this post is a few weeks late!

We went up to Tucker county where we got married to celebrate our FIRST wedding anniversary on 5/25/26 ❤ we arrived to a campground we’ve never been to around 11pm, totally outside of check in hours. It was crowded and the vibe was immediately off. We picked a random open spot and hooked up in the dark. It was muddy and rainy, but Sterling is a boss and made it work while I complained lol.

We took a trip to our friend Seneca’s new restaurant on Spruce St. in downtown Thomas, called Blackwater Galley. Hubble got some free bacon and lots of attention and we set off on a little hike near Douglass Falls. I flowermaxxed and took photos of every single flower I saw on the hike. It was a little chilly but it wasn’t raining and we really enjoyed it. Douglas Falls was raging and it shook the ground above where we stood. I opted not to shimmy down the rocks to get close to it because of how wet the rocks were and how hard the falls were raging.

We went to check out Blackwater Falls and it was also absolutely roaring. Someone tried to release ashes at the overlook and it blew backwards and landed on the wooden platform. It made me really sad but I couldn’t help but find it a little funny. Some people have lives where nothing seems to go as planned and I wondered if that continued even in death for this person?

We celebrated our anniversary by having a dinner date at The Billy Ish Kitchen. A lot of the vegetarian options were wiped from the menu and Sterling and I both agreed that the magic Joy brought to the place is slowing fading. I’m sure the new owners are wonderful and it’s still such a great spot, but they’re not Joy. The joy sauce is gone. Both literally and figuratively.

We also spent some time at Dolly Sods. We stopped to walk around at Bear Rocks and the hiking trail I wanted to take was muddy with puddles directly from the start and I was absolutely not having that. We took some photos alongside fellow queers who kept saying the view was “cunt” lol. We opted for a windows down drive on the gravel roads and took all the side quests and back roads we could find.

On one of the side quests, I stopped to talk to a muddy field of horses. One began to walk directly up to me and I was surprised and excited. At the same time, Hubble was squeezing his entire body out of a crack in the window and he took off into the field of horses. 30ish horses walked no up to surround him once he got into the field with him and Sterling and I tried everything we could to get his attention. And failed. Hubble was so curious and wanted to play with them, but I was so worried they would stomp or kick him and hurt or kill him. We were honestly terrified, when just then- the owners came driving up to help us. Phew. We wrangled him back into the truck and will henceforth be only cracking the windows and child-locking them.

We drove out to Seneca Rocks and walked around and enjoyed the sunshine, we took Hubble down the river and relished in the incredible view of the rocks. We needed gas so we headed up to the big city of Petersburg, WV. To get back to camp, we decided to take every single road we’ve never traveled and “get lost”. On our way, we found so many beautiful things and some waterfalls. It was a fun day of exploring and taking in all the beauty of nature.

We saw a local flower farmer sitting under a tent in the pouring rain and decided to stop and buy some stuff. Sterling bought me a beautiful bouquet and some hellebores, which we plan to plant somewhere shady at our house. I hope they grow and thrive. The flowers they produce are so cute.

Our campsite was right near the river and while we had a gorgeous view, I don’t think I would stay at this campground again unless there were no other options, which is why we stayed there in the first place. Definitely not our vibe.