A Long Way to the Secret Sandwich Society

February 21, 2017 by Janet Fraser

A few weeks back Chris and I heard that a new 101 Unique Places to Dine in West Virginia list had been created. Inspired to try every restaurant on the list (or at least the ones we don’t already frequent) we decided we would go to Fayetteville on the first tolerable Saturday. Winter this year has been most merciful so we did not have to wait long until we packed ourselves into Chris’s Miata and headed south!

Before going to one of the state’s most unique eateries, we decided we should first work up an appetite. I proposed making the hike out to Long Point. The hike is 1.6 miles of everything that is right and splendid about the Mountain State. The hike is fairly gentle, with only the final hundred yards or so providing much of a challenge (in the summer one could probably floss pretty well on the tunnels of rhododendron).

The view of the New River Gorge Bridge from Long Point, and two nerds

The view is spectacular. It is the absolute best view of the New River Gorge Bridge as the point is about even with the center of the bridge. You also have the benefit of being closer to the altitude of the bridge deck than you do if you brave Fayette Station Road to admire the bridge from the bottom of the gorge. Chris and I were not the only ones who found the view spectacular. As we carefully stepped out onto the rocky ledge we found two people preparing part of the area for a marriage proposal. Two people may have been thinking about the next phase of their life, but Chris and I were now firmly fixed on the food.

Secret Sandwich Society is only a few years old but has already taken a legendary place on the West Virginia dining scene. Located on the edge of Fayetteville’s funky downtown district (voted one of the Coolest Small Towns in America by readers of Budget Travel Magazine in 2006), Secret Sandwich Society is located in a deceptively large building. When you realize you have to descend a flight of stairs to get to the dining area you realize it isn’t very large, especially compared to the demand! Trust me, when you’re waiting an hour for a table at 2:30pm on a Saturday, you want any excuse to feel like you’re making a good decision.

The restaurant did not disappoint! Their selection of Hansen’s sodas was a fun departure from the usual fountain offerings. We kicked off our meal with the Society Fries. I couldn’t tell you how they season them, but I know I want to eat more of them. Their burgers sounded delicious, but when a food item is in the name of a restaurant it seems wise to try that item. I ordered a Washington (ham, white cheddar, green apple, rosemary majo, and greens on a toasted baguette), while Chris tried the McKinley (spiced homemade meatloaf, chipotle-bacon jam, 1000 island dressing, and crispy onions on toasted sourdough). Both sandwiches were unique flavor combinations. The McKinley left a zesty after taste, while the green apple on the Washington seemed to amplify the flavors of the ham and cheese with a kiss of bittersweet in the finish.

If I had the day to do over again, I would’ve ordered lunch to go and either driven to the Canyon Rim Visitor’s Center (just across the bridge), down to the bottom of the Gorge via Fayette Station Road (15-20 mins), or to the ghost town of Thurmond (30 mins) and enjoyed my meal as a picnic. There is a wonderful view of the New River Gorge Bridge from the Visitor’s Center. At the bottom of the gorge there are enormous boulders along the shore that make for great picnicking (and you can watch the rafters!). Thurmond is a fantastic spot to watch trains on the CSX mainline from the safety of the platform of the train station and, after eating, you could explore the well-preserved ghost town!

After filling up, we made the short drive to Ansted, WV on the Midland Trail. The Hawks Nest Rail Trail is a 1.8 mile rail trail linking Ansted with Hawks Nest State Park. Descending down to the trailhead in Ansted seems a little unusual, but once you see two small, old, railroad-looking buildings you’re pretty sure you’re in the right place. Things seem more and more right as you head away from town on a grassy right-of-way, but when you see a sweeping, curved trestle you know you’ve arrived. Abandoned by Sherman Cahal has a really nice write-up and photo-essay of this rail trail. We walked about half of this trail to find one of the Coal Heritage geocaches. The Coal Heritage Trail is another way to interact with West Virginia’s best known history.

Over 12,000 steps later, it was time to go home. I even managed to nap in the passenger seat of the Miata. Yet to be determined, which restaurant is next?

Valentine's Day Gift

December 01, 2011 by Janet Fraser

I can be tough to please on Valentine's Day, I don’t like chocolate very much nor do I like things that sit on my shelf without serving a purpose, although I do like cards! But this left Chris a little high and dry on our very first Valentine’s Day in 2009. Luckily it was an unseasonably warm day in West Virginia so, rather than celebrate the day with manufactured goods, we were able to make do with an experience. We were headed for the New River Gorge Bridge!

