I don’t know if it’s the pandemic or just the usual blah-ness of March, but I’m getting anxious for travel. So I thought I’d share some travel memories with these kind of mini-reviews of vacation spots.

I thought I’d start off with a nice little day trip my family and I took a few years ago. On the Ohio River is a charming small town called Point Pleasant. Located just inside West Virginia, it has some nice river scenery, several eye-catching historical murals… and a paranormal mystery to capture and haunt the imagination.

If you don’t know about Mothman, here’s the Cliff Notes story: He’s a mysterious, massive bat-like creature with glowing red eyes. All sorts of myths and conspiracies have arisen around this cryptid creature.

The museum itself is a small hole-in-the-wall type of place, but it has plenty of information and a lot of local urban legend charm. It’s a nice way to spend an hour, but Point Pleasant also has some nice antique stores and a nice little walk bordered on one side by murals and the other side by the Ohio River.

Nearby are some other Mothman-related sites. We didn’t visit those (or stay in the allegedly haunted hotel), but for the extra-adventurous, those can turn the day-trip into an over-nighter.

We opted to start heading home, and instead ended the trip by visiting the very first Bob Evans in Rio Grande. The restaurant is a staple here in the Midwest. And visiting the original farm and restaurant yielded a really yummy meal. Generous portions…. and seriously the best sandwich I’d ever had at a Bob Evans.

In short, Point Pleasant, WV (with maybe a detour to Rio Grande) will give you a relaxing trip with just enough supernatural mystery to keep you wondering about all those things that go bump in the night.