Quilter's Travel Diary

Have you been able to take a quilt-themed trip to places you have not been? 

I am home from a 6-day quilter's trip. It was a wonderful trip by coach from Michigan to West Virginia. Xpedition Travel organized the excursion. 

My parents always headed "West of the Mississippi River" on vacations with us. This is the second year I have been able to join this great group of quilters on one of their trips. (Last year was the Outer Banks of North Carolina.) I am seeing much of the country that I had not seen as a kid. If you ever have the opportunity to take a coach trip such as this, I hope you can. I want to share some of the highlights in my next few blogs. 

Day 1

We began our travels from Clare, Michigan, at 5:30 am with 3 pick-up stops as we headed to the Michigan-Ohio border. We had 56 quilters on the trip. We had rest stops along the way; but, our first quilt shop stop was Sew Many Blessings Quilt Shop in Huntington, West Virginia. A very nice shop where I spent a bit more than I had planned. I wanted to purchase something that spoke specifically West Virginia on this trip, so when I walked in (past the wonderful reception area where husbands can wait for their wives) and saw  a black and white panel with West Virginia themed drawings I knew I had found it. To make it better, they had a great pattern called "Picture This" by The Quilt Company. I am moving this quilt up on my "to make" list. 

From there we made our way to Hillbilly Hot Dogs in Lesage, West Virginia to eat dinner.

We all placed our orders. (I ordered a portobello dog with all the fixings.) Our travel guide said we just had to order the 30-pound hamburger--YES! 30 POUNDS! We all had a good sized piece of it - making us realize our other orders were a bit much. 

We ate in a yellow school-bus-turned-diner. Then had an interesting time wandering outside viewing all the "decor". 

We headed a good distance to Cross Lanes, West Virginia to spend the night at the Sleep Inn and Suites.

........tomorrow.......Day 2.......