade brownies. It was also interesting for me to see the home of another Dartmouth student; It really served to underscore that students at Dartmouth hail from all over the nation and the world!
We subsequently drove through the city of Pittsburgh and saw the beautiful campus of Carnegie-Mellon and the hordes of bridges that give the “City of Bridges” its famous nickname. The architecture of Pittsburgh is beautiful, and it seemed like a very clean, cool, and attractive place to live and work. I got the impression that Pittsburgh had transitioned well from its industrial past to a modern center of population and culture in the region.
On the way out of Pittsburgh, we drove through southwestern Pennsylvania. We traveled through Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district, the site of a high-profile special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on March 13, and it was interesting to see the site of a current event that had been featured prominently in the national news. Several signs for the major candidates in the election were along the sides of the highway.
We entered West Virginia shortly before 4 p.m., and Morgantown was the first major city that we passed through. Northern West Virginia has a beautiful landscape of rolling hills, farmhouses, and residential neighborhoods. As we drove south, the geography became more mountainous and forested. Morgantown and Charleston are about 160 miles apart, and we made the journey in about two-and-a-half hours. We picked up Katie Gougelet, a 2014 Dartmouth graduate who has visited the area several times to conduct research, at the Yeager Airport in Charleston. I was surprised to see how Charleston is truly a city in the mountains. Katie had ridden the same plane from Atlanta as Van Jones, a CNN anchor who has been studying Appalachian politics and culture since the most recent presidential election.
Morris Creek Drive Montgomery, WV
After leaving Charleston, we drove to Mike and Wanda King’s house Montgomery, WV, which took about 40 minutes. Mike and Wanda were incredibly kind and friendly from the moment that we entered their home. They also introduced us to some of the local lingo. For example, West Virginians pronounce “hollow” as “holler” and “McDowell” as “McDowl.” Half of the members of our group of 10 students (as well as Joe Fairbanks and Katie Gougelet) are staying at the King’s house, and the other half will be staying at the Morris Creek Watershed Association property down the street. We settled down for bed at about 10:30 p.m., and all of us felt excited about the next day’s events.
Thursday, March 15, 2017 (Afternoon) Montgomery, WV
Jake Maguire:
We visited Mary-Versa Clemens-Sewall’s house in Pittsburgh, PA, and arrived there at about 12:30. The $26 toll on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) was a little surprising, but we paid it and continued onwards. The turnpike was a very nice road, and there were some cool tunnels, like the 6,070-foot-long Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, that we drove through along the way.
Mary-Versa’s parents, Ms. Clemens and Mr. Sewall, were very nice, and we were happy that Mary-Versa was able to see her family during spring break. They also prepared a delicious meal for us of pasta and sauce, salad, Italian bread, gourmet cheese, ice cream, and homemade brownies. It was also interesting for me to see the home of another Dartmouth student; It really served to underscore that students at Dartmouth hail from all over the nation and the world!
We subsequently drove through the city of Pittsburgh and saw the beautiful campus of Carnegie-Mellon and the hordes of bridges that give the “City of Bridges” its famous nickname. The architecture of Pittsburgh is beautiful, and it seemed like a very clean, cool, and attractive place to live and work. I got the impression that Pittsburgh had transitioned well from its industrial past to a modern center of population and culture in the region.
On the way out of Pittsburgh, we drove through southwestern Pennsylvania. We traveled through Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district, the site of a high-profile special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on March 13, and it was interesting to see the site of a current event that had been featured prominently in the national news. Several signs for the major candidates in the election were along the sides of the highway.
We entered West Virginia shortly before 4 p.m., and Morgantown was the first major city that we passed through. Northern West Virginia has a beautiful landscape of rolling hills, farmhouses, and residential neighborhoods. As we drove south, the geography became more mountainous and forested. Morgantown and Charleston are about 160 miles apart, and we made the journey in about two-and-a-half hours. We picked up Katie Gougelet, a 2014 Dartmouth graduate who has visited the area several times to conduct research, at the Yeager Airport in Charleston. I was surprised to see how Charleston is truly a city in the mountains. Katie had ridden the same plane from Atlanta as Van Jones, a CNN anchor who has been studying Appalachian politics and culture since the most recent presidential election.
Morris Creek Drive Montgomery, WV
After leaving Charleston, we drove to Mike and Wanda King’s house Montgomery, WV, which took about 40 minutes. Mike and Wanda were incredibly kind and friendly from the moment that we entered their home. They also introduced us to some of the local lingo. For example, West Virginians pronounce “hollow” as “holler” and “McDowell” as “McDowl.” Half of the members of our group of 10 students (as well as Joe Fairbanks and Katie Gougelet) are staying at the King’s house, and the other half will be staying at the Morris Creek Watershed Association property down the street. We settled down for bed at about 10:30 p.m., and all of us felt excited about the next day’s events.
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