Oglebay Festival

What a good day. After a trecherous drive home (8 hour drive home as opposed to the normal 5), I was rewarded with a day of family, friends, and a much needed haircut.

I keep trying to figure out this haircut dilemma in my head. It truly puzzles me, knowing that a trim in the Philadelphia area is very expensive. When, at home, I can get my cut, without any anxiety, for a very reasonable amount of money. Now, I am not one usually to complain about stuff like the cost of haircuts. I am definitely happy to save money when I can, but I also fully believe in being happy with one's looks. But, I must admit that I'm a little concerned that I am more likely to wait 2 months between haircuts, only to travel back to Wheeling, WV, as opposed to Philadelphia, PA, for my cut. And Sara shared a sort of horror story about her one cut experience, which turned out to be both expensive and bad--the worst of combinations. So, what am I to do? Two months between trims seems a little bit absurd for a short do...and I must admit it began to both feel and look somewhat nappy. If there's any advice to be had on this front, please offer it.

Now for the ultra fun stuff. Oglebay Park is a place about ten minutes, tops, from my house in Wheeling. It's more of a family resort and a big golf destination rather than a state park that has activities for all lovers of the outdoors. In any case, each October, they have the Ohio County Fair and the Oglebay Fest (this is the Wheeling lingo for it--Oglebay Festival). The Ohio County fair is a real taste of all things farm-like; for example, there are cows and other farm buddies, lots of home cooking, and there are the various types of contests, including hog calling (rather disturbing) and the fiddle playing. The Oglebay Fest side attracts vendors from everywhere in the state, who specialize in crafts and foods. One of my absolute favorites is the kettle corn booth (where there's a man stirring a huge blackstone pot full of popcorn that smells delightful), and I also enjoy the other festival foods provided--funnel cakes, hot chocolate, etc. Today, however, the festival was a bit less enjoyable because the weather decided to switch from 90 degrees and humid to much much cooler and rainy. Now, I have to say that cool is much more for me than hot, but I can't say that I enjoy walking around in the rain under any conditions. But, it was nice to hang out with my family and I got to see Kelly and a few other Wheelingites who were from the days of ol'.

I spent a portion of the day with my Aunt Deb, who just makes me feel so at home. I also got to see my cousin Bobbie, who lives in Martinsburg, WV, and who I don't see much because he was in with his girlfriend, Amanda, for the weekend. I also got to receive a warm welcome home from Sydni, which I always love, and when we all gathered at Ye Olde Alpha for dinner, Seth allowed me to rock him to sleep and hold on to him for some time. I miss my people of Wheeling very much, which always makes coming in very hard in some aspects because the goodbye is always looming. And sometimes it's just nice to drive around on streets that I know and have known my entire life. Of course, one of my favorite parts of our family dinner gatherings is when Erin, Ryan, and I begin to reminisce about our younger days. So many funny stories and things that connect the three of us indelibly, and they all usually include raw humor.

Tomorrow is pretty jam-packed, so I may not make it to the blog until Monday or Tuesday, when I return to my new home. But, I'm very excited because I get to see a few friends, spend some more time with the fam, and revisit Kian, a little boy who I babysat last year, during the first year of his life. It's very cool to watch him as he grows up. So, I'm sure there'll be plenty to tell about later.