ocrwvdev, Author at Opossum Creek Retreat

4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Choose Us for Your Corporate Meeting (And 5 Why You Should!)

Corporate meetings. Everyone has them from time to time. Not many actually enjoy them. Lots of time sitting in a chair, plenty of artificial light and often terrible catered-in food. Face it, the thought of another corporate meeting is painful.

Know what’s even more painful? Planning them. The logistics, the meeting space, the food, activities. Just another side of corporate meetings that most folks don’t like.

CSI Quartrly Sales Meeting — Happy faces tell the story

Are you in charge of planning your next corporate meeting? If so, we like to think we can help (and psstttt….make you look like a star!). Before we tell you about why you should consider us for your next meeting, I’d like to save us both some time and tell you why you shouldn’t choose us. Simply put, we aren’t for everyone.

Why You Shouldn’t Choose Us for Your Corporate Meeting

No valet parking
No cabs
We don’t have much of a club-scene or “night life”
Our Meeting Room isn’t art deco, euro or feng shui

Why Opossum Creek is Perfect for Your Next Corporate Meeting

NO Suite NO Shoes No Problem!
Personalized Service

We provide personalized service with attention to detail (Yes, we can do that for you!)

The Only “Traffic” is at the Deer Crossing

You can park your car at the door of your cabin rental and you won’t need it again until you decide to go home. A stroll through the woods to your meeting? Yes.

A Better Kind of Night Life

We have very little light pollution which makes for great star-gazing around the campfire (Ever finished a day of meetings with a S’more?)
Insert pic / link to facebook post.

Natural Surroundings

We do have a beautiful Timber Frame Great room with big windows that actually open! Sunlight and fresh air…at a meeting?

Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a corporate meeting with a group of folks that wanted to truly “step outside of the box”.

“This is not the hotel setting we are used to working in and just the setting will require us to think differently.”

We think they did just that. Take a look at their itinerary and decide for yourself.

Day 1
Arrive as flights permit. Dinner is on your own. Simply choose from any of the great local restaurants in Fayetteville. We will provide list and directions.

Day 2

7 to 8 AM fresh homemade Breakfast
8 to Noon meeting
Noon to 1 break-outs over fresh homemade lunch
1 to 5 Zip line Canopy Tour
5-7 happy hour with fresh homemade snacks
Dinner. You get the idea every meal is fresh-made with seasonal local ingredients
Campfire

Day 3
Same plan different adventure:

7 to 8 AM fresh homemade Breakfast
8 to Noon meeting
Noon to 1 break outs over fresh homemade Lunch
1 to 5 River trip in The New River Gorge National Park. Everyone can do this section of the river.
5-7 happy hour with Fresh homemade snacks
Dinner, fresh-made with seasonal local ingredients
Campfire

Day 4
Departure day

7 to 8 AM fresh homemade Breakfast
8 to Noon meeting
Noon to 1 break-out sessions, fresh homemade Lunch
Depart or not. Insert a team building program add another adventure and a night out on the town. Or have your family join you for a mini vacation after your successful Corporate off site meeting.

Where was you last meeting? Was it memorable?

Feed Me! Where to Eat After a Gauley River Trip

When I finish a river trip, it seems as if my belly is the stage for a production of “Little Shop of Horrors”.

“Feed me Seymour!”

Feeding the Beast At “Home”
One of the reason many choose a rental cabin over a hotel is so you can cook at “home”. Or at least your home away from home, which is what we like to think we give you here at OCR.

It’s easy, relaxing and fun. Simply toss some meat and veggies on the grill, pop a top and relax.

No driving, no need to “get ready” and you can have dessert while soaking in the hot tub.

Epicurean nirvana.

On the Town:
While we love cooking in, eating out in the New River Gorge area is a real treat.

While Fayetteville is known far and wide as an outdoors Mecca, the food is just as awesome and adventurous. Great food and atmosphere all with a decidedly casual feel.

Relax, you are on vacation!

Not Quite Fayetteville
One of Fayetteville’s food pioneers, Sedona Cantina and Tapas opened in Fayetteville in 1994. Now located on Route 16 (back-way between Oak Hill and Fayetteville), you will find a creative tapas menu plus they always have some full meals on special too.

