If you're a mom and you live in Morgantown, WV - you might have found yourself saying at one time or another "there's nothing to do in this town!". You might have never said that if you are an outdoors type of girl (hiking, hunting, nature-walk loving) OR, if you have come to appreciate many of the simple things in this town which make it unique, inviting and simple place to be.
Being born and raised in the Los Angeles area where there are in fact, too many things to do, I was quite taken back after moving here to find that things are quite simple here: No amusement parks like Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Six Flags or all of the many waterparks and other high-energy amusements, No large Shopping centers and fun outdoor venues such as Downtown Disney, the Grove, The Block, the Galleria, etc.. or Chuck E'Cheese/Peter Piper's or Dave & Busters types of eateries where fun and games are mixed with food. Let's not forget all of the jumping gyms and fun zones that exist every few miles providing a place where kids and play and families can enjoy the company of one another. I didn't even mention one of the many beaches, or Boardwalks, Arts festivals, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Promenade, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood walk of fame, Mann's Chinese Theatre, Griffith Park and the Observatory, Hollywood Sign hiking trail, Celebrity house driving tour, LA Zoo, Museums' galore, shopping galore, dining options galore - for kids, with kids, with childcare, you name it-- LA has it!
My point. I had to get used to the idea that despite not having all of the above here in Morgantown, that this town indeed is special and filled with lots of nuggets which although may be small in comparison, can be just as interesting, and offer families a new environment in which to enjoy one another.
Here are a few of the things that I enjoy doing with my family that are local and might I add, Free or very low-cost as well! In no particular order:
- Local parks and Rail Trail (Marilla, Westover park on the River and Krepp's are my favorites) They are just filled with beautiful green trees, you can even hear the sound of the water streams nearby, they are clean, well taken care of, have benches for picnics and the boys absolutely have a fun time every time). I especially enjoy taking the double stroller and walking along the river in Westover before letting the boys play in the castle, we then walk down to see the ducks and check-out the catch of the day by local fisherman. Going back to the rail-trail, as a "former" avid runner, I absolutely love running the rail trail and equally love, taking walks on the rail trail with the family. Listening to the birds chirp as we walk along the river, catching glimpses of deer and counting the caterpillars along the trail - it's one of my all-time favorite places in Morgantown to be.
- WVU creative arts center - I do love the fact that Morgantown is a college town as the "college town" has many many perks, one being, this fantastic Creative Arts Center which brings in lots of main-stream broadway musicals, acts, performers, etc.. Musicals that we have seen are: Shrek, Annie, The African Children's Choir, Mama Mia, and others.
- Local mall events - I admit, I would have probably never participated in "mall events" back in LA besides maybe the Christmas holiday ones. I don't even know if other malls do the events like those that occur in Morgantown but I could say that I have attended most all Mall-events (at least since becoming a mom). The kids and I love the annual Kids' Fairs and Baby Fairs that are filled with booths that offer fun activities, face painting, informative material, super-heroes, i.e. We attend the annual trick-or-treating and egg-hunt events and have also taken advantage of the summer movie events that the mall movie theater offers. All of the mall events are FREE and I can't tell you how many play dates I've had in the Children's play area (which is an awesome place to go during the winter to get the kids out of the house or just to burn some energy)
- WVU family events - At the Rec Center, Mountaineer Kids Club, Annual Trunk-Or-Treat, Touch A-Truck (Coliseum parking lot), NCAA WVU games (basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, football), Observatory (Friday evening shows), Mountaineer Week family activities and events in the Mountainlair, etc.etc.
- Farmer's Market: Saturday mornings, especially in the summer and Fall, I love taking Josiah and sometimes all of the kids to Farmers Market. I let them pick out a fruit or vegetable, we talk to the farmers, sample fresh cheeses and other foods offered, we walk around, I buy a fair-trade coffee and get the boys a freshly baked pepperoni role and we have a fun time learning about produce, new ways to prepare foods, colors and all the while, supporting our local farmers. Many times, we walk across the street and head to the library afterwards to check out books after returning our ones from the week before.
