Almost heaven?

I don't think so.

This is the view from the window of my room at the Holiday Inn Express in Charleston, WV. It's certainly close to the Civic Center, where I'll be speaking tomorrow afternoon at the WV Book Festival. But it's not exactly what John Denver led me to expect.

As I flew into Yeager airport (named after Chuck!) the hills looked lovely: rolling and green, criss-crossed with hiking trails and dirt roads. I thought how nice it would be to get out into the woods and do some foraging. Sadly there won't be time for that, since I fly back to PA tomorrow. All I can do is look around downtown Charleston, which is anything but scenic.

I'm sure I'll enjoy some southern hospitality tomorrow, but for now I'm surrounded by red mulch













and you know how that makes me feel!