OK Chinese Buffet was voted top 100 in the country (apparently someone eats A LOT of Chinese Buffett!) and let’s face it sometimes everyone can use a good Chinese buffet. Located in Kroger strip mall.

Rezan’s is on the outskirts of Fayetteville, and has a wide variety of really good stuff (chicken dip) on the menu. One half is for dining and on the other, you will find a fully stocked bar if so inclined. Located on Laurel creek road across hwy 19 from DQ and on right.

Getting the picture some places serve only beer and wine while others have liquor?

Fayetteville
Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit has cement floors covered in peanut shells, plywood booths and plastic table cloths. If you want to eat a baked potato the size of your head and get your yee-haw on. This is your place.

They make really good ribs (boiled, not smoked) and often have a wait on weekends. They are located across from Studio B Art Gallery and Wine Store, so you can do some browsing while you wait.

Downtown Fayetteville
The epicenter for New River Gorge cuisine. We like to park at the court house and walk to several of the many restaurants nibbling at each one. You can choose from tried and true classics and also sample some of the newest Gorge fare, all within a few blocks.

New Kids On the Block
The Vandalian offers impressive food in a bright, clean atmosphere. Located right on the corner near the Courthouse, you can expect to find a variety of dining options, including Sushi & Burgers on Sunday and Monday evenings. It’s a great way to please some varying palates.

The Secret Sandwich Society, is well, not much of a secret. David, a native New Yorker, and Tashia’s twist on a deli equals renditions of all our favorite sami’s and a few of their own. Only open during the day, you can expect great food and beers and an awesome back deck. Located right behind the Fayetteville Visitor’s Center.

Wildflower Bakery not only makes fresh-baked goods on a daily basis, they also serve up mean (as in good) lunch. Giant pastries, ooey-gooey cakes, crème horns. Yum! Trying to resist is futile. Located one door down from Courthouse.

Like Mexican food? Diogi’s co-owner, Oscar is from El Salvador. So it’s Mexican food, made better. Located across the parking lot from the Fayetteville Visitor’s Center you will find a fun, rustic interior with a river in the bar. Seriously. (they do serve Margaritas plus beer and wine)

Kickin’ It Old Skool
Tried and true. These restaurants have helped put Fayetteville on the map.

Cathedral Café is not in a cathedral but an old Methodist’s Church. Its picturesque interior highlighted by antique stained-glass has appeared in many magazines and papers. Serving Breakfast and lunch, this is a prime neighborhood hangout. Some really good food. Relax and enjoy.

Real Cajun food in the Gorge? Yes.

New owner Susan took over Gumbo’s this past winter and has spiced up the interior and menu both! Drip-off-yer-elbow-good Po’boys and burgers plus all the real-deal dishes from WV’s only Cajun Restaurant. Phat salads too. Located Next to Historic Fayette Theater one Door down from the court house.

Pies and Pints. Voted one on the USA’s best watering holes by Outside Magazine. Already needing to expand their location they are opening a location in Charleston WV in November. We aren’t really sure what “Gourmet pizza” means but they do have lots of delicious funky stuff on their pies. Grape and Spinach pie. One of my favs, you have to try. Located two blocks from the Courthouse on the left.

There are many other great places to eat in the area. However, Fayetteville is the culinary heavyweight in Southern West Virginia.

So many great options for your for your après-paddling dining, there is simply no bad choice, and no reason to choose a chain. Pick any one of the local eateries and enjoy.

Where is your favorite place to eat in Fayetteville?

A Hole in Our Map?

Take a quick peek at the map. What do you see? Or, more importantly, what don’t you see?

While I love riddles and trick questions, this isn’t one. There is an explanation.

The image displays levels of light pollution on the East Coast. The brighter the color, you guessed it, the more light. You will notice there is a “hole”.

Take a look at cell phone coverage maps. There it is again.

Road maps? Yup, you guessed it, same thing.

We Are In a Hole…Sort of
Opossum Creek Retreat is on the south-western edge of the “hole” you see in the maps. We spend a lot of family time inside the void, for good reason. While the maps and images may lead you to believe there is nothing there, in fact, it is full of things to do and discover.

The Monongahela National Forest
West Virginia has plenty of public lands, more than 1.5 million acres, with The Monongahela National Forest taking-up close to a million acres alone. Just about anything you can think of to do outside, can be done within the Mon boundaries.

