WELCOME TO MY 600th YELP REVIEW!!…read more That coincidentally comes on the tails of my six-year Yelp Elite badge!! I can think of no better way to ring in another year of Yelp Elite status, and the start of my next "century" of Yelping, than with BRAXXIE!! :-D For Christmas break week, our Buffalo-based fam' road-tripped our way down to West Virginia for a few days to explore someplace we had not been. We went in with plans to take our teens shopping with their Christmas money, and beyond that to just see where the "Country Roads" would take us. We snagged a brochure for Flatwoods Monster Museum at a WV Visitor Center as an option, and later decided to give it a go when we clocked it at only about a half hour from our Bridgeport WV hotel. Flatwoods Monster Museum is in quaint little Sutton WV, a neighbor to Flatwoods WV. Legend has it that in 1952 the Flatwoods Monster appeared on a hillside in the forest, and both locals and Cryptids lovers from far and wide have been fascinated by this sighting ever since. Locals call the monster Braxxie, after Braxton County. Braxxie's museum is in a small storefront in the heart of the Sutton village. It is free admission. It is one room with Flatwoods Monster history and art along the walls, and gift shop items in the middle and in the case up front. Gift shop items include reasonably priced tees, hoodies, magnets, postcards, and other souvenirs. As small as the museum is, we spent quite a while here perusing all of the Braxxie history and memorabilia, as well as chatting with the museum owner/manager. He was extremely knowledgeable not only about the Flatwoods Monster of course, but about other Cryptid lore and sights in the area. He recommended we check out "The Spot" where Braxxie was sighted, as well as the West Virginia Big Foot Museum just a block away. I'm typically not particularly interested in monster-related things, but after visiting the Flatwoods Monster Museum and learning more about Braxxie, this festive red-and-green guy really left an impression on me! Moreover, it is fascinating how something so improbable and unexplainable that happened 70+ years ago still has people talking and wondering. Braxxie is his/her own thing, unlike any other Cryptid, and perhaps that uniqueness is a big part of what keeps the story going for all this time. Our family thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Flatwoods Monster Museum. The exhibits were well curated and interesting. The owner/manager was exceedingly friendly and knowledgeable. And we snagged some fairly priced souvenirs--indeed the whole fam' went home with Braxxie tees! And I bought a couple for gifts, too. If you are interested in monster lore, or are sightseeing in the Sutton WV area for any reason, it is well worth the visit to this quirky, offbeat roadside hidden gem.

A neat little stop on an epic road trip. Street parking was easy and a quick walk around town…read moreallowed us to enjoy Sutton. The museum itself was a very quick stop (15-20 minutes) with a photo op with Brexxie. While I would stop on my way through I wouldn't necessarily go out of way to check it out. A bonus stop at the nearby Bigfoot museum made it worth the stopover.

The friendly staff and tour ways perfect for all ages. The info signs along the way helped. We…read moreenjoyed the gift shop and did the gem mining before leaving.

I am a big fan of caves/caverns so when I see one when I am traveling I try to stop if I can…read more While in West Virginia we were fairly close to Lost Word so we made the stop. The grounds are nice and have places to picnic and there are llamas. There is a gift shop and that is where you enter and exit and get your tickets. The caverns are pretty neat. Not super large or difficult to walk. Just be warned that there can be large school groups that could impact your visit.

We recently road-tripped our way from Buffalo NY down to WV for no better reason than to visit a…read morenew place together. We stayed in Bridgeport WV, about a half hour from Weston WV, where Appalachian Oddities is located. Weston WV has many paranormal ties, including a huge historical asylum that dovetails with civil war history, too. So a mystic shop like Appalachian Oddities fits right in here in Weston. When we first walked in, we actually weren't sure if it was a shop or a museum, as the entry vestibule is staged so well as an undead parlor, haha. But we were soon warmly greeted by the shop owner, and welcomed inside to take a look around. Appalachian Oddities is inside a repurposed house that still has much of the original footprint and charm. So each area of the store is in a different room of the house, with lots of peculiar gifts to explore in each space. I ended up purchasing a couple gifts here, one a prayer-style candle for my horror-movie-loving brother that had a Freddy Krueger design on it. I also purchased a necklace for my daughter that had a lovely etched wood raven pendant. Our twelve-year old son went to town here with his Christmas money, and bought a board game called "Pandemic", and a local artist print of a painting of the Joker, Jauqiun Phoenix's rendition. As it turns out, the asylum in Weston is a short-listed film location for the next Joker movie. In addition to the shop, Appalachian Oddities has an escape room attraction. We did not participate in the escape room when we were there, but did see a family going in, and could overhear the screams, scares, and fun coming out of the escape room. I overheard the cost was $25 per person, and the people going through seemed to be having a great time well worth the cost. My husband spent some time chatting with the very friendly owner, who also runs a paranormal enthusiast group out of their meeting space in the back of the store. The group ghost hunts together in the area, and have had some intriguing close encounters! If you live in this area and are interested in paranormal sightings, definitely check out this group. If you are visiting Weston WV for the asylum tour or any of the other area attractions related to the mysterious unknown, (i.e., ghosts, aliens, cryptids, etc.), Appalachian Oddities is a great gift shop stop! Even if ghouls aren't your thing, it is still fun to stop in for a peek at the paranormal.

