The day was warming nicely, so my husband and I decided to do a road trip to West Virginia so I could introduce my book, My Endearing Appalachia, Memoirs of Southern West Virginia Coalfield Life to several gift shops.
I looked forward to our stop at Pipestem Resort State Park—it’s our favorite place to vacation with our adult children and granddaughter for more than thirty years. The aerial tramway has a gift shop, so that was one of our stops. With my book in hand, we first walked to the railing to see the progress on the tram’s new updates.
I noticed three ladies walked up the steps to the gift shop door, only to discover it wouldn’t be open until May.
“Gift shop’s closed ‘til May!” a lady said to us. Small talk ensued, and I shared with them I’d brought my book to see if the gift shop would be interested in carrying it, as they had done with my first book.
“Well,” one of the ladies said, I’ll buy your book. What’s it about and how much is it?”
I said, “Oh, are you sure?”
“Yes,” she assured. “And I want you to sign it and let me get your picture holding the book.”
That brought a smile to my face, and I was obliged on both counts. A smile because she wanted to celebrate this special time with me.
This spring weather had camouflaged itself as an early summer day and we basked in the warm sun rays as we chatted with these tourists. We were constantly brushing our hair away from our faces as the wind became quite restless. So, we began to stroll away from our lookout point.
This day was one of our more enjoyable day trips, and it happened when our path converged with visitors from Delaware. Friends whose conversations warmed our hearts…
On our ride back home, I reflected on what had just happened. Our visit had left me feeling as though I’d had an encounter with an angel, who had been sent to give me affirmation and confirmation. It was as if they arrived at an appointed time to join us in celebrating the release of my book.
Thank you, Julie and friends.
Pipestem Resort State Park is located in Pipestem, WV.
Love this! Pipestem is awesome, and I imagine Julie and her friends loved it, too, along with her new book! :)