825 miles of trails
576 miles of trout stream
8 Wilderness areas encompassing almost 100,000 acres
75 different tree species exist in the forest
Elevation ranges from 1000′ – 4863′ above sea level

Nearby Favorite
Located about 45 minutes from our cabin rentals is ‘The Cranberry’. Near the National Forest’s southern boundary, a visit to The Cranberry is like venturing to another latitude. Literally.

Red Admiral Butterfly enjoying the late summer wild flowers in The Cranberry Backcountry

This area is the southernmost hold-out from the Great Ice Age of the Pleistocene. The result? It’s like going to the Canadian tundra, without a border crossing, or Loonies, or anyone ending sentences with “A”.

The plants and animals you might encounter along the Botanical Area boardwalk are from the great white north. Red Crossbills (a bird I have yet to see), Canada Warblers, Skunk Cabbage wild flowers and trees, are all normally only found much further north.

Bears & Scenic Drives
Black Bears are beautiful, graceful creatures. They are plentiful in and around The Cranberry, in fact we see one on almost every trip over. However, don’t let that stop you from making the trek, make it a reason to go!

Be sure to stop in the visitor center (a great one) for a map, some books, great exhibits and modern facilities. Then take a trip across the Highland Scenic Highway for a “Sunday Drive” to remember.

There is so much to do while you are in the “hole”, we couldn’t possibly share it all in one post. After your next trip, be sure to share the photos.

What is your favorite thing about The Mon?

4 Ways to Enjoy the Fall Colors in the New River Gorge

My favorite time of year? It’s hands down. Fall.

Since childhood, the anticipation of fall has excited me. It’s quite simply the best time of year to be outside.

Cooler Temperatures
Clear Blue Skies
Leaves Changing Color
Football Season
“sweatshirt weather”
Hunting Season
Fresh Apple Pie (I Like Pie)

Need I say more? No, but I’m going to.

Fall also brings about the harvest. Fresh apples (did someone say pie?!) and pumpkins, the site of freshly-cut hay bales dotting the fields. There is just nothing like a crisp, cool, fall-evening and the smell of fresh-baked apple pie coming from the kitchen. Folks, that right there…is living.

Fall Foliage
Whether you are an honest-to-goodness leaf-peeper, or a casual admirer, there is no arguing that the star of fall is the “show” of colors. From the first tinge of color in September, the woods are generally on fire with color by late October. No matter which camp you might subscribe, I guarantee that full-fall color in the New River Gorge will take your breath away.

4 Ways to Enjoy Fall Colors in the New River Gorge

Hike Long Point Trail

This is my personal favorite hike. Long Point trail begins just outside of Fayetteville and offers a breathtaking view of the New River Gorge, and New River Gorge Bridge, at the end of the 1.6 mile hike.

Hike (some more!) Fern Creek Trail

A beautiful walk through the woods along Fern Creek. This trail also has some amazing views of the Gorge.

Float Trip on the Upper New River

Plenty of long pools of warm water that allow you to check out the colors from the bottom up.

Kayak (or Canoe) Hawks Nest Lake

The lake and its surroundings provide an incredible scene as you paddle around. Don’t have a canoe or a kayak, simply visit Hawks Nest State Park and take the tram to the bottom and enjoy a stroll.

Fall in the New River Gorge truly is an awesome time to take a walk in woods.

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Some Don’t Like Our Name, But We Love It (And Hope You Do Too)

The name of a business is important. Right? It should tell you a lot, with a little. It should give you an idea of what a company does, where it might be and all that good stuff.

Some business names are great, some aren’t. Check that. Some belong in the “What the hell where you thinkin’?” category.

View from Long Point Trail New River Gorge West Virginia

Which brings us to our name. Opossum Creek Retreat. For many, the only exposure to our name sake is on the highway. More often than not, usually not looking its ‘best’ (Cough..road kill). There has to be quite a few folks wondering what we were thinking.

Spelling and Alphabet
Know who doesn’t like our name? The Alphabet. And regular readers of Webster’s.

When you pick-up an area visitor’s guide, we’re always toward the bottom. The letter ‘O’ is nowhere near the beginning of the Alphabet (you knew that, right?). So, as you might imagine, when listings are done alphabetically we are way down there.