The owner is an absolute sweet heart and the staff is just as kind and knowledgeable! They have a…read morewide variety of strange and unusual items and it's definitely worth stopping in and checking out! They host many events and even do in house tarot readings.

This is such a neat place!! We went here for a field trip with our homeschool group. There's so…read moremuch to see and everything is set up beautifully!! The employees are helpful and kind. The museum is free which I thought was really nice.

I'm a big glass aficionado, but usually in a much different way. Our fam' is from Buffalo NY, and a…read morefavorite hobby of mine is treasure hunting for beach glass on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Walking into the Museum of American Glass during our recent holiday road trip to WV, my initial reaction was--"THROW IT ALL IN THE LAKE!!" :-O :-P ;-) But of course, not really, hahaha. That would be a tragedy, as this museum is FULL of SO MUCH beautiful glass!! It is free admission to explore the many aisles of absolutely gorgeous, intricate glass pieces, some of which were manufactured right there in Weston WV. Case after case after case showcases different glass producers. You'll see many usable pieces like dishes, teacups, vases, and pitchers. Then there are tons of purely decorative pieces too, glass statues in all colors, shapes and sizes. I ADORE cobalt blue glass (I used thrifted pieces I found to decorate our wedding centerpieces, I LOVE IT so much!), and there were several cases dedicated to my favorite blue hue. I was also particularly fond of the case of two-piece glass hen-shaped covered dishes in a rainbow of colors, some swirled milk glass. There are also displays about the glass manufacturing process itself. In the back there is some of the machinery used, as well as giant hunks of raw slag glass. I had to drop to my knees to hug one of those big bad boys, as if I ever found anything like that in the lake I would keel over! :-O One other absolutely INCREDIBLE piece on display is a HUGE glass dollhouse. Well, a HUGE glass doll MANSION!! It is really an amazing piece of art, from the unbelievable glass house itself, to the fully staged inside with furniture pieces meticulously placed and styled. Taking zoomed-in photos of the rooms of the house, it almost looks like a real house, the miniature pieces are so true-to-life in their design! The museum also has a gift shop that consists of a large assortment of glass pieces for sale. There were so many lovely items in the gift shop, it is like another display area of the museum in and of itself! My teen daughter, also a glass lover, purchased a beautiful red glass teacup and saucer for herself, and a red glass votive candle holder. I bought a beautiful mint green two-piece bunny dish, a gorgeous bubblegum pink pedestal foot bowl, and a gift for my parents, a teal glass insulator. The bunny now resides in my grandmother's shadow box. The pink glass bowl is filled with walnuts on my dining room table, and my parents loved their insulator. They are also glass hunters, and much of the teal glass that comes out of the lakes is from blown insulators. WOW, what an absolute TREAT it was stumbling on the Museum of American Glass in adorable Weston WV on our road trip. The town itself is super cute, with a nice coffee shop (The Coffee House), other cute shopping (check out Appalachian Oddities!), a few eateries, plus a huge historical asylum that has ghost tours, if you are into that sort of thing. I LOVED exploring the Museum of American Glass, and if I ever find myself back in Weston, I would definitely stop in again, so much to see SPARKLE and SHINE! :-D

This was my second time at Trans-Allegheny and it truly never disappoints! The first time I went,…read moremy mom, dad, and I did the 4 floor 90 minute tour. We were the only ones on the tour, which truly made it an even better experience! This time, my mom, aunt, and I did the First Floor North and South tours. The South tour was given to us by Madison and she was a fantastic tour guide! She provided us with so much information and some information we did not hear on our first tour there! We were also the only ones on this tour, which was nice. The second tour of the day was the North tour and this tour is new to the asylum! It opened this year and it gives insight as to where the criminally insane patients were housed after the Criminally Insane Building was shut down. This tour was given to us by Jasmine and she was amazing as well! This tour was a group, but it was still very interesting! I am looking forward to going back for an overnight tour and/or the haunted house!! Highly recommend!

