Trip with my boy Mikey

I went to Beckley to visit my parents and brought my soon to be step-son along for the journey. We had a great time, I enjoyed the company and having someone to listen to my inane stories about growing up in Beckley, WV in the 1990s.

A highlight for him was our visit to the newly opened Beckley Service Plaza on the West Virginia Turnpike. I think an old High School bandmate of mine is the director of the Turnpike so shout out to Jeff Miller if you are still running things, you are doing a great job! In particular was the Popeye’s which opened and really had my boys attention throughout the journey. Chicken sandwich ftw!

Anyway, back to my rambling account of our adventure. So, I needed to trade cars back with my parents since the Kia had gotten fixed in Bluefield at the dealership. My Dad took care of that for me and graciously let me use a vehicle while it was being worked on, so shout out to that man too! We made the trip down, the weather was not pretty but no rain or snow makes for a nice trip on the WV turnpike any day.

We noticed on the way down that they had already closed the Morton Travel Plaza and torn it down (all except for the back wall near receiving and the old cash office). The Beckley Plaza is much brighter and more modern appearing than I remembered from my time working there. The service was good, the cashier at Popeye’s even referred to me as “My boy Bryan!” which just made my day.

I wish I had more time to spend with my parents on this trip, but a return visit will be in order soon. I look forward to relaying all the details here. As always, thank you for riding with me!

Recorded: 3/7/2025
Visibility: Cloudy

Destinations in chronological order:

South Charleston, WV: B-5:59, 2:51:43-E
Thomas Hospital Rear Entrance, Chesapeake Street, Kanawha Turnpike, I64

Charleston, WV: 5:59-16:07, 2:40:07-2:51:43
I64, I64/I77/WV Turnpike

Marmet, WV: 16:07-21:20, 2:34:50-2:40:07
I64/I77/WV Turnpike

Chelyanne, WV: 21:20-25:32, 2:30:43-2:34:50
I64/I77/WV Turnpike, Chelyanne Toll Plaza

Sharon, WV: 25:32-30:20, 2:28:40-2:30:43
I64/I77/WV Turnpike

Morton, WV / Mossy, WV / Pax, WV: 30:20-51:45, 2:04:27-2:28:40
I64/I77/WV Turnpike, Morton Travel Plaza (closed), Rest Area MM69, Pax Toll Plaza

Beckley, WV: 51:45-2:04:27
I64/I77/WV Turnpike, US19/North Beckley/North Eisenhower Drive, Cross Roads Mall, US19/Eisenhower Drive, WV16/Robert C. Byrd/Valley Drive, WV210/North Kanawha Street, Beaver Avenue, Fayette Street, Prince Street, Nevil Street, Harper Road, Vankirk Drive, Marriott Drive, WV Turnpike Beckley Service Plaza, Raleigh County Courthouse, Uptown Beckley, United Building


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