A Drizzle of Discoveries in Downtown Charleston, WV

Charleston, West Virginia

Saturday, June 23, 2018 – Monday, June 25, 2018

Part of a longer trip that included Lexington, KY, Nashville, TN and Philadelphia, PA with a 12-hour hotel stop in Tyson, Virginia - 6/23/18 – 7/1/18

Setting Expectations

A week before we were scheduled to drive to Charleston, WV the weather map showed a 50-60% chance of rain during the days we’d be there. The weather reporters were right, because it was raining when we left New York. Luckily, I’ve a decent amount of time behind the wheel in the rain, so the thought of a rainy week on the road didn’t intimidate me, but it definitely made me rethink how our timeline may be altered. The drive itself was expected to be just under 10 hours without stopping, so we had a full day of driving ahead of us.

Our time in Charleston, WV started soggy and ended soggy. Due to the rain, we arrived quite late to Four Points by Sheraton Charleston. It was almost 3:00AM.  Being the state capital and the hotel is in a historic district; I wasn’t sure what environment awaited us. We parked in the garage behind the hotel, and walked towards the front of the hotel, the area was spookily still and quiet. As we arrived at the entrance, it too was quiet, no doorkeeper to greet us, but the front desk agent must’ve seen us as we creeped around the front of the hotel trying to figure out how to enter the building. He met us at the front door, and we apologized for being so late.

Since it was only us and the desk agent, our check-in process went quickly. He directed us to an elevator and explained that we could take the elevator from the hotel parking garage into the main floor of the hotel. Then pointed to another set of elevators and explained that we’d use those to get to our room. I was happy that there was a way to enter the hotel from the parking lot, especially since it was the middle of the night and pouring outside. Quite the positive check mark in my book.

Although the parking garage was related to the hotel, it also seemed to offer general parking for the area. As we unloaded the car with our luggage, we noticed a couple of young, incapacitated men walking around near the elevator to the hotel. I was hesitant to approach the elevator with them nearby, but they wandered away as my partner and I got closer to it.

Photo: The view from our hotel window at 3:00AM - at Four Points by Sheraton Charleston

The Room

As I walked through the hotel door into our room, I first entered a common area with television, sofa and kitchenette. The kitchenette was a bit recessed and didn’t cramp the common area in any way. Off the common area there was the entrance to a second room with two full beds and a door that could be closed for privacy. The bathroom was located at the far end of the sleeping area.  It also had a separate door.  

Our room had a great view of the Kanawha River, and there was a riverboat right outside our window. Even though it was late I stayed up even longer and took photos from the hotel window. The lights from the nearby buildings reflecting off the water were magical. This was by far the best part of the room, although having a common area was a super close second.

Photo 1: Common area of our hotel room - at Four Points by Sheraton Charleston

Photo 2: Sleeping area of our hotel room - at Four Points by Sheraton Charleston

Photo 3: Kitchenette in the corner of common area - at Four Points by Sheraton Charleston

Time to Eat

We didn’t have much of a plan for our time in West Virginia, mostly checking out the waterfront, walking around the town, and browsing through the shops. It was raining heavily and consistently that morning, so that kinda put the kibosh on walking around. Although it was noon by the time we decided to leave the hotel, we agreed that our first destination would offer breakfast. With that goal, we decided to walk to First Watch which was about 3 blocks away. We’d never been to a First Watch and being breakfast people, eager to try it. We grabbed our umbrellas (so glad we brought them!) and walked through puddles and misty rain. When we got to First Watch, there was a line outside the door. It was a Sunday, so that checks, but I didn’t expect it. I walked away a bit disappointed, but since it was afternoon, we did have other options.

I had a foodie goal for our visit; I wanted to try a grape and gorgonzola pizza. I’d never heard of grapes on pizza, but I saw it on the Pies & Pints menu. I liked it! The restaurant has some other interesting sounding combinations; I look forward to returning one day to try another. The restaurant itself was busy, but we were seated right away, and the staff were very attentive. It seemed like every table was filled, but there were staff everywhere. I don’t know how they didn’t bump into each other!

While we ate lunch, the weather cleared up considerably. As we waited for the check, we discussed what to do next and decided since the weather cleared up to take a ride to an attraction called Mystery Hole in Ansted, WV.  This appealed to us because the road to get to Mystery Hole is known to be scenic and that would allow us to see more of West Virginia.

Photo 1: Grape and Gorgonzola pizza from Pies & Pints.

Photo 2: Mozzarella Caprese pizza (I think!) from Pies & Pints

Time to Explore

US-60 (same as US RT 60) which is part of the Midland Trail National Scenic Byway runs alongside the Kanawha River in sections. It was a winding road, and a bit hilly in places. The whole car ride I wished I was able to take photos while I was driving. At times I was driving to the side of the railroad tracks, and beyond the tracks were houses, merely feet from the tracks. Other times there were beautiful views of the river.  This ride was captivating. A reason to go back for, for sure. It didn’t hurt that the sun came out and it turned into a pleasant afternoon.

