it's that time of the year again--final four weekend!

the past few years have been fraught with carolina-related heartbreak & ecstasy--let's not even discuss the 2008 kansas game, though this year made it look par for the course. but now that unc has been to another national championship (happy trails, nit?) it's time for one of the most exciting final fours in quite awhile. yes, 2008 saw four #1 seeds--which was incredible in itself--but i'm much more excited to see which workhorse team will win it all. and, no, duke can't win--it's against the laws of nature.

sure, butler could beat michigan state--or maybe tom izzo will add to his ring collection. call me biased--guilty as charged--but i think west virginia has the best shot of cutting down the nets. with bob huggins' experience and fire, plus the team's strong defense and da'sean butler's ability to hit game-winning shots, the potential for bringing a championship to morgantown is there. duke's outside shooting doesn't matter if one of the 'big three' goes cold--which has invariably happened in every game of the tournament. and no one should be afraid of brian zoubek.

all of this shop talk is merely a way to reassure myself before tomorrow's game--last week, i was a nervous wreck. then again, ebanks & co. were facing kentucky, who i expected to demolish everyone, based on the regular season. but that's why i love the ncaa--anyone can win on any night, and wvu proved they could best calipari's squad. so, fingers crossed--seeing duke lose might just make up for losing to them this year!

another reason for wanting a wvu final: seeing whether or not bob huggins will wear his sweatsuit--i'd love to see him stick with it, although this little beauty would be pretty great!

update: west virginia lost, i'll be pulling for butler on monday. UGH. i hate being wrong, especially when it means that duke won!!!

colors of the wind, dude

the pearl s. buck birthplace (where i'll be working) is located in the southern part of pocahontas county—which is HUGE. at least it seems that way to me. to put it in perspective, the area of pocahontas county is 942 square miles; if you put alamance county and orange county together, pocahontas county would STILL be larger. another thing that makes pocahontas county feel so large is the small population. in the winter, there are tons of people in the area for skiing, but the permanent population is around 9,000 people. for the whole county! the biggest town is marlinton, which has around 1,000. hillsboro, where my work is located, has only 250. tiny!

with all the open space, there’s lots to do outdoors—which has never been my thing, but I think that’s about to change. here are some places & things in pocahontas county that i’m particularly excited to explore:


cass scenic railroad:
http://www.cassrailroad.com/

SO cool. for my public history course, i did a semester-long project on the mount mitchell railroad, which began as a logging railroad and was subsequently transformed into a scenic railroad. the cass scenic railroad followed the same pattern, except it’s still in existence (and operation!) today—the mount mitchell railroad was replaced by a toll road in the 1920’s, then the blue ridge parkway.

i’m literally dying to visit this. why? a of all: who doesn’t love riding a train? i feel like that’s a pleasure that’s all-too-often absent from my life. b of all: you can spend the night in a CABOOSE! c of all: ample opportunities for (historically) nerding out!!


the national radio astronomy observatory in green bank:
http://www.gb.nrao.edu/

the observatory is why cell phone reception is super-spotty in pocahontas county, and most likely the reason i won’t be answering your phone calls (just kidding, it’s because i don’t like you). but really, it’s so cool! the telescope, located in the north part of the county, is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. i’m not a science person—not even close—but this thing is pretty awe-inspiring (see pictures here).


cranberry glades:

bogs? in west virginia? wouldn’t have expected that. but that’s just what the cranberry glades wilderness is—if the name didn’t tip you off. not sure yet if there’s campsites up there, but there are lots of other places in pocahontas county, so please please come camp with me this summer!


snowshoe mountain:

snowshoe is only half an hour away, so it looks like i’ll be skiing this winter. it’s been a really long time, but it’s just like riding a bike, right? hope so.


amtrak:

so many trains in west virginia! white sulphur springs, the nearest station, is actually in greenbrier county, to the south—but i’m still really excited about taking some day trips.


droop mountain battlefield:

i'll save this for later, when i know more about it. but it sounds like it's definitely worth a visit!

commencement

WHO: me

WHAT: moving to west virginia

WHEN: may

WHERE: pocahontas county, west by god virginia

WHY: good question. i don't know right yet (incidentally, isn't that a fantastic turn of phrase?--newly acquired). answers?

something to do.
something to do at a museum.
something to do at a museum about a writer.
something to do at a museum about a lady writer.
something to do that'll be challenging & sometimes just not fun.
something to do that'll ultimately be rewarding.
something to do NOT in north carolina.
something to do NOT in the city.
something to do in a state with decently great sports.
something to do in a town with an annual roadkill festival. (really.)
something to do that's completely different for me.

there are a lot more reasons & rationalizations floating around in the ol' noggin, along with some doubts and more than a few anxieties. but that's life. for now, i'm trying to learn as much as possible and to get excited. which i am!

hopefully i can share some of the interesting things i learn, along with other facets of west virginia life. and, those of you fine folks who read this might just see me sample roadkill cuisine. maybe. probably not.


love,

emily