Our Adventures

Cross Lanes,
Wheeling &
Berkley Springs, WV

Cross Lanes is an unincorporated census-designated place suburb of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2007 estimate, Cross Lanes population was 13,119.

The city of Cross Lanes only has one gambling facility, Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center, a dog track racino. It is tied in the number 1 spot for cities with the most gambling facilities in West Virginia. There are 3 other cities in West Virginia with only one gambling facility.

Wheeling, West Virginia (pop. 28,803 (2009)) is an industrial city on the Ohio River in northern West Virginia. The City of Wheeling has an area of about 11 square miles. It includes Wheeling Island in the Ohio River. Wheeling, West Virginia is the seat of Ohio County. The Wheeling West Virginia metropolitan area includes Belmont County in Ohio.

Wheeling West Virginia lies on a level plain, which rises to steep hills, along the Ohio River. A scenic plaza was built in the heart of the business district. Two bridges connect Wheeling Island with the rest of the city, one being The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, which was the first bridge span across the Ohio River and is a registered National Historical Landmark. The latest additions is The Highlands Commercial & Industrial Park featuring Cabela's at Dallas Pike, about 7 miles east of Wheeling on I-70 and the Wheeling Island Gaming & Downs Dog Race Track, which features slot machines and dog races, and occupies one end of the island. Wheeling has two principal parks, Oglebay Park and Wheeling Park.

Bath (Berkeley Springs) is a town in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Morgan County. The town is incorporated as Bath, but it is often referred to by the name of its post office, Berkeley Springs. The population of the town was 663 according to the 2000 United States Census. The town is located within the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Berkeley Springs was a popular resort area during the early years of the United States. The mineral springs drew many visitors from metropolitan areas. Notable visitors to the area included George Washington and James Rumsey. Berkeley Springs is a sister city to Bath, Somerset, England; "Berkeley Castle" overlooks the town. The area continues to be a popular resort area with tourism the main industry in the county and four full service spas using the mineral water. It is the home of the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the longest running and largest such event in the world.

More About Cross Lanes. . .
More About Wheeling. . .
More About Berkley Springs

West Virginia was in route to Ohio. We traveled through Charleston to reach Cross Lanes where we stayed overnight and went to the Cross Lanes Casino aka Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center which offers Greyhound Racing, Simulcast Horse Racing, Slot Machines, Video games, Live Entertainment and Restaurants and Table Games! Compared to the size of the casinos in your larger cities, it is small but quaint. Cross Lanes is an unincorporated town in the suburbs of Charleston. Although there are 6 schools here, there is no public high school in Cross Lanes so students must bus to Nitro High School in Nitro, WV.

This was also home to country singer/songwriter Kathy Mattea and televangelist T. D. Jakes before. We stayed at the Comfort Inn West that is home to the Lazy Dog Saloon. You can even play a few slot machines while sitting around relaxing. On your way to the casino up the hill is a shopping mall on our left, so you can always go shopping if you don't want to go to the casino.

Wheeling is another place we visited when we left Ohio. It is located at the very top of West Virginia on the map. Of course we went there to check out the casino. If you haven't figured it out yet, most of our stops include a casino. I love the casino and Rob loves to watch me play. I bet max and he played one coin until he lost a small but nice jackpot playing that way. HA!HA! The casino in Wheeling is an island located on the Ohio River and thus you have Wheeling Island Hotel~Casino~Racetrack. Two bridges connect the island to the rest of the city. The rooms provide a nice view of the river and a nice price if you aren't a registered casino player with them (see the room rate in the photo gallery), the food isn't bad either. This was our stop before heading back to North Carolina via Cross Lanes.

On our drive through West Virginia we went through the "Big Walker Mountain Tunnel" which actually has a stop light inside, the "East River Tunnel" created in 1974 where Virginia & West Virginia meet in the middle, saw a sign on an old barn "Mail Pouch Tobacco" which was an advertisement that ran from 1890-1992 and are considered historic sites now. We also saw the "Forgey Club Lambs" (black, gray & mixed breed of lambs) where the head is usually black and saw some "Llamas". Never take 311 off 64 in WV unless you have no other choice. It is a long, winding and hilly road. Before starting this adventure check your brakes, make sure you have enough gas and you're not pregnant. I don't wish this drive on my worst enemy. You will leave West Virginia, go into Virginia and back to West Virginia and back to Virginia before coming to the small town of Paint Bank. In Paint Bank you can find some great buys on venison, buffalo, ham, etc. and don't forget the jellies and jams.

This was actually our second trip to West Virginia. Our first trip was in July, 2006 when we went to Berkeley Springs and stayed at the Coolfont Resort Conference, Spa & Wellness Center. We had three houses reserved with each consisting of 5 bedrooms. Uly (Rob′s best friend) was truly surprised for his 80th birthday up there in dem there hills. HA!HA! There was approximately 28-30 in attendance and fun was had by all. If you're looking for a real getaway, hideaway, this is the place to be. They also have additional properties located in Delaware.

West Virginia


Berkeley Springs, WV