Then, we have to deal with silent letters. We aren’t sure who invented silent letters, but he hates us. Why does it start with an ‘O’? Who knows. Perhaps the spelling was passed down from our Irish ancestors.

Also, turns out, Opossum is kind of hard to spell. Don’t believe us? Check out the July 27th thread on our Facebook Fan Page. It’s very funny. Not really “ha ha” funny but funny as in, “How did any of us pass 4th grade?”. No one can spell Opossum, we even misspell it from time to time!

We’re starting to get a bit of a complex here.

Google’d
As if we weren’t already feeling a bit insecure, Google also hates our name. Like it or not, Google (and Bing) has become the way lots of businesses like us “do” business these days.

It’s the Google-fication of America. Google acts a lot like an old friend at a party full of people we don’t know. It introduces us to great folks we hadn’t the opportunity to meet before. Perhaps someone like you.

Hi. Nice to meet you. Let the ‘Possification begin.

Well, it appears that in order for Google to help introduce us to folks, that might like what we have to offer, Google has to like our name. We wish they liked it more. I could have named the business West Virginia Cabin Rentals. After all, we have cabins for rent and we are in West Virginia. Makes sense right?

Our name doesn’t include the words ‘Cabin Rentals‘. Google frowns a bit.
Our website address doesn’t include the words ‘West Virginia cabin rentals’. Google no-likey.
Our web address and name don’t really say what we have here: rental cabins.
Our guests know we do more than just “rent cabins”. Does Google care? No.
One thing Google does like (love) about us? Our content. We like to share lots of local information on the New River Gorge Area of West Virginia. In fact, Google says we are experts. Thanks Google.

Why We Love Our Name (And Hope You Do Too)
When I named the business more than 15 years ago, Google didn’t exist and the Internet was still a baby. All I was thinking was this: “It’s a cute name and people will remember it”. I think it worked. Many repeat guest have remembered it and have returned time and time again.

We love our name. It does tell you about what we do, and where we are. Proof? The Farm House, our first rental, sits on the banks of Opossum Creek.

Our goal, the same as 15 years ago, is to provide a place where you can retreat from it all and relax.

Get it? Opossum Creek… Retreat. Our name is here to stay no matter what Google may think of it.

It’s Gauley River Time. You Know, That One.

Holy. Moly. I know I’ve got rental cabins and everything, but it’s Gauley Season.

You know the river I’m talking about? On of the 10 best white water rafting rivers in the world? With more than 100 rapids on it? And 5 (some people say 6) Class V rapids in between all those other ones?

The infamous Pillow Rock rapid on the Gauley River.

Yeah. That one.

How can I explain it? Gauley Season is just a special time around here. First of all, the weather changes. Summer is awesome, but the humidity can be, um, thick. When it’s time for the Gauley River, all that humidity disappears like mist below Sweet’s Falls (that’s one of the Class Vs).

Then, the leaves start changing. They begin maybe the weekend after Gauley Season starts, which is always the weekend after Labor Day, and tend to hit their peak on Bridge Day Weekend, which is always the last or right after last weekend of Gauley Season. And if you’ve never seen the leaves turn in the Mountain State, all I can say is please please please please please come to see them. They’re that good.

But if there’s one thing about Gauley Season that’s better than anything else, it’s the people. Better than the river itself, even.

No, not really. But close. I love the people of Gauley Season. Everyone’s in a better mood, excited, super-friendly… like we’re all sharing a great secret or something.

I guess we are.

How To Catch A New River Gorge Firefly

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Bucks County to be specific. Far, far away (or so I thought) from a vacation cabin in the New River Gorge region of West Virginia.

I was definitely not the city streets, but not nearly as rural as here in New River Country, either. When I was just a young tot (hard to imagine, I know), one of favorites was when dad would build a fire in the fire pit in the back yard. That usually happened on a warm summers evening and it meant friends and family would be joining us.

Roasting marshmallows, making s’mores and catching fireflies were the top activities of the youngsters. Roasting the mallows and creating the perfect s’more was always supervised by an adult or at least one of the teens in the group. Then, when the sun was long gone and the fireflies began emerging from the grass making their ascent to the tree tops, we were free to go get’ em.

The hunt was on. We gathered jars with carefully crafted foil lids with holes so the tiny that captives would have plenty of air, but no hope of escape. I wasn’t the most compassionate kid.

