For this New Year’s Eve, I dreamt of escaping somewhere warmer, but after the holiday season, our travel budget was looking pretty thin. So, we decided to look for something interesting and not too far from the District, but far enough to feel like a vacation. For a holiday that's synonymous with going out and partying, we settled on a place that offered the complete opposite - and a state I'd never been to - West Virginia.

We left DC mid-afternoon and the drive into Virginia was full of sweeping vistas, rolling hills, and rural farmsteads. The scenery instantly made me relax and start to feel more confident about our non-traditional choice for our short getaway.

When we pulled up to our rustic cabin in Lost River State Park, it was already dark and the park office closed, but they offered to leave our keys pinned to their noticeboard outside. My favorite part about arriving somewhere unfamiliar at night is that the scenery is always surprise in the morning. Lost River was a surprise that did not disappoint.

In the evening, we bundled up and went out for a BBQ dinner at Blues in the nearby town of Moorefield.

Walking into Blues was as if the country record playing overhead scratched to a halt and the whole room stopped what they were doing to look at us in the doorway. A waitress who recognized our equally as stunned look rushed over and asked if we had reservations (we did not). Though there were plenty of open tables, she looked nervous as she let us know the place was fully booked. We managed to find a table with a reservation much later in the night and sat down to order. While we listened to Country Live Band warm up, we dined on pulled pork and ribs with sides of beans and slaw.

On the way back, we took a steep, winding backroad and opened the car's sunroof to enjoy the beautiful blanket of stars up above.

Back at the cabin, we enjoyed a bottle of wine and the fireplace. The cabin came with everything we needed, including linens and kitchen supplies The next morning, we cooked the eggs and bacon we brought with us for breakfast.

Afterwards, we visited the park office to return our key and chat with the Assistant Superintendent. He advised if we wanted "the best view in the holler", Cranny Crow Overlook was it - so up we went.