Easily one of the best tours I've ever taken…read more I knew this would need to be part of our WV itinerary as soon as this place's existence became known to me while I was planning a possible trip. Just the name is enough to grab you but it certainly delivers. The thought of doing a paranormal tour intrigued me but I was also interested in the history. We arrived at 2:20 and were informed the paranormal tour wasn't starting until 4. Did we really want to wait until 4?! The very nice man provided descriptions of all of the tours and the paranormal one just sounded so interesting that it didn't seem like a real debate. We bought tickets and were considering how we would kill time but it turns out, they have a very interesting museum about the place's history on the first floor that someone entertained my ADHD ass until 3:55. It was incredible. As if that couldn't get any better, the tour was absolutely fascinating. We were taken throughout the museum and our guide, Brad, was impressively knowledgeable about the place, answered every question in exquisite detail. The only disappointment was that instead of experiencing anything paranormal, we were just told stories about things other people have experienced. Don't get me wrong, this was captivating but I was hoping to experience something for myself which I did not. An absolute must visit if you are interested in this kind of shit and are anywhere remotely in the vicinity.

It's free! And they have mummies. It's a dollar to see the…read moremummies. Honestly I can't remember anything about the museum other than it's in an old train depot and it's across from the Sheetz and the covered bridge. And they have mummies!!!

Really a lovely place to swing through. A short visit during your time in Philippi. So much history…read morein such a cute little place!

We stumbled on this terrific small museum during a return trip from Virginia to Pittsburgh. They…read morehad amazing propaganda posters of women in the military. They had many unique ww2 uniforms from Germany, Canada, us, japan. Ive attached some pics to entice others to stop by at this hidden gem. The docent was knowledgable and friendly. They had a donation based cafe. We ordered take out and they slipped in some extra pie for us. Thank you! We ve added the living history event in June to our calendar.

I was debating about whether or not to visit, as I was afraid it might be a simulation experience…read more Boy, was I wrong! This turned out to be the highlight of my roadtrip. I enjoyed going underground, and our tour guide, Gerald, was great. He was able to answer all the questions he was asked. I also went to some of the outbuildings. I was surprised and pleased to see that there were docents in the Supervisor's house & the school. Both of those women came from coal mining families, and I was lucky to be able to spend some time talking to each of them about their experiences. What a hard -- and kind of sad -- life. I actually felt a little guilty that mine is so much different. I also went into the gift shop, where all of the women were just hilariously funny! They almost made me wish that I lived in the area & wanted a job; I would love to work with them! I encourage everyone to visit the Beckley Coal Mine. It was very informative and eye-opening.

We had a great experience on the mining tour in Beckley! I was born and raised in West Virginia, so…read morecoal has always been part of our history--but I had never actually been inside a mine before. This was such a unique way to experience it firsthand. Our tour guide, Tony, really made the tour. He was incredibly knowledgeable and added a lot of humor, which kept things interesting the entire time. You ride through the mine on a cart that's pulled along, and while you don't get off during the tour, he stops a few times to share stories and information. If you're extremely claustrophobic, it might not be for you--but personally, I didn't find it too bad at all. The whole facility is really well done. There's a gift shop, drinks, restrooms, and a museum inside the depot. Outside, there are several historic buildings and houses you can walk through, and they're all accessible with ramps. Parking is easy and right on site. Overall, it's a really neat experience and a great way to learn more about an important part of West Virginia's history. Definitely worth a visit!

For five years I had heard my wife talk about how amazing the Whipple Company Store and Museum was…read more So on our way for a weekend at the New River Gorge we stopped in so I could see myself. Needless to say I was blown away! What an absolute treasure. There was an informative tour about the coal company store, the lives of the miners and their families, the coal wars, and about the architecture. The man leading the tour was knowledgeable and passionate about the history of the area. I would recommend coming here to anyone!!

Great place and very educational....i loved the owners and everybody there, very good people. it…read morewas unforgettable!!

I made a trip down to Charleston with my gold fish's Siberian husky and enjoyed every moment of it…read more My brain was starving for a history lesson, though, so I went downtown to the Culture Center and ballooned it with some of the most interesting facts I've ever heard about the Capitol Building(s). The museum is free, which is a plus. I couldn't bring the dog in though, so cracked the windows and put on some Baha Men for him. I also walked upstairs, looked at the displays and was instantly greeted by a fine young man with a vibrant smile and excellent hair. What a great surprise. The car was gone.

I was in town for work and my flight didn't leave till 6 so I had lots of time to explore the…read moremuseum. Love how you start millions of years ago and progress to modern age. Each room is full of artifacts and information for each era. Easily you could spend a full day looking and exploring everything. And the best part is it's free!