The idea was to get enough fireflies into the jar to simulate a lantern. Once we had collected a jar full of the all natural illuminating creature,s it was off to explore the caverns and search for Injun Joe, or something just like him. Our childhood treasures were usually found under the huge Lilac bush that resided in the back yard. It was mom’s voice calling for us that snapped us out of our fantasy adventures, I can still hear her to this day. That’s when the foil lids were torn off the jars and the fireflies were set free.

See? I wasn’t all bad.

I thought we had a lot of fireflies back then, but the number of fireflies here in the New River Gorge area is amazing. Sometimes there are so many that the trees look as if they have lights strung over them. If you’re here, you should let your kids in on this great tradition. Heck, you may want to try it yourself. Get yourself a Mason jar and some foil and get out there with your kids and show them how.

And if you’ve never tried catching fireflies yourself, do yourself a favor and get going. Summer’s almost gone. And so is the season for catching firefleis.

I Was Invited To The Greenbrier Classic (But I Did Cabin Rentals Instead)

Free Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour tickets for me? Really? Why, I would love to. But I can’t. Thank you, though.

The Greenbrier: West Virginia Cabin Rentals are just over the mountains in the background.

I had to repeat that a few times last week.

What was I thinking?! I should have dropped everything on the to do list at our rental cabins to be at there. Do over please?

It was hot, rainy, and (oh,who am I kidding) it was great. Many of the players commented on how much they loved WV, like this quote from Jeff Overton in an interview:

“It’s just a great place,” Overton said. “It’s pretty cool what they’ve done with it here. I never knew anything like this existed in West Virginia. I knew there were some hidden gems in the world and this is definitely one of them.”

Staurt Appleby, you're welcome to stay at Opossum Creek Retreat your next time through. (Discount rates, too.)

We got tons of PR while on the stage of national TV, which, being a rental cabin guy, I absolutely love. And I think we all looked very good. The course was in awesome shape, the match was to die for, down to the wire, out of nowhere shooting a 59 to win the inaugural Greenbrier Classic.

Wow.

Who could ask for more? Me. I could have been there.

What a week it was for WV. Next year, I’ll be ready. They say people were booking cabins and hotel rooms up to two hours away (we’re closer than that, BTW). And we have way better restaurants here than they do over there. Just sayin’.

So next year, let’s all do a better job of planning ahead and get to the Greenbrier classic for another great event.

Climbing Camp? Seriously?

Yes, I have rental cabins in the New River Gorge. Also, I’m a dad.

Here’s some quotes from an exchange I had with my kids last week:

Climbing camp? Wait… you want me to pay so you can sleep in a tent just a few miles from home and climb?

@#$%$% You can do that in our back yard for free! Seriously. There’s a cliff right back there- go climb on it. You can sleep under the over hang were the neighbors used to keep the milk cow. And then you’ll still have time to get some chores done.

Now that I hear myself say it, I can see why he wants to go to camp again.

Let the fun begin for Teen Climbing Camp

Our son is a repeat at the camp only because he loved it enough to put up some of his own money to pay for it. Coming from a 12 year old boy, that’s an endorsement!

It’s too late to get your kids here for this year, but you should start looking into it for next year. Stone cold (climbing pun) pros run the camp with years of experience and training. Both girls and boys of all ablity levels attend. The kids actually “camp” IE in a tent and make meals over a fire. They do have showers and bathrooms at the camp ground. Each day involves way more than climbing.

If you’re interested (and you should be) check out the camp’s web site and Rock your kids world (another climbing pun). You can also see lots of pics on their facebook page.

Okay, time to come clean: this is not a totally selfless pitch for the camp.

The idea is that, while your kids are at climbing camp you might want to enjoy some vacation time in our area, and stay at one of our cabins.

There. I didn’t want to have to spell it out like that, but doesn’t that sound like a great plan? Sunday afternoon, drop the kids off at camp and then go check into the cabin KID FREE.

Cameron helping counselor Leah and Kurt load safety gear

I don’t mean to sound over excited about it but, well, to me, that sounds exciting. Our own kids camps are all opposite weeks this year so we are not KID FREE at any point this summer. Can you believe it?!

I am going to have to work on that for next year. Even if you are not bringing your kids to climbing camp you might want to find time to get away KID FREE some time soon. Seriously. I know I do.

I hope my wife reads this.