Adventures in Snowshoe, WV

Today has been a fun day. Fun, but exhausting. There was lots to do.
And it all started out with a power outage. For the ENTIRE county.
We got a pot of coffee made before the electricity left us. Thank goodness for that!

So, with the power out, we all decided to venture down the mountain to go “help” Holly & Robert get their marriage license. At this point, we had no idea the power outage was county-wide. We thought it was just our mountain.

We quickly learned the extent of the power loss.

We had a heckuva time finding the courthouse.
We asked the friendly UPS man for directions and were on our way.

We arrive.
To a dark courthouse.
Holly anxiously tries to open the door the the Clerk of Court’s office.
Locked.
She knocks.
No reply.

We hear some voices down the hall, so we meander in the hallway until the Circuit Clerk finishes his business with an elderly woman.
And then Robert & Holly tell him about their dilemma.
“We’re getting married tomorrow and we need our marriage license. We meant to get it yesterday, but the waether was so atrocious that we didn’t get here in time.”
“I’m sorry. The courthouse is closed today. And I can’t help you.”

Poor Circuit Clerk. He must have sensed a nervous breakdown on all of our faces.
“I can try to call the Clerk of Court.”
He disappears and tries to find her number.
Ahhhh. It’s unlisted.
We’re not happy.

So, then Kathy (Maid of Honor) and Robert went into his office and devised a plan.
The next option, because Pocahontas County has no power, is to go to a neighboring county. That is about an hour away.
Or, he could try to call the deputy clerk.
Or, we could try to find the Clerk of Court. Luckily, she lives a few houses down from the courthouse.
Or. Well, there wasn’t another option.

Miraculously, the power came on at the moment we were all receiving the detailed list of options.

All four girls decide to walk down the street and find Mrs. Clerk of Court. We find out she only lives two houses down from the photography studio down the street.
Okay. We can handle that.
It’s better than driving to another county.

We go down the street, hoping that Mrs. Clerk is home.
We get the house that we *think* is the one described to us.
We knock. And then we notice that the name on the mailbox doesn’t match the Clerk’s name. Hm.
So, we stand in the street, trying to figure out what to do next.
By this time, we realize that someone is home where we just knocked.
It’s an elderly lady. She opens the door, and then quickly shuts it.
We go back to the door, knock again.
No answer.
We got back to the street.
I decide to knock on the next door — someone has to know this Mrs. Clerk, right?!?
No answer.
But, the elderly lady opens her door again.
And promptly slams it.
I guess we did look pretty menacing; four properly dressed 30ish ladies in snow jackets, gloves & scarves.

I knock on the next door. No one home there either.

So, we decide to head back to the courthouse and devise a new plan.
We’re walking back on the slushy sidewalks, narrowly avoiding random piles of dog poo. I swear, I think this phantom dog was skipping & dropping pellets wherever it felt necessary. Which was like every 3 feet. It was totally strange. And could have been a very unfortunate, and smelly, situation.

And then we see a car zoom past, with an elderly woman giving us the stink eye.

It was that poor woman whose door I’d knocked on too many times.
I think we did scare her – she had to leave her house to get away from us.
I feel bad about that. We were just trying to find Mrs. Clerk.

Anyway, we all sit in the Circuit Clerk’s office.
He makes a phone call.
And then he tells poor Holly that he has good news & bad news.
“The good news is that there’s no bad news. The deputy is on her way to do your license.”
THANK YOU, GOD!
Poor Holly. Things could have gone very, very bad if there was no marriage license in her possession today.

The deputy arrives, and is so pleasant. We all thank her profusely.
However, since there was a power outage, her computer system is a bit stressed out.
It takes about an HOUR to print off two sheets of paper.
It was a little insane — but it got done.

We made our way to a grocery store. Filled our cart with various junk and headed back to the condo.
The weather has been so much better today!

We had time to grab a quick bite before heading over to the reception area to decorate for tomorrow’s wedding and do a brief rehearsal. Then off to a rehearsal dinner. Then back to finish decorating.

When we were at the reception hall earlier, we witnessed the most beautiful sunset over the mountains. The clouds were hanging low and the sky was painted with ribbons of blue, pink, orange and purple.
I caught amazing images of it — but I’ll have to share later.

We are all exhausted. It has been one of “those” days — but it ended well.
Tomorrow is also going to be extremely busy. But so much fun.
I’m playing double duty as a bridesmaid AND photographer — although there is also another photog to handle it all.

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2 Responses to Adventures in Snowshoe, WV

  1. sip says:

    maybe you guys scared that little old lady so bad that she wet her last pair of “Depends” so she had to run out and get a new pack. 🙂 i'd have given you the stink eye too. 🙂

  2. carlabjones says:

    Tee-hee-hee…”the stink eye” thAt was funny!

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