- BOPARC, City and Library activities: The City offers lots of interesting events that I am not accustomed to including several parades throughout the year: 4th of July, Homecoming, Thanksgiving, Christmas (did I leave one out?) Josiah has marched in several of the parades with his TaeKwonDo School and it is usually an enjoyable time. We typically park near a PRT station, ride the PRT to the Downtown Walnut station and walk the parade route, grabbing Pizza from Casa di Amici or enjoying one of the many food vendors along downtown High Street. We also Love Kid's Day in July, Chocolate-Lovers Day and several of the other events that happen on Downtown High Street each year. The Library also has lots of great programming for kids such as storytime, summer Kid's series and workshops and let us not forget, Free book rentals! Sometimes, I grab the daily paper or the latest gossip magazine and read while the boys play with the Thomas the Train table set in the children's reading area - It's a win-Win!
- The WOW FACTORY and Children's Discovery Museum: These two places are the only such places I've found in-town to offer weekly activities for families and kids (apart from that mentioned above). We don't go to these places as often but always appreciate and enjoy that they exist. We celebrated Josiah's 3rd birthday at the Children's Discovery Museum and have created several gifts at the WOW factory for Christmas and special holidays and have enjoyed our visits there everytime.
- Summer BOPARC Swimming: We love Baby Splash and KidSplash at Krepp's Pool, less crowded, safe water-fun for the kids and it's a great place for a playdate during summer months!
- MOPS meetings - Oh, I just love going to my MOPS group at CRC (Chestnut Ridge Church). This past year was the first year I was able to get involved as I wasn't able to make the bi-monthly thursday meetings in prior years due to work and/or school. Since September 2013 however, I have greatly enjoyed getting together with other local moms and having a lovely breakfast with them while learning and sharing about all things motherhood. Since Josiah started school, I typically take Daniel with me and leave Jubilee with David at home. Daniel goes to class (childcare) while I attend the MOPS meeting/activity and it's always a great time. Since Daniel has not been in any formal childcare for most of his life, this gives him a bit more social time with others and he enjoys the activities they do as well. I am so grateful for my CRC MOPS group.
- Community group/Gatherings/Birthday Parties: Sadly, we don't have any family around and with limited things for us to do, we absolutely love to attend friends' birthday parties or any gathering we get invited to. With that, it is always an honor to be invited places and for the most part, we typically attend most all of the kid's parties we get invited to (if we're in town). We love people and celebrating people and we always have a good time. Our family also meets bi-monthly for a community group which is one of our favorite times of the week (we all eat together, then while the kids play with sitters, us "adults" pray, encourage one another and sharing in meaningful conversation) - it's fun for the whole family!
- Staying home: I admit, this is a new one for me. We are in our third home since moving to Morgantown, and up until now, I never had a back-yard or a neighborhood to really enjoy and appreciate such as the home we live in now. There are many days that we are just home, playing indoors or outside in our backyard, the boys enjoy playing out on the back deck or riding bikes, throwing balls, etc.. and I enjoy not having to load them up in the car to drive somewhere. There is also a little park in our neighborhood which we often walk to (although our community is very hilly-so the walk is a real work-out). We have play dates with friends at our house or I go to other friend's houses and it's always an enjoyable time. My husband (who is a big home-body) is probably most happy to hear now that "staying home" has become one of my favorite things to do with the family.
This may in fact be the list, and if you're reading this from California, you may be laughing by the simplicity of this list, but I tell 'ya, I wouldn't have it any other way. At least for right now, I am enjoying this simple life, and I am saving lots of money by not having to fork out $$ for this activity and $$$$ for that. I am glad that Josiah, Daniel and Jubilee have all that they need and have yet to be exposed to what most of America has to offer in the sense of consumerism. We are appreciating what's around, taking advantage of local fun and having a pretty good time. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish sometimes that I could just take the kids to Disneyland, or have a day at the beach but I choose to make the best of what we have and what we have is pretty darn awesome. :)
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