We packed a picnic for the event and headed out on the West Virginia Turnpike! Never being too fond of interstate highways when the goal is pleasure, I escaped at the first opportunity and we found ourselves in Scarbro, WV home of the Whipple Company Store.

We didn’t stop in for a tour at the company store, but this was the first coal company store I'd ever seen in my life. Since our drive-by we’ve been told time and time again that the tour is a must. Therefore it is on the list of things to do when we’re in that area (along with the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine). We accepted the company store as a sign of good fortune and we continued our way toward the bridge. Coming from the south, we had to cross over the bridge before we could get to the visitors center or on Fayette Station Road. It never ceases to amaze me how little you realize is below you when you cross the bridge.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center sits past the north end of the bridge and for most people the exhibits and vista point can sate their interest in the bridge. But I’m in civil engineering. There is no substitute for taking a closer look. After a quick visit to the exhibits at the visitor’s center, we began our descent on Fayette Station Road, the road that will take you to the bottom of the gorge, the way you had to travel prior to 1977.

Just a woman and her bridge (New River Gorge Bridge, 2009)

Once at the bottom of the gorge, I parked the car and we made our way through the branches and across the pebbles on the beach to the riverside with our picnic. About 20 feet into the water we spotted a huge boulder and decided it would be the perfect place to eat. So we carefully stepped from stone to stone to get to this large boulder (or little island, depending on how you look at it). The food was delicious, I’m sure of it, but the view was incredible. Perhaps most interesting was seeing this sight through the eyes of a native West Virginian, who had never previously had the opportunity to look at the bridge and the wondrous landscape below it.

Perfect place for a picnic on the New River

Every time you visit a location, you have the opportunity to see it through a different lens. No two visits somewhere are exactly the same. This experience worked out quite well, Chris and I are still together.

Thurmond: The Ghost Town of the New River Gorge

October 25, 2011 by Janet Fraser

Most who know of the New River Gorge in West Virginia immediately think of the impressive bridge that crosses far above the river and the world-class outdoor recreation opportunities on and next to the river. It is difficult to imagine the New River as a working river today, winding between hardworking mining towns, defined as much by the railroad tracks as by the river itself. Thurmond offers a rare glimpse into the past of the gorge.

The journey to Thurmond, for most who venture there today, begins at a wholly modern Exxon station next to wholly modern U.S. Route 19 above the town of Glen Jean (though when I'm here I always think of Hank Williams, who was discovered dead a few miles up the road at Burdette’s Pure Oil, a now demolished service station, in Oak Hill). But the modern experience ends as you descend into Glen Jean. Things are largely as they were 50 years ago in Glen Jean and after a few turns and the blink of the eye you're passing through Red Star and Harvey while weaving back and forth across a rail line and Dunloup Creek. It is quite evident that the railroad beat the road through here, because they definitely have an easier right of way. Then again, no one in a hurry goes to Thurmond anymore.

While the trip from Glen Jean is only about seven miles, getting there the first time seems to take forever. Between the narrow, serpentine road, the scenery, and the ruins--there is a lot to take in. Immediately before the town of Thurmond is a one-lane, open grate bridge shared with the short-line railroad to carry you over the New River. Here you are at the beautifully restored Thurmond Depot. The depot being the other way to find this town--Thurmond is a flag stop on Amtrak’s thrice weekly Cardinal.

The beautifully restored Thurmond Depot (July 2010)

A few people still live in the hills above Thurmond, but more trains pass through the town each day on the CSX mainline than live in the town. But through the painstaking efforts of the National Park Service and numerous volunteers, the town site is stabilized and a large part of downtown Thurmond is intact.

One of the most notable characteristics of the town is that rather than have a “main street,” the town was built along the railroad. Only a sidewalk separates buildings from the railroad tracks. Though the trains do run through town much faster than they have in days gone by! There are few towns who still have a main drag not dominated by the automobile, one example being Renovo, Pennsylvania. Others have main streets where tracks used to be--towns defined by the rails but were superseded by cars.

When Thurmond was a thriving mining and hard-working town the beauty and tranquility seen now was not present, this is challenging to imagine. At that time the gorge had been logged bare and a thick haze hung in the air. Indeed the bountiful timber served as a primary driver for the Chesapeake and Ohio to build the rail line through the gorge. There were also homes and businesses dotting both sides of the river. Signs of human life surrounded people in the narrow gorge. It is difficult to envision that the foundations of old homes and businesses not only represented people’s lives, but their pride, their joy, and their dreams. It is also amazing to think of how quickly nature reclaims the land after humans walk away.