I won’t go into much detail about Mystery Hole because, well.. it’s supposed to be a mystery! But I will say that it’s exactly what you’d expect from a roadside attraction. The workers were friendly and upbeat. There was a gift shop (I bought magnets). The scenery around Mystery Hole is gorgeous (I took photos). I would love to see the spectacular colors of Fall.  I’d say we spent approximately 90 minutes between waiting for our turn, and the experience itself.

Photo 1: On the grounds of Mystery Hole

Photo 2: Outside Mystery Hole

Photo 3: The view behind Mystery Hole

On our drive back from Mystery Hole on US-60 we stopped at two places that we passed on the way. One was Cathedral Falls which is about 50 minutes from Charleston WV and 10 minutes from Mystery Hole. It’s a waterfall that you can see from the road. You can stop and take photos or have lunch, there is a dirt parking area that you can pull into and walk closer and there were a couple of picnic tables. The other stop was Kanawha Falls Public Fishing Access, which offers a great view of Kanawha Falls. This place offers more parking and seems to allow kayaking and fishing. If I had the time I’d spend hours there just looking at the water!

It was a little after 4:00PM when we got back into the car. With no plans in mind and knowing that many things would close at 5:00PM on Sunday anyway, we went back to the hotel room. Since Pies & Pints was earmarked for dinner, we needed a new dinner destination. We opted to stay close and go to Recovery Sports Grill.

Photo 1: Cathedral Falls along US-60

Photo 2: Kanawha Falls Public Fishing Access along US-60

Photo 3: a view of the Kanawha River along US-60

Winding Down

After freshening up in the room, we walked around the corner to the restaurant. It was busy, but we were seated without delay. With the day starting to catch up with us, our dinner order wasn’t fancy, two Home Run burgers with a nachos appetizer to share (we could always take it back to the room). The food was well priced, and we enjoyed it.

An amusing part of this experience was, as we sat at our booth, talked, and took in the atmosphere of the restaurant, we noticed a lot of takeout orders being picked up. Big orders too! Almost every person picking up left through the same door inside the restaurant and it was towards the hotel. We deduced that the door led into the hotel, and when we left the restaurant, we were going to use that door too. We deducted correctly! It led to the back of the hotel with signs pointing towards the lobby. We passed the parking garage elevator. Who knew!?! I guess since we arrived in the middle of the night, the desk agent didn’t think about mentioning the restaurant. Also, kind of explains the men we saw in the parking garage the first night too.

On our last day, we made another attempt to eat breakfast at First Watch. As we entered the lobby of the hotel, it was hoppin’. It looked like there was some sort of junior boxing competition being held nearby, and there were lots of athletes around. I guess that explains all the food being picked up the night before!

Although still the weather was rainy, it was lighter. The restaurant was a lot quieter, and we were seated quickly. It was a bit posher than my impression of the name gave me, but there was a classic egg dish available, called The Traditional (two eggs, a choice of meat, breakfast potations and toast), and that’s what we both ordered.  On our walk back to the hotel, we spent a few minutes browsing inside Taylor Books looking at some of the artwork that was on display. On our way out of Charleston, we made one more stop, to the mall, Charleston Town Center.

Photo 1: inside Recovery Sports Grill

Photo 2: inside First Watch

Photo 3: inside Taylor Books

Final Impressions

The mall was only a few blocks away, but we needed to check out of the hotel anyway. It was nice to experience what a Sunday and a Monday looked like in the area. There was clearly more traffic on Monday but nothing outrageous. The mall parking lot wasn’t too busy on Monday nor was the mall. I think that Charleston, WV is a wonderful destination to spend a few days. It offers a lot of different things, between bar hopping, or the river walk to fishing and spending time outdoors. It’s one of the places I’d like to return to and be able to spend more time, hopefully with better weather too!

Next stop, Lexington, KY.

Things I learned from planning this trip: Location is everything! Charleston, West Virginia is near to a lot of other cities I want to visit. It’s less than 4 hours from Cincinnati, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA – both places I have on our list as baseball cities. Approximately 5 hours away from Washington DC (more baseball!) and Baltimore, MD (seafood!) which are both about halfway back to NYC. I had a real tough time deciding which ones to pair it up with when arranging this road trip.

Things I learned from attending this trip: pack umbrellas! Sometimes a change in the plan (or the weather!) can create a memory that you’d never have planned.

Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Go back for more! Walk along the river, explore across the river, visit some of the historic sites and learn about the history of Charleston. Also visit the college campus. I didn’t know what to expect of Charleston, and this is why I love exploring new places. This may hold the top place on my list of places I want to go back to.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Written June 2, 2025

​​©2025 Theri’s Travel Tales