ROB-PEG's Adventures

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Cross Lanes & Wheeling, WV

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.

More About Cross Lanes. . .         More About Wheeling. . .

West Virginia


Berkeley Springs, WV