The Brooklyn Bridge is a brash young upstart compared to Wheeling’s pre-Civil War suspension bridge

It has been a pretty impossible summer for those of us who love to travel. Used to be you could figure that you’d save money either by flying or driving, depending on where you were going. Now, everything costs a mint. So what did I do for my vacation? Keen on a road trip, I sucked up the rising cost of gas and rental cars, decided against anything really far afield and resolved to scrimp on hotels, opting for cheap and functional. I wasn’t disappointed.

Not doing the big cross country jaunt I have always wanted to do was no great hardship for me – I happen to be very fond of the northeast quadrant, particularly anything old, being a fan of the idea that the past has much to teach us about the present. I also happen to be one of those travel junkies that actually believes that it’s not about where you went, it’s that you went, period (expanding horizons and all that.)

One of the most astonishing stops on my extended tour of places was crazy old Wheeling, West Virginia.

I’ve been through this aged-but-still-standing, post-boom industrial town – many of us have, either on I-70 or the newer I-470 bypass – but I’ve never stopped. I am really glad I did – check out a few snaps from my visit. BTW – brace yourselves for one of my biennial, DETROIT IS AWESOME stories, to appear in the paper later this month. You have been warned.