Narnia Road Trip Day 2

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Why Narnia Road Trip?

Why Narnia Road Trip? I’m glad you asked!

When we were in PA this past summer, we heard that the West Virginia Public Theatre would perform Narnia the Musical in December. We immediately longed to see it but… did we really want to drive to PA in winter holiday traffic?

As we began pondering how to spend three weeks of vacation in December, we didn’t want to staycation the whole time. And we didn’t hear any place calling our name other than PA, Narnia, DC, Pittsburgh, and a few other places. New York City was a fleeting option. Maybe another time.

Ladybug loves Narnia, she’s never seen snow, and she’s never visited DC, so we thought it would be fun to take her on a road trip to introduce her to some new experiences. She was on board as soon as I invited her.

So, here we are, a threesome on an adventure.

The Adventure Begins

Yesterday, as we drove, we listened to the first Narnia book on audiobook, The Magician’s Nephew. Then we began listening to book #2, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It was a fun way to help the time pass more quickly as well as prepare for the musical.

This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and were on the road again by 8:00. After listening to Morning Prayers, we resumed listening to Narnia.

Soon, mountains came into view, the Blue Ridge Mountains were true to their name, and we all soaked in the special beauty of the “naked trees.” As we got higher in altitude, Ladybug began spotting small remnants of snow. Then, icicles. She was excited.

The Newest U.S. National Park

Since we were driving a gas car, we could drive through West Virginia (the state doesn’t have enough chargers yet for us to drive the electric car through WV.) That means we were able to go US-19. This road goes over the New River Gorge Bridge which is our newest National Park. We stopped at the visitors center and also walked to the overlook. We enjoyed the views and she found some sheets of ice on benches to hold and shatter.

Continuing on, we made a stop at Sam’s Club before finally arriving at our PA home. There was a tiny bit of snow next to the shed, so Ladybug had her first feel of snow and made her first (tiny) snowball.

Opening the house took time – turning on water, starting water heater, getting toilets de-winterized and cleaned, and vacuuming hundreds of dead winter flies. Since we will only be here a few days, we will only “open” what is necessary.

We changed clothes and headed to Morgantown for dinner and the show. The forecast calls for rain tomorrow so we stopped at a friend’s property that had a thin layer of snow and let Ladybug walk in it, taste it, make and throw some snowballs. The pond was lightly frozen over which was pretty and fun to see.

We ate a delicious Italian dinner then arrived at the West Virginia Public Theater early which allowed us to get great seats (it was general seating, not assigned.)

Narnia the Musical

Narnia the Musical was wonderful! Aslan was a puppet with three puppeteers, one was also his voice. The story had been reworked a bit to fit into an hour and a half, yet it stayed true to the main story. We all enjoyed the show and are glad we were able to see it!

Home and in bed around 10:00. We’re looking forward to NOT spending the day in the car tomorrow.