The Pumpkin House

Sooooo…..I’ve kinda been obsessed with finding a jack-o-lantern lighting for awhile now. And when I say jack-o-lantern lighting I mean JACK-O-LANTERN LIGHTING. I want like 100’s, no 1000’s of hand-carved beauties to enjoy.

When I was a kid I used to attend the Boardman Witch Walk and at the end of the walk there would be a display of a few hundred (maybe?) pumpkins all sculpted and lit (please someone tell me this still happens?). Then a decade or so ago I attended a lighting near Tampa, Florida. Ever since then I’ve been searching for large scale lightings but sadly haven’t found any nearby.

So away I went.

4.5 hours away actually.

And only a best friend can be talked into driving through a rainstorm to travel that distance to basically attend a small town community fair all in the name of jack-o-lanterns. Bright note: Look at the rainbow we saw while en route!

We were headed to West Virginia to the C-K Autmnfest and home to the Pumpkin House showcased in the pic above. This Victorian Home built in 1891 has over 3000 carved pumpkins to gawk at.

While there, we stayed at a funky little air b&b called Gallery Lofts.

The outside is pretty nondescript which the sign on the exterior seems to echo.

But OH the inside. I loved every little arty touch. So much so that I keep wondering why I have a too big house for me, what with all the cleaning and the upkeep when I can have a fun little loft space like this! I felt content and cozy and calm here. Check out this slide show to see some of the super cute details of the place:

I know spring feels far away, but if you attend my “One Tank Trips” session at Mentor Library on May 10 (it’s free), you can get a discount code for this B&B should you be traveling to Huntington, WV anytime soon 🙂 The host Arlie was super responsive and accommodating. Five star review all the way from me!

Once we settled into our home away from home for the weekend we decided to use the evening to explore. The roads in Huntington are crazy and we got lost more than once driving around town. Look at where are detour brought us though!

I mean this is what trick-or-treating should be like – hordes of kids, tons of decorations, neighbors out in folding chairs shouting pleasantries to each other from across the lawns.

And the kids weren’t the only ones getting in on the fun. Check out the barista at Grindstone Coffee who whipped me up a macchiato latte with 4 shots of caramel.

Here are some more pics from our trip!

We met some of the kindest people here! This is Debbie. She won first place in the canning competition for both her Roma tomatoes and her raspberry jam. She then promptly gave Gina and me her prize winning entries to take home with us!

Folks here also seem to have a sense of humor! Check out the sign in the neighbor’s lot next to the famed Pumpkin House lol.

So the funny/not funny part of the trip (aside from that ditto sign which I found pretty hysterical) was that we kept hearing people talk about how this is ‘small potatoes’ compared to the Circleville Pumpkin Show which is…ummm….in our state!!!!!!

Guess you will know where to find me next Halloween weekend!

(Featured image from https://gfsodafountain.com/pumpkinhouse/)