Introduction
Hello, my name is Sam and I’m a DINK. Well, technically, I’m one half of a couple of DINKs.
At this point in our lives, we love not having children because gives us the freedom to be spontaneous with how we spend our time. Last weekend was no exception.
One of Dave’s favorite foods is burger, but I don’t eat beef so we never have burgers at home. My Valentine’s Day gift to him was a mini roadtrip to the “Best Burger in West Virginia”. Just 3 hours from our home, The Farmer’s Daughter has won this prestigious award for the past 3 years. Plus, the restaurant is only a half hour from a state park I’ve been wanting to explore.
We were going to make a whole day of it: Wake up early and drive, have an award-winning lunch, and then soak in a portion of the 23 miles of hiking trails at Cacapon State Park.
So off we set, two childless and carefree travelers, right?
Wrong.
Roadblock 1
We slept in.
Not only did we sleep in, but we had to hang around Pittsburgh so Dave could pick up a rental car for a work trip he had to take the following Monday.
We originally hoped to hit the road around 8 am, but left around 10.
Roadblock 2
I’m not sure where you were on February 15, 2025, but I was in the eye of a winter storm.
We woke up to a lot of snow, but decided to take it slow and try our drive anyways. After all, we had the whole day to burn and love roadtrips for the heart-to-hearts and car snacks. We made it exactly halfway into our drive before we had to stop. The roads, even the state routes and highways, were too dangerous. No salt, no plowing, and a whole lot of drivers with laissez-faire attitudes about icy roads.
We pivoted last minute, because we had no one to answer to but our grumbling stomachs. I found us a retro diner on the route back home and that’s where we lunched. We then made the 1.5-hour drive back to Pittsburgh where we warmed up with some well-deserved hot cocoa.
Roadblock 3
Overnight, it rained, which melted all the snow. We woke up on Sunday to clear skies, clear sidewalks, and clear roads. Dave rolled over and, said with a laugh, we should try again. It was early in the morning and we could recreate our exact plan from the day before.
So off we set, two childless and carefree travelers, right?
Wrong.
The resturant only serves its mouth-watering, award-winning burgers on Mondays - Saturdays.
Conclusion
Sometimes the stars just don’t align, even when you have total flexibility and all the time in the world.
It can be frustrating when things don’t go to plan but, honestly, it sometimes works out for the best. Instead of a mini roadtrip, Dave and I lounged around the house. I booked flight’s for next month’s adventure and worked on my knitting project. This turned out to be just what I needed the weekend to be. I still got quality time with Dave before his week-long work trip and we still had a heart-to-heart with snacks. We are looking down the barrel of some big life moves over these next couple of months, and I really appreciated this low-key time together to check in before all the excitement and chaos.
The only thing missing was West Virginia, which isn’t going anywhere (and neither is Dave’s love of burger). We can try this trip again in the Spring or Summer. We will have just as much flexibility and (fingers crossed) a lot less snow.