family reunion in west virginia

well, a week and a half ago, anna, mina, and i traveled up to west virginia with my parents and younger sister, sarah, to attend the annual harvey family reunion. this year, we decided to have it at the local bowling alley. my family has a long history with the sport of bowling, one that carries on in my veins to this day, so i was quite excited about the reunion this year (not to mention that it was not going to be outdoors in the sweltering heat!).



i got to practice my form, whilst in heavy competition with my dad, as anna and mina watched from the sidelines (anna has this highly irrational fear that if she bowls, she will instantly grow fringes on her clothes and have mall wall, then start square-dancing or something). anywho, we had lots of fun.

we then went traveling through the mountains to visit the harvey memorial freewill baptist church, a church started by my great grandfather (or maybe it is great-great grandfather). after about 30 minutes of winding mountain roads at break-neck speeds and near vomiting, we reached our destination, all persons fully intact, and visited a few graves of old family members.



we hung around for a while and had a good time. there were a few outhouses, which we don't see too many of here in charleston anymore, so that was pretty sweet. they were fragrant to say the least. i won't include a picture of the inside of one of these, to spare those that are weak in the stomach.



finally, we went to another cemetery to visit my grandfather's grave. he died in 2003 at the tender age of 77. he was a sweet, feisty fella, and i still miss him greatly. it is a true shame that my daughter will never know him.



overall, we had a pretty dang good time, although it only lasted 2.5 days (that includes the 7+ hour trip each way), and i must applaud anna and mina for making it through the trip without a single complaint. well, mina complained a little bit, but she just is a baby! we look forward to next year's big event.